Kin Attraction, a blues brothers fanfic

Disclaimer : I do not own The Blues Brothers or the other characters of the films. But I'm forever thankful to Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi for bringing the blues to me, and to John Landis for getting the whole show on the road (literally). No money made on this, except the pleasure of writing it. So no need to sue me – unless I could meet the real Elwood ! ;-))

(Set two years after the 'mission from God.' Jake and Elwood have been released from jail, Jake after finishing his sentence and Elwood out on parole. So this is about two years after saving the orphanage.)

Sister Mary Stigmata was in her office. She wanted to be alone, in peace. She needed peace actually. She had to think over the visitor that had just left the place. She sighed, wondering how she would break the news gently to one of her former kids. Or more exactly to two of them. These two formed a package deal. She knew that would not be easy, for her to tell, for them to hear. But her visitor had so much insisted ! And how could she prevent a family from being reunited ?

She sighed again, took a deep breath, signed herself before picking up the phone. She had to get in touch with the younger brother. She would not talk to him about this story over the phone. No, he – they – would have to come here, at the orphanage. End of the story. After that, she would see how to announce the whole thing.

Sister Mary was a woman of action. Once she had made up her mind on something, she was determined to carry out her decision to the end. Now she was a woman on a mission. She dialed the number the brothers had left her, praying the Lord she could reach one of them. And to assist her in the difficult task of telling the whole truth to one of them.

Her prayers were partly answered. One of the brothers replied. Jake. She had hoped to speak to Elwood but he was out on an errand. She told Jake that they should show up as quick as possible, no further question asked. Jake was surprised but he agreed. As soon as Elwood would be back home, they would go to the orphanage and meet her there.

Sister Mary was happy that the first part of her mission was successful. The brothers were not always very happy to come back to St. Helen's and she suspected that they did come here only for Curtis' sake. But the matter was too much important to be postponed.

She was not sure that the second part – the most delicate – would be as easy as the first though.

Jake and Elwood Blues were on their way to the orphanage. They had left home as soon as Elwood was back from his errand to a junkyard, searching for a used set of tires for the new Bluesmobile he had just bought, another 1974 Dodge Monaco police package he had found at some other police auctions. The very same than the one the brothers had had earlier – before going to jail after saving the orphanage. He had come back smiling, he had had a good deal for 4 almost new tires. That was enough for him to make his day.

"El, the Penguin called. She wants us to go and see her at the orphanage," Jake said.

Elwood watched his brother with a quizzical look on his face. "Did she mention the reason why ?" A gut feeling was telling him that something was up. Up to no good.

"No, she didn't. She just said we had to come and see her, that's all. Sounded like an order, you know."

"Yeah, I know that everything she says sounds like an order anyway." Elwood's gut feeling grew stronger. Something was really up. "Well, I guess we'll have to get there to know more about all this."

Both brothers remained silent during the trip to the orphanage. Only a tape of Sam & Dave playing in the car filled the silence. Elwood parked the Bluesmobile in front of the orphanage.

"I really wonder why we're supposed to be here," Jake said before opening his door. Annoyance could be heard in his voice.

"You promised the Penguin we'd come here," his brother reminded him softly.

"Yeah, I'd like to lie to her on this occasion. Feels to me that she's up to no good."

Elwood sighed. He had to reckon Jake was right. He felt the same. "You can't lie to a nun ! So we're gonna go in and visit the Penguin. That's still the best way to know what's going on after all."

His tone was gentle but firm. Jake gave in. When Elwood had this tone, no need to mess up with him. He nodded and they both got out of the car. A few minutes later, they were climbing up the stairs leading to her office upstairs. As usual, memories came back to the surface. They had walked up to that office so many times – and not always for the better. Usually, that was because they had played some pranks on the nuns, or because they had caused a fight with the other kids at school or had been caught on the act doing something the nuns had vehemently forbidden. They knew then what was coming next usually.

The last time they had walked up the stairs, it had been to learn about the orphanage's grim future if the 5,000 dollar tax was not paid. Out of their heart's goodness, the Blues brothers could not let it go like this. The orphanage was what it was in their memories, but it was the only family they had.

They had also kept vivid memories of the spirited conversation that had ensued then. Elwood remembered the wooden stick breaking on his head (he thanked the Lord every single day of his life for His inventing fedoras). As for Jake… harder had been the downfall. The elder brother still remembered his fall still jammed in one of these horrible student chairs, tumbling down the stairwell to escape the nun's wrath.

They also remembered the statement she had made then, banishing them from the place, the only place, they could call home. It had sounded like a sentence of some sort. Condemned to redemption. The rest was history. The mission from God. The gig at the Palace Hotel Ballroom. The escape from the cops, the Nazis and the Good Ol' Boys. All this to end up in jail. But the tax money had been paid and the orphanage saved. Curtis had still a roof above his head and the Penguin could continue the good job she had been doing there for ages.

The little the brothers had they could call home and family was still there and preserved. Things were back to normal and the brothers had been welcomed back – after their release from jail – by the nuns, the kids and Curtis with a party that had made them brothers thought that they were worth something for some people in this world. They were redeemed.

That had happened two years ago. They had been released since then but now they were cautious every time they showed up at the orphanage.

But this time, things were different. Sister Mary had summoned them to come and see her. They arrived in front of her door, Elwood about to knock at the door.

"Who is it ?" a high pitched voice asked from behind the door.

The two brothers looked at each other. "Jake and Elwood", the younger Blues replied.

"Come in !"

Another glance to each other. The door opened by itself even before they could put their hand on the handle. A feeling of déjà-vu crept inside their minds. Elwood watched his brother, ordering him silently to enter first. Jake complied.

"Hello boys," Sister Mary greeted them with a smile on her face. "Nice to see you ! Please, have a seat," she said before they could even greet her back.

Jake and Elwood saw the two chairs in front of the desk. Adult chairs, not student stuff. Apparently, the nun considered them as adults, capable to behave as such. They sat down in the chairs, wondering what new catastrophe was pending on the orphanage – and what they would surrender this time. Their music ? Their freedom ? Their lives ?

"Boys…" the nun began, her tone unsure, which alarmed the brothers somehow. "I had an interesting visit very recently. I prefer to tell you, it does concern you, Elwood, more particularly."

"Me ?" Elwood replied in disbelief. What was to befall him this time ? Another horrible news about his origins ? This time about his real father, the man that had raped his mother, thus bringing him into existence ? He managed to conceal his anguish though.

On his side, Jake began to act impatient. "If you want me to leave…" he said sarcastically.

Elwood turned his head to him suddenly, his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Christ, Jake, take it easy, man…" He did not wish to have a taste of the ruler again. Nor that the Penguin got her sword out on them.

"If the both of you could let me explain !" Sister Mary said glaring at the brothers. Her authoritative tone made them quiet at once. "Right," she said after a few seconds that seemed like an eternity for both Jake and Elwood. "Now you better pay attention to what I've got to say ! True it concerns Elwood but as you're brothers, you're both involved, whether you want it or not." She paused and looked at them to make sure she had their full attention.

"It's about kin, Elwood. I mean… real kin, biological kin."

A lump formed in Elwood's throat. I would have bet she'd say something like that ! He remained silent, as usual.

"What d'you mean by real… kin ?" Jake asked for him. He felt threatened suddenly. "The only family we got is you and Curtis… and each other, me and Elwood."

Sister Mary looked at him, this time with a compassionate look. She could feel the anguish in Jake's voice. She understood his fear. She sighed and hoped the Almighty was now with her.

"I've got a visit from a young lady, Elwood."

Which he had made pregnant, Jake concluded then. How many times I've told him to use condoms !

Elwood looked up at her from behind his shades. But he could not utter a single word. He had to reckon the same thought as Jake's had crossed his mind – though he could not remember with whom it could have been.

"A young lady the same age as you, abandoned on the same day as you."

"So what ?" the young man replied. Why is she alluding to… to this ?

The nun's words dispelled Jake's worries about a possible child his brother could have fathered. He felt relieved in a sense. But he was not ready to hear the rest of the story. Neither was his brother.

"She's your sister, Elwood. Your twin sister."

Elwood's jaw dropped. Jake was the first to react. "WHAT ?!" He refrained from saying 'What the hell is this ?', remembering just on time that the nun hated foul language.

Elwood swallowed hard. "A… sister ? Me ?" he managed to utter.

Well, that ain't as much an issue as a baby in the making, Jake thought. But on second thought, the news could prove a problem.

"Yeah, what's that story ? Are you…" Jake had almost said 'bullshitting' and bit his tongue, again on time. He had gotten wiser after all. "Well, forget it."

"I have all the proofs to back up her story. In fact…" Sister Mary could not lie. And even less in these circumstances. Better me to tell them everything right from scratch. They would have learnt it one day or the other. "It's a long story."

"We have time," Jake said, after glancing at his still mute brother. More than ever, Elwood was 'Silent Elwood'. "Tell us from the beginning."

Sister Mary knew she could not escape it. She owed the truth to them both, especially to Elwood. She took a deep breath. "Alright. Elwood… you know you were abandoned at a newsstand downtown. But another child was left there with you. A baby girl. Officer Delaney brought you both here. As this is an orphanage for boys only, I could not keep the little girl. I sent her to a similar institution for girls, in Chicago…"

"You mean…" Elwood began, unsure as to how to put it. He felt sadness, anger, disbelief too. He tried to remain in control of himself but that was hard. "You mean… you knew from the beginning that… that I had… kin ?"

"I'm sorry, Elwood. You were both babies. I took news about this little girl regularly. I hoped then that we could reunite the both of you later. One day, I learnt she had been adopted. I lost all track of her, so I decided to keep it for myself. I thought that… that would be almost impossible for her and for you to find each other…"

"Well, she managed to find me back after all these years !" Elwood said angrily. His features had hardened and Jake recognized anger boiling up in his brother, only by the sound of his voice. "You knew the whole truth but you kept quiet all the time !"

"Listen, Elwood, I'm sorry but I thought it was better like this, above all after you and Jake had become officially brothers. I thought then that you had found a brother, you didn't need to be troubled by this kind of news. I wanted to preserve you, do you understand ?" Her tone was almost pleading and Jake perceived it as such.

"You lied to me !" Elwood said, all anger pent up, but on the verge of exploding.

This time, Jake put a gentle hand on his brother's forearm.

"Elwood… take it easy, man… You may get to know her eventually, that's the most important."

Elwood watched his brother, a dirty look in his eyes. More than two years ago, he had learnt he had been born out of rape. But he had had the opportunity to meet his real mother. Strangely enough, she had not mentioned another baby. Now there was that sister. What was next ?

"Sister… why my mother didn't mention a baby girl ?" Elwood asked, ice in his voice. And pain too.

Sister Mary nodded. She reckoned the question was logical. "She didn't know that she had another baby. She knew she carried twins but when she gave birth, labor had been lengthy and painful though normal for a first birth. She was exhausted. She managed to give birth to you, Elwood, as you were the first born. Then she fainted and the other baby was born later, while she had not come back to her senses yet. The doctors had to resort to forceps and when the little girl was born, she was almost dying. The umbilical cord was around her neck. They had very little time left to save her. You were all three separated. When you were given back to your mother, your mother enquired about the other child she had carried. They said that the little girl was dying." She paused. "Due to the circumstances behind your conception… to you both… your mother just let it go. She really thought that the second baby was dead."

Jake knew about this story. Elwood had ended up telling him everything. He had felt sorry for his brother – at least Jake knew his own mother had died giving birth to him. But he had been desired by her and conceived in a consensual relationship, if not love. Elwood was the fruit of a loveless, even cruel, deed and he had been rejected right from start. Now, another child was involved too.

"What happened next ?" Jake asked. He could feel the tension pent up in his brother.

"Elwood's mother wanted to leave the hospital quick. She told me – and she told you too, Elwood – that she had tried to take care of you but she couldn't because of the rape. In her eyes then, you reminded her of the man that had raped her. In the meantime, the baby girl she had given birth to, had been saved and was brought to her but she was so much depressed that she asked a friend of hers to come and pick her and the kids up.

"She left the hospital at the same time, without telling anything to anyone, including the doctors. The rest of the story, when she told it to me, was fuzzy as this was the most terrible decision she had to make. She wanted to forget everything as a way to protect her already overstressed mind.

"She left the two babies at the newsstand and Officer Delaney was called upon. He brought the both of you here as here was the closest orphanage in the vicinity. But this is a place for boys and I could not keep the little girl – though I'd wished to. I knew of a similar institution for girls, run by another nun in Chicago.

"I brought the little girl myself there. The Mother Superior there accepted her and we decided to keep shut about the kinship between the two of you – for the time being. We would tell you both when you'd be a bit more grown up to understand what you were for each other.

"But one day… one day, the Mother Superior called me to inform me that the baby girl, aged about nine months, had been adopted. I asked about you what we should do about you, Elwood, your being her twin brother. I must tell you that I had hoped that these people would have adopted you as well. The Mother Superior had thought about it too. She had been honest with the would-be parents, telling them that the little girl had a twin brother raised in an orphanage for boys. But the parents wanted only a little girl. They didn't want another child. They didn't… care about this. They even forbade the Mother Superior to mention the very existence of that little boy. You, Elwood.

"You know, when I met your mom about two years ago, she had indeed told me about that little girl of hers but she made me swear then that I should never talk to you about her daughter. For her the little girl was lost for ever. You were her only child left. She wanted to protect you and we agreed together to say that you were her only child. I'm sorry."

"Not as much as me, Sister," Elwood replied very coldly. "You told me about this eventually."

"Because your sister came here and insisted to meet you ! I realized then I couldn't keep quiet after all these years. I had carried this secret with me all this time and I felt…" She sighed. "I felt guilty, to say the least."

Tension was thick in the office. Elwood was thinking about the cruel twist of fate that had befallen on him again. What was next ? Maybe one day, the Penguin would summon him to come to her office to meet… his father. The loop would be looped. No, I don't want to see him. After what he'd done to my mother… No way ! Elwood knew that he had been born thanks to that man though. The rational part of his brain told him so – much to his distress. His intellect had admitted it but his heart could not yet.

"So what should we do ?" Jake asked for him. The story had interested him highly. He was aware that Elwood had been lucky to meet his real mother but at the same time, he knew that that story of rape at the origin of his brother's life was a real heavy load to carry for Elwood. Jake had tried to help him but he felt that only Elwood himself had to carry that load on his own, one way or the other. Maybe a sister would be an extra help after all.

Sister Mary was glad that Jake was here after all. He was the elder one, he could influence his brother – alright, not always for the better – but he was the one in control of himself now. "I think you should meet her. She could explain many things herself. Like how she found out about her twin brother."

Jake's and Sister Mary's eyes turned toward Elwood. Who remained silent. Stubbornly silent. "El ?" he just asked, gently. Elwood glanced at his brother, then suddenly, he rose from his chair and walked out of the office. "I'm waiting for you in the Bluesmobile, Jake. Unless you prefer to walk back home." The door banged shut behind him, followed by step sounds thumping in the stairs.

Jake sighed and his eyes met the nun's. Her gaze shone with warm compassion. "Be patient with him, Jake, he needs time. When he's ready, just call me and I'll arrange a meeting." Jake nodded he would and he left the office.

His brother was waiting for him behind the wheel. Jake had not even closed the door that Elwood tore off the curb, the 440 cubic inch engine revving loudly. Jake knew then that he was in for a hell of a drive, somewhat a hostage inside the powerful car. Driving would help Elwood to simmer down. He sighed deep inside, hoping they would not encounter rollers on their way back home. Or get themselves killed. After all, he was curious about that girl and keen on meeting her. Now was not exactly the perfect timing to die.

The brothers came back home safely, no rollers encountered. Elwood had calmed down though he had driven very fast on the various expressways around Chicago for about one hour, in complete silence. Jake was used to his brother's sometimes frantic way of driving but he was sure that one day, they would get themselves killed. He trusted Elwood's reflexes but anything could happen, even to the best drivers. At least they would die together.

They entered the two-bedroom apartment they shared together in a poor area of Chicago. Elwood was still silent and Jake knew better than piping up in such moments. They prepared dinner and ate in silence, with some old blues records playing softly in the background. Little by little, the tension was fading away. Jake knew that Elwood was tense not because of him but he was careful not to mess up with him though. They both went to bed silently, Elwood barely bidding good night to his sibling. Tomorrow is another day, Jake thought then.

He was right. The day after, Elwood felt better. A good night's sleep had helped a lot. Elwood began his day by apologizing to his brother for his behavior the evening before. Jake was so much relieved to see his brother being his old self again that he hugged him.

"I'm gonna meet that chick," Elwood said once they had finished their breakfast. Jake was startled – he had not hoped as much for the time being.

"You sure ?"

"Thought about it all night long. I… I need to know what happened." Curiosity had been the strongest.

"Okay, I'll call the Penguin then."

"Jake ! Jake… I want you to know that… whatever may happen next, you're still my brother and you'll always be."

Jake smiled at his younger sibling. "I've got no doubt on that, El."

No need to say that Sister Mary felt elated when she got the good news from Jake. They agreed to a meeting at the orphanage, in her office, a few days later. The brothers went there and parked outside the orphanage, just beside a car they had never seen there before : a 1971 Plymouth Roadrunner, yellow with black stripes. Elwood was interested by the car as usual. Who could drive such a car ?

Jake was already out of the car, urging his brother to hurry up. Elwood followed suit, his gaze still on the car parked in front of the Bluesmobile. Could it be… he wondered. His thoughts were quickly diverted by Jake tugging at his arm to move him inside the orphanage.

They met Sister Mary in her office. She was not alone. A young lady was there, sitting in a chair nearby. There was no need to introduce them to each other. She was the almost spitting image of her mother. Elwood always had with him the only photo he possessed of his mother. He was stricken by the close resemblance. As for Jake, there was no doubt that this girl was indeed Elwood's sister : the lower part of her face was matching Elwood's, especially the mouth. The two had inherited the delicate design thereof from their mother.

She stood up. She was not tall, something like 5'6" or 5'7". Her hair was the same color as Elwood's, though like their mother's, slightly curled. But her most striking feature was her gaze : like Elwood, her eyes were of two colors, one blue, the other brown. From what Elwood had learnt from his mother, he had inherited them from their father. Just like she had.

Elwood's jaw dropped. The girl was lovely and she was looking like him, like a real twin would. A female version of himself. She was her parents wrapped in one beautiful package. Like he was. The only difference was in her body shape : she was more like their mother, not very tall and with delicious curves, while Elwood was more like their father, tall and lanky.

Jake was looking at her too. He found the girl a real beauty. He reckoned she looked very much like Elwood but she was a woman. He smiled at her beguilingly, charmed at first sight, even impressed.

As for the girl, she was puzzled first by their attire. The nun had explained to her that her twin brother had gotten himself an adopted brother and that they both went by the name of 'Blues'. Jake and Elwood were inseparable – like twins. That impression was emphasized by their garments. They were dressed up the same way. The girl realized that the two men were like twins themselves though they looked very different.

But she got no doubt as to which one of them was her twin brother. She set her eyes on the taller one of the pair and knew at once he was her blood brother. She felt moved, so much that she was on the verge of crying. She remained in control of herself though, detailing him from head to toe. His face was half hidden by the shades and the hat, but his mouth was like hers. Under the hat, she could see his hair and their color matched hers. No doubt, this was her brother, the brother she had searched for years.

Both brothers remained silent. So did the girl. They did not know what to say. Sister Mary saw it and she introduced them to each other.

"Elwood, Jake, meet Vicky Mercer. Vicky, this is Elwood Blues, your brother. And Jake Blues, his brother."

The girl's surname rang a bell in the brothers' memory but the moment was so much emotional that the thought was quickly dispelled.

The girl put a hand on her mouth, obviously moved. The Blues brothers could see her eyes bright with tears welling up. "I've been looking for you for so long…" she began, her voice shaking. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say…"

Elwood turned himself towards the nun. "Sister, may we ask you if we could… if we could be alone ?"

"Sure. You need privacy. I'll be downstairs with the other kids. Are you okay, Vicky ?"

The girl nodded 'yes'. The nun went out of her office.

"El, if you want to… I can leave as well," Jake said, unsure.

"No, you're my brother and I want you to stay with… us," Elwood replied quietly.

They remained all three together on their own. Elwood did not know what to do to engage the conversation when suddenly, he got an idea. He dig the photo of his mother – their mother – he always kept with him, from inside his jacket.

"Maybe you'd be happy to see… our mother," he said while handing out the picture to her.

Vicky took the photo, her hand was shaking with emotion. She swallowed hard when looking at the woman that had given her life. She flipped it over and read the comment and the date. Elwood wondered then if she knew about their mother's story, how they were brought into this life. He decided she did not and to say nothing about it, hoping to protect her about the scathing notion that they were both the fruits of rape. It was enough difficult for him to cope with that story. No need to add another person in this mess. Suddenly, he felt less alone. He was not the only one, another person had the same story as his.

"Sister Mary told me that you met her," Vicky said softly.

Elwood nodded. "Yep. Two months before she died. A bit more than two years ago."

"I'd have loved to meet her too. Maybe you… you could tell me more about… our mother."

Elwood smiled at her. "I will. She was a remarkable woman."

Vicky gave him back the picture. "And she was lovely. You look like her."

"You look like her too. We both do," Elwood said gently. "We're twins."

"So you admit the fact then."

"Yeah."

"You can't imagine how happy I am to have found you, Elwood," she said. "At least we met each other."

They glanced at each other and smiled. Somehow, Elwood was happy to have met her too.

"This here's my brother Jake. We grew up together here. We became brothers all the more officially when we were still kids."

"I was around 11 and you were 9, if my memory serves me well," Jake added. "That's when we got a change in our names too. We had chosen 'Blues' as our official surname. Elwood's got all the paperwork I think."

"No, Sister Mary does, Jake. 'Tis safer here, you know."

"Oh yeah, you're right, I've forgotten," Jake replied. "On that day, we had become brothers," he said proudly.

"Well, dressed up like that, I'd say you look like twins," Vicky said with a wink. Her humorous comment brought a smile on their lips.

"Shame that I can't see your eyes though," she went on.

Jake and Elwood looked at each other. With the same movement, they removed their glasses. Vicky's lips rounded with surprise. Her twin brother had the same eyes as hers. As for Jake… he did his usual charming thing with his brown eyes and eyebrows. Then they put their shades on again.

"Thank you," Vicky whispered. They remained silent for a minute or two. But this time, it was not an embarrassed silence. They were all three aware that a relationship had to be built though. Having genes in common was not everything. Vicky and Elwood had to know each other to build that brotherly relation, above all as they had never grown up together, nor shared anything together. On the contrary, Jake and Elwood's own relation as brothers, although not backed up by genes, had been built over the years. They all just needed time to adjust to this new situation.

Jake sensed all this. "You know what ? What about going to some place outside and have a cup of coffee ? You know, we cannot stay here the whole day and the Penguin needs her office."

"The Penguin ?" Vicky asked, a bit baffled.

"That's the nickname we gave to Sister Mary," Elwood explained.

"Oh I see. Well, that's a good idea, fine by me," Vicky agreed. "I'll follow you."

"Alright, let's skate," Elwood concluded.

They all three left the nun's office. Sister Mary was in the lobby, talking with another younger nun. "Leaving already ?"

"We decided to make further acquaintance in some kind of coffee shop," Vicky explained. "The three of us."

Sister Mary could not hide her joy. "Oh, that's lovely ! Jake, Elwood, I hope you're gonna invite her to some nice place, will you ?"

"Don't worry, Sister, we usually go only to nice places," Jake retorted a bit ironically.

"Jake…" Elwood whispered while elbowing his brother. Don't make her mad !

But the nun was so happy that the irony was lost on her. "Alright, boys, be careful !"

Vicky got her car keys out of her purse. She went to open the yellow car parked in front of the Bluesmobile. Elwood's jaw dropped – again.

"It's… yours ? You drive… this ?"

Vicky looked at him. "Well, yes. That's my car. So what ?"

"That's a real nice car," Elwood replied. He had just realized that his twin sister seemed to have the same taste for cars as he did – though they had never grown up together.

"Maybe we can talk about this around a cuppa joe ?" Jake whined. Once Elwood was set on talking about cars, nobody or nothing could stop him. "Listen, Vicky, what about coming with us ? With the Bluesmobile ? You can leave your car here, it's safe, we can vouch on that. And we could go on talking while driving."

Vicky had a look at the 1974 Dodge Monaco parked behind her car. A former police car, dirty and a bit battered. She pondered if she could go with them – after all she had just met them.

Jake sensed this concern of hers. "You don't have to worry. Elwood's a hell of a driver. And you'll have two bodyguards with me and Elwood, no one's gonna dare disturb you. We won't let them do so." There was so much sincerity in his voice.

"I'll let nobody mess up with my sister," Elwood insisted all the more seriously.

Vicky gave in. She had to trust them. "I guess trust is the foundation of a brotherly relationship."

Jake smiled. "It's the foundation of any relationship, honey."

His smile was so much beguiling and sweet… Vicky smiled back at him and nodded in consent. He was right. They all three piled up in the Bluesmobile, on the front seat, with Vicky seating in the middle, between them. The two brothers had something reassuring. Elwood could be so sweet and Jake so funny.

They went to a coffee shop downtown and stayed there for two hours. In fact, they did not even notice how fast time had flown by. They decided to have dinner outside together and went to a place the brothers knew for the cheap but good meals.

Vicky had assured Elwood she would answer all his questions. In return, as he had met their mother, he would tell all he knew about her. He did so, going into much details, even describing their mother's funerals. He also explained to her that she had been part of one of the most influential families of Chicago – the Daleys. Vicky was troubled by this revelation. Elwood promised her he would bring her to their mother's grave.

They were there when the manager asked them to leave because he was about to close down for the night. The brothers and Vicky realized that they had spent almost three hours together. They decided to end the evening in one of the blues bars they knew in the South Side. There, Vicky filled them up about how she had managed to find her brother. Jake was as curious as his brother to know the story.

"The sister was right," Vicky began. "I was adopted when I was nine months old. The Mother Superior had told my parents that I had a twin brother but they didn't want another boy. You see, they already had two boys, that became my brothers."

"But how come you got to know about all this ?" Jake asked.

"By chance. One day…" Vicky suddenly paused. She seemed to look for her words. Jake and Elwood let her take her time. They felt it could have been a difficult time for her to discover that a brother of hers had been hidden from her. She swallowed hard and let out a sigh. "I heard my parents having an argument together. About a letter they had received from the institution where they had picked me up. I was about to turn eighteen. I overheard my parents arguing about the content of that letter. My father said he didn't want to hear anything more about this letter while my mother thought I should be given the choice and brought to the orphanage to meet the Mother Superior. At first, I couldn't make heads or tails of what they were talking about. Then my mother mentioned the existence of a twin brother. That I was entitled to meet him, after all these years.

"I had just discovered that I wasn't my parents' real daughter. Then that I had a brother, a real, twin brother. It shocked me first. I ran away for two days. When the police brought me back home, I remained silent. I didn't want to explain the true motives behind my running away. I thought it would only make the matter worse – and I was right."

Vicky paused. Jake thought that the girl had adopted the same course of action as her twin brother. When something bugged Elwood, he would just clam up and nothing or nobody – except maybe Jake – could make him talk. The resemblance in behavior was too striking to be left aside. Jake could feel that Elwood was not far from thinking the same. "And what happened next ? What did you do ?" he asked.

"I said nothing about all this, that I had overheard their discussion. But I was hell-bent on finding that brother of mine. I must admit that I even hoped then that all this was just bullshit. That I was my parents' real daughter, that… that story of orphanage was just a fantasy. But deep down myself, a part of me knew that my parents had spoken the truth. I searched the house to find the letter but to no avail. I thought then that my father had destroyed it. So I compiled the addresses of all the orphanages for girls in Chicago and around for several months. But it was like searching a needle in a haystack ! Needless to say that it made my relationship with my father even more strained than that it was already."

Another pause. The band on stage began a good rendition of Proud Mary and Vicky turned to them to listen to them. "I always loved that song. I know it by heart," she whispered to the brothers. They listened and enjoyed the music like the rest of the crowd there. Vicky clapped her hands while Jake and Elwood looked at each other. One glance had been enough for them to understand each other. We could add this one to our repertoire. Yeah, provided we had a female voice to sing it.

"What did you do then to find the orphanage ?" Elwood asked. He had just realized that she had had to find her orphanage first before finding his.

Vicky seemed to hesitate in embarrassment. Elwood's acute sense of observation noticed it at once. She's hiding something – but what ? She bit her lips then resumed her story on a more hesitating tone. Her voice was almost shaking.

"I was… well, stuff happened to me and… I had to stop my search of the truth. I got depressed for several months, I even had to stop my schooling." She lowered her head and took her head in her hand for a second or two, trying to hide her face.

"What had happened ?" Jake asked, with compassion. The determined woman he had just met a few hours before was slowly but surely disappearing to leave room to a fragile being.

Vicky sighed. "That's… that's something I can't tell," she replied softly. "After a year, I was feeling better and I came back to school – the music school. Music was a good healer to me and I eventually graduated to become a music teacher."

"Oh, you're in the music too then ?" Jake asked, more than interested.

Elwood was puzzled. His own twin sister, whom he had never met, was in the same trade and passion as himself. Music. He could not believe it. They had not grown up together but they had more than their genes in common.

"Yes, but more in classical stuff, I must admit. I can play the piano, a bit of flute, some guitar. I can sing too. I also teach in high schools and music schools."

"I would have loved to have such a lovely music teacher like you !" Jake exclaimed with a broad smile. "Your students are lucky !"

"Jake… take it easy, man…" Elwood said mildly.

"Listen, El, you were in the same high school as me and all the music teachers we had were old and ugly."

The answer made them laugh, easing up the atmosphere. Vicky was grateful to Jake for his sense of humor. The man had something reassuring, for sure. And funny. "Oh Jake… tell me… would I have been lucky to have you as one of my students ?" she asked mischievously.

"Err… ain't sure, honey," he replied with a grin.

"We were terrible kids at school, to tell you the truth, Vicky," Elwood explained. "The Penguin must have told you."

"Yeah, she did. But that's okay. So, who taught you the music then ? Sister Mary told me you were musicians."

"You must have met him at the orphanage, Curtis, the old black man," Jake said. "Before working at the orphanage, he was a blues musician and entertainer. He taught me and Elwood everything we know about the blues. Practice made the rest."

Vicky did remember the old man. He had been the first person she had met at St. Helen's. He had been very helpful and so kind. "I hope I could see you one day there," she said while waving at the band on stage.

"Oh, we'll let you know when our next gig is," Elwood replied. "If you know about the music, what about give it a try and jam with us ?" he could not help suggesting.

"Yeah, that would be great. A female voice would be a nice addition to the band," Jake added. "Take that song, Proud Mary. Has to be sung by a woman only. Don't make sense otherwise."

"Yeah, you're right. I love classical stuff but I must admit that I've always wanted to know more about the blues. Apart from a few records, I don't know much though I like this music. Maybe you could… educate me in this regard," Vicky concluded.

Once more, Vicky shared something with her brother. The blues.

"Our pleasure, honey," Jake replied while Elwood was nodding approvingly.

"And yourself, what do you play in your band ?"

"I sing and Elwood here back me up with his voice. Most of the time he blows in his blues harp. I used to play the drums too, long ago."

"Jake's got a keen sense of rhythm," Elwood added. "I can also play some bit of guitar, but not that much though. We've got our musicians. A real R&B band, they're very good."

"For sure that promises to be an interesting experience," Vicky said.

They remained silent for a few seconds. "But let's go back to your story," Jake went on. "How did you find out about Elwood ?"

The younger Blues turned his head quickly to his sibling, as if to tell him to take it easy. "Jake, man, leave her alone. Maybe Vicky's tired."

"Oh no, that's okay !" the young woman replied, a hand on Elwood's forearm. "Don't you worry. I'm fine." She wanted to add 'with you both' but she refrained from doing so. It was too early to say things like that. But she had to reckon that was the truth. "Four years later, my mother fell sick, seriously sick, and she died eventually. But before leaving, she had the time to give me the very thing that had started the whole shabang. The letter my parents had received just before my 18th birthday. The letter from the Mother Superior. She had kept it in a secret box of hers. She had lied only once to her husband in her whole life – she had told him that she had destroyed the letter while in fact she had kept it."

Vicky stopped. Then she dig something out of her purse. A piece of paper. "I always keep it with me, like a talisman of some sort. Every time I feel down, I read that letter, thinking that one day, I'll find you, Elwood." Saying so, she handed the letter to him. Elwood took it hesitantly – it reminded him too much of the letter his own mother had written to him. "You may read it, Elwood," Vicky insisted.

The young man opened the letter and began reading it in his mind, before passing it on to Jake. The letter was written in a simple yet moving style. It simply said that the girl about to reach 18, was entitled to know about her twin brother. The nun offered then to meet her and why not, arrange a meeting between the two siblings. Most precious of all, the letter carried the letterhead of the orphanage, with its address.

"Now that you had this letter, I suppose you rushed there to get to know the truth," Jake asked after reading.

Vicky sighed. "Weirdly enough, I didn't rush. My mother's was dying and I devoted all my free time to be with her. She had not given me life but she had given me so much, raising me and above all, giving me that letter that was the key to… to my brother. And to a part of my history. She died three months later, I was 24 then. I was devastated but had to move on with my life. Of course, I said nothing about the letter to my father. Instead I got closer to him, supporting him through his widowhood. He loved my mother, they had had a happy marriage, I had been raised in a happy family. Not all kids, orphaned or not, are that much lucky nowadays. I can see that with my students."

Jake nodded. "You know, Vicky, the Lord works in mysterious ways."

"I believe so," she replied all the more seriously. "A few months after her demise, I resumed my quest. I realized then that I was afraid. Afraid of meeting my brother. Afraid of knowing more about my past. Afraid to know the reason why our real mother had left us."

She paused. Her last words confirmed Elwood in his decision of not saying a single word about their mother's real motives behind her abandoning them. He made a mental note of telling Jake that he should shut up about the whole story behind his conception. And Vicky's.

"But I was so close to finding the truth that I managed to gather up enough courage to go on. I went to the orphanage, to learn that the Mother Superior that had written the letter about six years ago… had died. The new Mother Superior had never heard anything about my story though she did her best to help me anyway. She promised me she would search her records about a story that had happened almost 25 years ago. I had the feeling I was back to square one. In all these years, I had made so little progress ! You can't imagine how disappointed I was ! It made me suffer so much, that I wanted to give it all up. In my heart, I had declared you, Elwood, lost forever. The wound was wide open and it bled a lot. So much that I didn't want to hear about all this anymore. I even wanted to destroy the letter my mother had given me."

"Why didn't you do so ?" Jake asked.

Vicky had a poor look for him. "This letter had been kept by my mother so that she could pass it on to me. She had taken some risks for it, she had even lied to my father for it. It was a token of her love for me. Maybe it could not bring me back my brother, but it was a souvenir from her. I could not part from it one way or the other. I could not destroy it."

Vicky paused and took a sip of her drink. The brothers respected her silence. "Years went by. The wound was still open, but… but I had learnt to live with it. I even moved out of town, I took a position in an orchestra in another state, far away from Chicago. I traveled abroad while touring with them. A real interesting experience. I tried to forget everything about that brother of mine thanks to work. Then everything was over and I came back to Chicago. I thought I was strong enough now to cope with the past. I did so for another year. Then I received a letter from the orphanage where I had been left. After all these years, the Mother Superior had found out information for me and she invited me to come and see her. I was utterly afraid. The wound bled more than ever. I cried for several nights, alone in my bed."

When Jake heard these last words, he concluded that the lady was single. How come a lovely girl like her, is alone ? he wondered. Well, at least it meant she could be courted.

"I realized then that I had to get to know the truth. I had to. I could not escape from it either. Otherwise it would destroy me or prevent me from being happy… one day. I could not escape the past, my history… my brother. So I went there and met her. She gave me the name of the orphanage where you had been raised. St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud. It took me another two weeks to call Sister Mary. She agreed to meet me. She remembered a story about twins, a girl and a boy, still babies, with adoptive parents that had wanted only the little girl. That was my story. Our story, Elwood. She told me that my twin brother was indeed alive but he was no longer living here as he was an adult now, living on his own. But she was still in contact with him so she could try to arrange some meeting. I had to convince her I was indeed your twin sister but with the letters I had, that wasn't too much difficult. Things went very quickly after, and here we are, the rest is history."

Vicky stopped her story there. She sighed deeply and smiled at the two brothers. Her brothers now. Jake and Elwood looked at each other and nodded in silence. That was a pretty amazing story, a quest that had started about ten years ago. Vicky smiled at them. "I'm very happy to have found you," she said eventually, her voice hoarse with emotion. "When Sister Mary told me that there was not one brother involved but two, I thought, well, why not ? Two brothers for the price of one… a good bargain."

Jake laughed as this remark concerned him directly. "I'd never thought that I could be a good bargain. Usually people think I ain't. Except for Elwood here."

"Yeah, when I said that to Sister Mary, she just looked puzzled. But she said nothing bad about you. On the contrary, the both of you are very important for her."

"Hell, she can say so. We saved the orphanage !" Jake replied.

And the brothers went on explaining the whole 'mission from God' that had befallen them two years ago. They spared no details, including the mall chase, the way they had put the band back together – including the infamous evening at Chez Paul to get back their trumpet – the Nazis and the Good Ol' Boys, the gig at the Palace Hotel Ballroom, the chase back to Chicago and the arrest in the County building after paying the tax money. But the orphanage had been saved, that was the most important. Elwood concluded the story by telling Vicky he could show her the tax receipt he had kept – the price for two years of freedom.

"That means that… if I had found earlier about your orphanage, Sister Mary would have sent me to the jailhouse to see you ?"

"Exactly !" Jake replied with a broad grin. "Eh, a bit of visit's still nice, you know." He leant towards her. "Especially from a female visitor."

Elwood looked at his brother in a desperate looking manner that made Vicky laugh heartily. "Come on, man…" he whispered.

Jake glanced at his watch. It was almost two o'clock in the morning and they were among the last customers. They decided to leave but not before exchanging their contact details. For sure, they were under the spell of discovering each other and they had appreciated their first hours spent together.

With time, Vicky and the brothers had started a real relationship. They saw each other on a weekly basis, spending their weekends together. They truly enjoyed each other's company. Elwood was discovering how sweet it was to have a sister. He considered himself as the elder brother as he was born first. As for Jake, he had become even fonder of Vicky after she had declared that she 'had earned herself two brothers for the price of one'. The sentence had been said in a funny manner, they had laughed but Jake hid his emotion behind the laughs. For the first time in his life, he felt accepted by someone else than his brother.

Vicky was a musician by trade. As she had told them, she could play several instruments and had a nice voice too. Though she was into classical music, they made her listen to the blues and she quickly became an avid fan of that genre, listening to everything the brothers could give her to listen – on her request. They also invited her to sing with her as a special guest during their gigs. She had been introduced to the band as Elwood's long lost twin sister. Elwood had deemed that that was the simplest thing to do, so much they looked alike. Soon, the band accepted her as she was a good singer and musician and they appreciated her skills. She had even agreed to wear the Blues brothers outfit during gigs, which amused her a lot.

Vicky spent all her free time with 'her brothers'. On weekends, she even spent the night at their apartment, above all if the night had been short. With time, a very special bond formed between the three of them. With time, Jake became more and more interested in Vicky. He realized that he liked her – but not in a brotherly fashion at all. He felt something for her stronger than just brotherly love. At the beginning, he tried to ignore this feeling. But his attraction to her grew stronger and stronger. He could not deny it and he accepted it eventually. After all, they were not blood related. She did not even have the same name as them. He dismissed all the prejudices on this matter and the last barriers fell down in his mind.

Once he had decided on this resolution, Jake began to court her, very discreetly though, so as not to make his own brother suspicious. Because at the same time, Elwood had become real protective with that little sister of his. But as Jake was their brother, there was no problem when he hugged her, slid a tender arm around her shoulders or waist, even kissed her on the cheek. Yes, having a little sister was real sweet. So Elwood noticed nothing so far about his brother's true feelings for Vicky.

One afternoon they were together at the Blues apartment, Vicky and Jake ended up in each other's arms. But this time, they stopped laughing. They just looked at each other and Jake chanced it. Very tenderly, he put his lips on hers for a light kiss. Vicky did not slap him. She did not repel him either. He took it as an encouragement and he gave her another kiss. This time, her mouth opened a little and he captured a bit more of the kiss.

That was a real lover kiss and Vicky appreciated it as such. They went on kissing each other for long minutes, very tenderly. Vicky felt good between Jake's arms. She knew he would never harm her. But they decided to keep it secret though – that is, secret from Elwood. Jake did not know how his brother could react, given his protectiveness towards his twin sister. Vicky approved. In her mind, they did nothing wrong as she and Jake were not even blood related. But she did not want to hurt Elwood's feelings either. Moreover, this was a convenient excuse for her to take her time with a man.

But Jake was not the only one to nurture strong feelings for Vicky. So was Elwood. The younger Blues brother had been very impressed by the young woman right from the moment he had set his eyes on her. They had a lot in common : beside their passion for music, they had a sure taste as far as cars were concerned. Vicky had proved a tough driver too, pretty much like he was himself. The genes were not the only thing they shared. They shared almost the same features, the same psychological traits, the same tastes, the same weaknesses and strengths too.

Elwood had to admit that he had fallen in love with this woman, a woman that was his own sister. He wanted to be a good brother to her but it was too late : he could not but see the woman in her, not the sister. First, he fought against this attraction he felt each day stronger for her. But he realized soon that was a lost fight. His attraction was too powerful. Moreover, as her brother, he could behave with her very tenderly without raising suspicions around. For the first time in his life, Elwood seemed to have a normal relationship with a woman, a relationship made up of tenderness, trust, laughs, hugs and sweet words. Like his brother Jake, he became sweeter on Vicky. But nobody noticed nothing : after all, he was her brother, there was nothing wrong with his hugging her very closely, his grabbing her waist, his caressing her cheeks very tenderly, their holding hands together. For the first time in his life, Elwood could show openly how much tender and caring he really was.

On her side, Vicky had noticed the change in the brothers' behavior towards her. There was that kiss with Jake, followed by others he continued to give her once they were alone, without asking anything in exchange. She felt something strong for him, he could be so funny too. He made her laugh like mad. But there was Elwood too. He could be so sweet. 'Silent Elwood'… that could remain hand in hand with her for long minutes without uttering a single word but still being with her, quiet and peaceful. Romantic. When she leant her head on his shoulder, they could stay as such, tenderly coiled against each other in complete silence and peace.

Soon, Vicky realized that she felt some kind of attraction towards her own brother too. The feeling scared her first. Elwood was her twin brother. These feelings were… incestuous. Bad. Very bad. At least she thought. Unlike Jake, Elwood was blood related to her. She contemplated avoiding him but gathered that it would hurt them both, uselessly. Maybe if she could keep the whole thing for herself… after all, Elwood may not feel the same for her. No need to raise his suspicions.

But Vicky was an intuitive woman. She quickly understood that the young man had feelings that matched hers. She was afraid of these feelings. What could she do ? She had to admit that they had not grown up together and had met only as adults. Their mutual attraction was due to their being twins, she was sure of that. She knew too that fighting against these feelings was a struggle lost in advance. So she let him do, she continued to hug him tenderly, up to the moment when…

When they found each other alone in the Bluesmobile. Elwood had picked her up from her school. Her car needed new tires and he had good addresses. They were stopped at a traffic light, en route to the junkyard. In the silence, they glanced at each other, intense emotions showing on their faces. Their hands found each other and sealed their destiny. When the light became green again, Elwood drove to a quiet parking area a few blocks away. He stopped the Bluesmobile there. Another glance said it all. Slowly, they got closer to each other and kissed.

The contact was electrifying for them both. Their mutual desire burst in each other's heart and body then. They kissed avidly, forgetting everything around them, forgetting about Jake, forgetting about their being brother and sister. All the feelings pent up deep down them were released violently and they just kissed each other with a passion seldom felt.

Save with Jake – on Vicky's side.

Elwood was the first one to come back to reality. He could not repel her and at the same time, he knew there was something wrong. Real wrong. The woman he was holding in his arms and kissing like a lover, was his sister, his twin sister !

"We can't…" Elwood began, unsure, while still kissing her on the neck. It would be hard to stop. "We can't… we just… simply… can't…" he said between feverish kisses.

"I don't care… if we can't…" Vicky whispered back. "I can't… resist… El…"

They got another taste of each other's tongue, kissing like mad for long minutes. Then they tapered off and Elwood started the engine again. The junkyard would be closed soon otherwise and the Plymouth Roadrunner needed new tires. But the real reason was he did not know if he would be able to remain in control of himself… Elwood knew at this very second he could go to the end – taking her there, making love to her, possessing her like mad. For sure, he would go to the end. He had felt Vicky was all the more consenting. That would be real incest this time but he felt that their respective desire for each other had already led them there, far too deep in these dangerous parts of an undiscovered land.

Vicky understood all this. She nodded and let go of him. He was right. This was a madness that had to be forgotten, that had to remain buried deep down themselves. For ever. But at the same time, she knew it would be real difficult. The attraction she felt for him – her brother – was too powerful to be fought. At the same time, Vicky felt that the only men on this earth that she could trust, were the very brothers she had earned herself a few weeks ago.

The twins had decided they would not kiss each other again. Never. They had hoped this madness would fade away with time. Vicky wanted to focus on Jake only but had chosen to say nothing about her story with him to her twin brother. She could have, maybe it would have stopped the whole thing. But she could not. Something powerful in her whispered her to say nothing. Therefore, her attraction to her twin grew stronger despite all her efforts to repress it. As for Elwood, he felt the same. He had tried to repel these thoughts of desire he had for his sister but he knew he had lost the fight beforehand.

On Vicky's request, Elwood agreed to bring her to the cemetery where their real mother was buried. They went to the Daley plot. Vicky had bought a few yellow roses to put on their mother's grave. They remained there silently, hand in hand. Suddenly, Vicky began to shake.

"Vicky, are you alright ?"

She had a poor look at her brother. "Oh, Elwood, just take me in your arms !" she pleaded.

The young man complied and soon, they were in each other's arms, tenderly coiled, looking at their mother's stone. Probably, from where she was now, she was happy to see her children reunited at last. After a few minutes, Elwood looked down at his sister. He had felt she was crying silently, shaking a bit between his arms. He stroked her cheek gingerly, drying her tears. Vicky looked up at him. Once more, a glance said it all. Despite their decision to never kiss each other again, Elwood took her lips with his. In front of their mother's grave, brother and sister kissed each other gently first then more and more passionately. There was nobody around at this hour of the day. This time, nothing resisted deep down their hearts. They took it as an encouragement and left the graveyard holding hands, fingers entangled, desire running high in their blood.

Without a word, they drove back directly to Vicky's place. Without a word, they went to her apartment together. Once the door was closed behind them, they kissed again with passion, their souls and bodies on fire. They went to her bedroom and fell together on the bed, still kissing each other.

They made love, giving the other everything they had. Vicky had not known many men in her life – in fact Elwood was the second man with whom she had sex with. As for Elwood… for maybe the very first time in his life, he felt complete with a woman.

The love they had made was deeply satisfying for them both. They remained for another hour in each other's arms, in sweet silence. They were perfectly aware of what they had just done – and that they should not have done so. It was sibling incest, but sheer incest nonetheless. But their mutual attraction, the desire they had felt for each other for quite some time, had been the strongest. They knew all this but they did not care. They just loved each other.

About an hour later, Elwood checked his watch and realized he should go back home otherwise, Jake would have the fits over his disappearance. The younger Blues did not want his brother to be anxious – or grow suspicious – so he dressed up and after another deep kiss to Vicky, he left her home, not without promising her he would keep their affair secret.

Vicky also knew she had had sex shamelessly with her own brother. But she did not feel guilty. They were between consenting adults after all. Most important, it had been marvelous. Elwood was so tender and careful a lover. He had perceived she was not very experienced but he had said nothing, he had made love to her gracefully, selflessly, keeping her satisfied, her pleasure coming before his very own. He had felt she had entrusted herself to him and he had done everything in his power not to betray that trust.

About two weeks later, Vicky came to the Blues apartment to bring something to eat she had prepared. Brothers and sister had decided to have a family dinner together tonight. Jake was there, Elwood was out for the rest of the day, due to come back home only just before meal time that evening. Vicky had come earlier in the middle of the afternoon as she had no lessons to give. She wanted to rehearse a few songs with Jake too.

When he opened the door to her, Jake grinned broadly. He was always very happy to see her, his 'little sister' as he put it. Of course, he knew nothing about the incestuous relationship that had evolved between Vicky and Elwood. As they were both alone, Jake took Vicky in his arms for a tender hug, quickly followed by an even sweeter kiss. He helped her with her stuff they brought to the kitchen. Vicky put things in the fridge. Jake was holding her by the waist. At one moment, he even pushed her gently against a closet for a passionate kiss.

Vicky could feel his desire. Jake was having a hard-on now. He was kissing her like mad on her neck, making her shiver. Vicky felt his desire and suddenly, she felt it passed on to her, into her own flesh. They exchanged a deep, serious look that said it all. Without a word, Jake took a hold of her hand and they went all the more naturally to his bedroom. There, Vicky gave herself to Jake.

Jake made love to her his own way, made of tender fire and sensual pushiness. But he was never brutal. He too had felt she was not that much experienced with men. Like his brother before him, he was patient and gave her all he had to satisfy her. And of course, he made her laugh.

Now, Vicky was aware she had had sex with both brothers – including her own blood brother. But the Blues brothers were the only men with whom she felt good, safe and protected. The only men she really trusted. They loved her both their own way and she had loved every minute of it. She realized she could not part from them both. She felt no shame at all, not for having sex with her brother, not for having an affair with both men – both brothers ! – at the same time. She loved and respected them too much to choose between them. There was nothing wrong with love. Her love for them was pure.

So Vicky let it go on like this. The brothers knew they could come to her place and she could come to theirs any time. Though Jake and Elwood spent a lot of time together – they were quite inseparable themselves – they still had moments on their own. Moments they spent with Vicky, without knowing that they were both sharing the same woman, and not wishing to hurt the other by revealing the exact nature of their respective relationship with her.

It went on like this for a few weeks. The bond between the three strengthened even more – utter bliss for each of them three. But it was written it could not last forever as such. One day that Elwood was out, Jake had decided he would go and see Vicky, to spend a bit of time with her, not necessarily to have sex with her, but just to share a tender moment together.

But Elwood was done with his business earlier than scheduled. He had had the same idea as his brother and he headed towards her home. Both brothers had her apartment key, like Vicky had theirs. When Elwood opened the door, he was greeted by muffled sounds of a man and a woman kissing each other and laughing. His fine hearing had recognized two cherished voices he knew well – Vicky's and Jake's.

The two were in the kitchen, busy kissing there. Elwood was more than surprised to see Vicky and Jake in each other's arms, in an embrace that had nothing brotherly at all. He wanted to run away but he could not. Vicky disentangled herself from Jake's arms and rushed to her brother to hug him. But Elwood pushed her away, glaring at her and Jake from behind his shades. Somehow, he felt shattered inside.

"You…" he began, unsure, his voice shaking more than he would have wanted to.

"El, I can explain…" Vicky began.

"You lied to me ! You betrayed me !"

On his turn, Jake began to feel weird. What did all this mean ? He thought first that his brother was simply acting over-protective. "Hey, Elwood, take it easy, man… it's only me, Joliet Jake, your own brother, not any man, that's with your sister !"

Hearing this, Elwood's face turned white, his jaw dropped, while Vicky's gaze fell to the ground. Jake had just acknowledged the relationship he was having with Vicky. "You mean… you had my sister…" Elwood could not finish under the realization. While I had her too. Suddenly, the sting of jealousy and the pain of betrayal overtook him. He ran past Vicky, stopping just in front of Jake, a hard look on his face. He was obviously angry.

"You wouldn't hit me, would you, man ?" Jake asked, a halfway grin on his lips, still thinking that Elwood was just having a fit of over-protectiveness. He could not imagine the real motive behind his younger sibling's anger. "I'm sure you'd be happy to see your own sister with… your own brother. Am I right ?"

Elwood was furious inside. He even wanted to hurt his brother physically – so much he felt painful now himself. Vicky felt his repressed violence at once and reacted in a split-second. She threw herself between the two brothers. "Enough !" she screamed. "That's enough ! Now, you're both gonna listen to me !"

"I don't wanna listen to a person that betrayed me the way you just did !" Elwood said coldly. "I thought I was the only one !" The only one you loved.

Vicky could feel his distress. As for Jake, his brother's words meant suddenly something. Something he had not least suspected. His eyebrow rose a little bit behind his shades under the revelation. He could not believe it. In fact, he wondered what was the most unbelievable and shocking – that Vicky had another man than him in her life, or that this other man was none other than her own twin brother – who was his own adopted brother too.

Silence had fallen between them three. "Now you're both gonna listen to me," Vicky said again, enjoying the occasion to get the Blues brothers' full attention. She sighed deeply. This time, she would have to spill it out – completely. "True, I'm with you both. At the same time. But I didn't want to hurt you both. I… I just feel so good with the two of you. You make me laugh, you take good care of me, you protect me, you reassure me." She sighed again. "You love me."

Aware she had now their full attention, she stepped away from them, her back turned on them. "I know you would never hurt me either. You're the first men that I met that never hurt me and never will. That wasn't always the case though."

"What are you talking about ?" Jake asked in concern.

Vicky swallowed hard. "I was almost twenty when it happened. I was… I was out on my way to a friend's when it happened."

"Happened what ?" Jake insisted.

Elwood remained silent. Deep in his guts, he was afraid to know the truth because somehow, he knew beforehand what she was about to say – though Vicky had never told him anything about that period of her life. It sounded like something he had already heard. He thought about their mother.

"I was… a man took advantage of me… I was… detained for long hours… during which I was… raped… several times," Vicky said in a whisper. "I had known no other man before. It was… awful… painfully awful." She sobbed, her back still turned on them.

Elwood put a hand on his mouth, horrified. His gaze met Jake's through their shades. Jake could read on his brother's face what he had in mind. Elwood had just realized that his own sister had more or less sustained the same fate as their mother. He wondered what he should do, tell her the truth about their mother – and thus their conception – or keep shut about that part of their story. He looked at his elder brother for advice. Jake, who knew that story, had reached the same conclusion. He raised an eyebrow, as if to say 'I don't know, man'. Both men put aside their resentment about Vicky's behavior. Things could be explained now. They understood.

Vicky turned herself to them, her eyes bright with tears. "And I don't want to hurt any of you either ! You're the last people in the world I'd want to hurt ! You've been so good to me !" She swallowed again. "I mean… Don't ask me to choose between the two of you ! That would be an insult to you both and to every thing we share together. I won't choose. I just simply can't. I love you ! The both of you !"

Jake and Elwood came closer to Vicky. They knew she spoke the truth. She had never lied to them. They took her in their arms, eventually holding her in a close embrace. They felt her arms around them, she was sobbing now between their arms, relieving herself from that secret she had kept for so long.

"Just let it go… just let it go…" Jake said soothingly.

"We're here. Nobody's gonna hurt you ever now, now we're here," Elwood whispered gently.

Vicky hugged them even closer. They remained the all three together in each other's arms, time for her sobs to subside.

"I love you… Jake… Elwood… I love you…" Vicky went on whispering.

"We love you too," Jake replied softly.

"I want to apologize to you, Vicky," Elwood added. He was no longer angry after her and his brother. "And to you too, Jake."

Vicky looked up at him. She stroked his cheek with a tender hand. "Oh, El !"

"That's okay, man," Jake replied while putting a friendly hand on his brother's shoulder, a rapid emotion showing on his face.

They tightened their embrace around each other. The brothers needed a hug themselves for the heated exchange they had just had. Vicky put her arms around their waists while Jake and Elwood took her between their arms, their hands meeting each other behind her back in a brotherly fashion.

How long they remained as such, they did not know. But at one moment, they found themselves in her bedroom, kissing Vicky on each side of her neck, their hands on her body, caressing her gently. Vicky felt safe with them, they would never take advantage of her.

This time, Vicky gave herself to them – together, at the same time. Now she was resting between them, closely coiled against them, their warm bodies against hers. She felt secure more than she had ever felt before in her whole life. She needed them both. More than ever, she could not choose between Jake and Elwood. They were kissing her tenderly. They spent the rest of the night like this, in each other's arms, eventually falling asleep. Surely the best night they had ever had.

Their relationship went on like this for several weeks. For probably the very first time in their lives, the brothers felt real good with a woman. As for Vicky, she was more than happy. She also felt complete with them. She did not care that one of her lovers was her own twin brother. She loved being with them, they were different and she needed as much Jake as Elwood.

The brothers themselves did not mind sharing her. Elwood had understood this, aware as he was that his incestuous relationship with his twin sister was surely the weirdest thing around. Weirder than sharing a woman with his brother. So his sister being with Jake… well, that was much more normal. After all, these two were not blood related. And he preferred to see her with Jake rather than with any other man.

They had decided to play it careful though. They did not want to give the impression around that they were her lovers. They were just her brothers and they spent a lot of time together, that was all. The music was a good alibi too. Nobody found anything strange to see a young woman hanging around with two young men that were her brothers.

Despite all these precautions, one person grew suspicious about the true nature of the relationship Vicky entertained with her brothers. That was her adoptive father. One day… he went to see her. He had parked down her building to go and visit her. He was about to climb out of his car when he witnessed Vicky kissing her brothers one after the other in a very loving manner – too much like a lover rather than like a sister – just when they went out of her building. The brothers were holding her too much closely for decency in his opinion.

Thing was, Vicky's father was not unknown to Jake and Elwood. Vicky's surname was Mercer but it had not clicked on them when Sister Mary had introduced her to them. Her father was no other than a policeman called Burton Mercer. Now, after seeing what he had seen, he was angry. He knew the Blues brothers – he had been Jake's parole officer in the past and now he was Elwood's.

When his adoptive daughter had told him she had found her twin brother, he had felt a bit guilty. But when Vicky had told him about the young man's identity, Mercer was not very happy. Somehow, he felt even guiltier. He had thought then that if he had adopted Elwood along with his twin sister, the little boy would not have had this childhood and would not have become a petty criminal offender. Yes, but at the same time, Elwood would not have become the blues musician he was now. And Mercer had to reckon that he enjoyed pretty much the music the Blues brothers played.

Vicky had explained her father that she did not care about the past anymore now she had found her brother again. She had also decided to say nothing about her father's identity to Elwood, when she had learnt that Burton Mercer had been the brothers' parole officer. She decided to hide the truth to Jake and Elwood. Fortunately for her, they never asked about her father. They were not interested. They were happy for her that she had had a family while they had to grow up in an orphanage, though Elwood sometimes thought it would have been sweet to grow up with a sister in his midst. Now he wanted to catch up with her and all the love and time lost over the years – even if that meant possessing her in his bed at night.

Burton Mercer was ready to accept Jake and Elwood as his adoptive daughter's kin. Family was one thing. But they could not be lovers. Well, Jake could be… though he was not the kind of man Mercer would have dreamt of for his daughter. Or for any woman either. When he learnt about the weird relationship going on between the three, he went mad. Damn, Jake was not the kind of man for his daughter and Elwood was her blood brother ! And that threesome was most immoral in his opinion.

He made a big fuss to his daughter. Vicky was heartbroken and she left the paternal home suddenly, without a goodbye. She felt betrayed by her father for the second time. The first time had been about this brother of hers. Now, it was about what she was and what she had decided for her life. She needed some time away from her adoptive family and focused even more on Jake and Elwood. She also hoped that things would come back to normalcy one way or the other.

But things were not to come back to normal. On the contrary. While Vicky was more than happy with her brothers, loving them and being loved by them the way they were, she discovered that she was pregnant. As she had sex with them both at the same time, she could not say which of Jake or Elwood was her child's father. She was also afraid that the child may be Elwood's and thus to be born with disabilities due to inbreeding. But it could be Jake's too after all and everything would be alright.

Vicky decided to hide the truth to the brothers – though she knew it would show one day or the other. There would be time then to speak up. Maybe she would lose it after all. She said nothing and continued her work and life with her brothers.

Of course, Vicky said nothing to her father. Burton Mercer would have had a coronary had he known the truth about that baby. Nobody would ever know. It even crossed her mind that she may have to give birth secretly somewhere and then abandon the baby. She realized then that would be impossible : this baby was born out of love, she could not make it sustain the same fate as its father – be it Jake or Elwood. No, she could not.

Vicky went on with her life, wondering how she would tell the brothers about her pregnancy. Then it happened. One morning, she felt exhausted and bad. She decided to remain at home on that day. About one hour later, she fell to the ground. Still conscious, she managed to go to the bathroom, where she eventually fainted.

How much time did she remain there, nobody could have told. But when Jake and Elwood had decided to go and visit her later on that day, they found her still unconscious in her bathroom. They came to her to bring her back to her senses. Jake kneeled beside to take her in his arms and try to bring her back to her senses. Then Elwood noticed that some blood was flowing from under her dress. He lifted it and much to his surprise, she had blood in great proportion between her thighs. He gathered at once that something serious was happening. He told his brother they had to bring her to a hospital. Jake approved and instructed him to bring a blanket so that she would not catch a cold or whatever. Elwood found one in the bedroom. When he came back to the bathroom with it, he found his brother holding Vicky tight against him, as if he wanted to give her his strength, caressing her cheek gently, begging her to open her eyes. But she was still remaining stubbornly unconscious.

They wrapped her in the blanket. Jake brought her to the Bluesmobile in a gentle cradle carry, while Elwood was closing the apartment door behind them and running outside to open the car door and start the engine.

He drove fast as usual but this time, it was an emergency. Jake was at the back, still holding Vicky tight against him, stroking her face gently. Elwood was moved : he had never seen his brother being so sweet with a woman before. He was glad that he was like that with his own sister. They both remain silent. In his heart, Elwood knew what had happened. He had already heard of that. His sister had just had a miscarriage. That meant that she had been pregnant. They – Jake or himself – had made her pregnant. But his own incestuous relationship with Vicky was unnatural, unlawful, ungodly. Now the price was to be paid. But he felt bad because the only person to pay the high price was the very woman he loved so much – his own sister.

Vicky was rushed to the emergencies. She was taken care of immediately as she had not regained consciousness. The brothers were awfully anxious as to her condition, even more as nobody told them nothing, though they had presented themselves as her brothers and next of kin. They were only told to wait in a waiting room. They were alone there.

After two hours that seemed like eternity in hell for Jake and Elwood, a physician came to them to give them some news. They were not good. Her condition had suddenly worsened while they were finishing what nature had started. He also confirmed the brothers that the young woman had been about five month pregnant, much to their surprise. Five months and they had noticed nothing ! Jake and Elwood looked at each other with one question in mind : who's the father, you or me ? But they gathered there would be no answer to this one. And to tell the truth, it was not so important. Only Vicky was.

The doctor told them that her life was in the balance now. She was in intensive care unit but they would be allowed to see her for a few minutes only.

"What's gonna happen ?" Jake asked with his usual straightforwardness.

The doctor had a poor look for him. "Chances are very small that she can make it. She's… Your sister's dying, Mr Blues," he said softly.

Elwood had said nothing but his face became white, his lips opened a bit under the blunt revelation. Jake wanted to tell the physician that he was kidding. But he read in the man's eyes that was not the case. Doctors could say bullshit sometimes but they were never kidding on this kind of matters.

"Where is she ?" he asked in a hoarse voice, fully aware that his brother was unable to talk now.

"Follow me," the doctor replied gently.

He brought them to a room where there were lots of medical equipment bleeping around. The brothers went to each side of the bed. They took each one of Vicky's hands in theirs.

"Oh, Vicky, honey, what didn't you tell us ?" Jake asked softly. He sighed deeply.

Elwood said nothing but he took his sister's hand in his and brought it to his cheek in a tender gesture, hoping to give her strength. Don't leave me ! he pleaded in his heart. He kissed her hand. True she was his sister, his twin sister. But she was first the woman he loved so passionately, even if he was aware that this passion was forbidden.

They remained as such for the rest of the day, silent. Jake had even forgotten to go out for a smoke. They stayed there, hoping every second that Vicky would come back to the land of the living. After several hours spent as such, the young woman opened her eyes eventually. The faces she saw first were her beloved brothers'. She had a small weary smile for them. Jake and Elwood felt elated that she was back to herself. Doctors and nurses went to her and checked on her condition. She was not out of danger though and some signs told the medical staff that this life was leaving anyway.

But she was too much exhausted. It was obvious that she was dying. Elwood took a decision then : he decided he would go and talk to Burton Mercer – his present parole officer – about his adoptive daughter. Jake warned him about the possible consequences but when Vicky agreed to see her father a last time, he gave in. While Jake was staying with her, Elwood went to see Mercer at the police building where the parole officer was working.

Burton Mercer was not that much pleased to see Elwood. But he hid it carefully – after all, Elwood could be here for 'business' only. When he learnt from the young man about his daughter being at the hospital, he left his resentment aside and came with him at once. Elwood had said nothing about the reason why she was there. He would discover by himself.

On their way there, Elwood and Mercer exchanged only a few words. Elwood had a warning tone which surprised the police officer.

"Mr Mercer, just one thing : No reproach, no anger, no regrets, nothing."

"Why do you tell me this ? She's my daughter, damn it ! And you didn't tell me why she's in a hospital first."

Elwood had not had the courage to confess Vicky was dying of a miscarriage. That would have brought too many questions either he could not reply or did not wish to. But he hoped that in front of her, Mercer would forget about everything and just consider that she was in a critical condition.

"She's dying," Elwood just said softly, his voice lost in emotion. He was about to lose his fraternal twin sister and the woman he loved so much. Jake was in no better state of mind. "It's too late, she doesn't need this. All she needs is… your love," he ended with his deep voice made even hoarser with sadness.

Mercer pondered the young man's words. He had always considered the Blues brothers as unruly kids. But Elwood seemed to show an unsuspected maturity. The parole officer knew what he was alluding to. Her incestuous relationship with her twin brother. Her relationship with two men at the same time.

"I've always loved her," Mercer said after a few minutes of silence. "She's not my flesh and blood but she's my daughter all the same. I'm so proud of her," he said simply in the silence.

Elwood was focused on his driving. But he heard Mercer's words nonetheless. The man's feelings were something he could relate to. She's my sister and I love her too, he thought.

"Yeah, and we're gonna lose her soon," Elwood concluded, just before pulling up the hospital entrance.

When Burton Mercer entered the room, he spotted Jake holding hands with his daughter. He rushed to her side, caressing her hair gently. Vicky looked up at him and a faint smile came to her lips. She was happy to see him. It was like she had been waiting for someone very special before leaving this world – at last.

"Oh, Vicky, my beloved daughter…" the parole officer whispered. "What happened ?"

Jake and Elwood looked at each other, Jake questioning his brother from behind his shades. You didn't tell him ? Elwood nodded 'no'.

Vicky had gathered at once that her brother had not said a single word about her condition. She took her father's hand in hers.

At this moment, the doctor in charge of Vicky entered the room. He was quickly introduced to Burton Mercer – who asked explanations even quicker. Jake and Elwood knew better than pipe up then. Better let the physician give all the explanations about Vicky's condition.

"Your daughter's got a miscarriage. She was five month pregnant and she lost a lot of blood. If her brothers here hadn't brought her here, she would have died already."

Burton Mercer glared at Jake and Elwood. His face reflected utmost disbelief. A baby ! Aware of the particular relationship his daughter had with both Blues brothers, he could not but feel disgusted.

"Pa… promise me… promise me… that you won't… get angry…" she whispered. She coughed and could not talk any longer, so much she was out of breath and exhausted. But she had perfectly felt the tension creeping up between her father and her brothers. She had followed his train of thought. He held them responsible for her condition – and impending death.

"Vicky, don't say a word, that's okay," Mercer said gently. His daughter was dying and he could not but repress his emotion. His eyes welled up with tears. Elwood tugged his brother by the sleeve, gesturing him to go out and leave father and daughter alone. They left the room silently.

Vicky told the truth about her real relationship with Jake and Elwood. Yes, a Blues brother was indeed her child's father but she could not tell which one.

Burton Mercer promised Vicky he would not anything against Jake and Elwood. Whether he intended to keep his promise was something else, but he wanted her to leave in peace first. Then they noticed that the brothers had left the room so that they could chat quietly. After goodbyes, Vicky asked for her brothers again. Mercer went out and called Jake and Elwood who had been waiting in the corridor.

The end was at hand. The three men knew it. Jake and Elwood came to each side of the bed, holding hands with Vicky, while Mercer was looking at her from the other end of the bed. Vicky had a smile for each one of them. "I love you… I love you… I love you…" she said. On these last words, she expired.

Mercer put a hand on his eyes. His daughter had just died. Jake sighed deeply. Elwood remained silent but tears were rolling down his cheeks. He felt as if half of him had been ripped away from him. My better half.

Vicky was buried at the Mercer plot a few days later. Jake and Elwood were devastated. They loved Vicky like they had never loved any woman before. Mercer was close to despair too. He had lost his only daughter. He was angry after the two brothers too. He even thought her death was the punishment for a guilty, unnatural relationship. But only his daughter had paid the high price.

But Elwood was the most affected of the three. Not only he had lost his lover, but he had lost his twin sister. Somewhere, he agreed with Mercer. He should not have loved her the way he had. That was not decent. This incest was now punished. He could hear the Penguin in his mind but she had only one voice – his own. It had nothing to do with some religious upbringing and he could not blame the nun for this.

Jake was worried for his younger sibling. He felt very sad too because he had truly loved Vicky. But he felt like a beacon for his brother in this darkness. He knew he had to support him. But who's gonna support me ?

They came back home. The night had fallen – but it was as if a dark night had fallen on them forever. The blues filled their hearts so much. Elwood picked up his harp and he began to play something of his composition coming straight out of his heart. Jake was listening to him, tears rolling down his cheeks. He was a tough lot but he resented Vicky's loss. He had truly loved her, she was unique, no other woman could ever have the same place in his heart.

The brothers fell asleep together in the couch. Once again, they were on their own. Still together but this time, for the first time in their life, there was a big void between them. They also felt guilty because somewhere, somehow, they were equally responsible for that pregnancy, a pregnancy that had ended up badly. Jake and Elwood were aware that they needed to be together more than ever, that only the strong bond they shared together would make up for Vicky's loss. Their bond and the fond memories of Vicky and the wonderful moments they had had together.

They only wondered when they would get over all this. Because for the first time in their life, they had known what happiness really was.

THE END

About Genetic Sexual Attraction :

en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Genetic sexual attraction

www . guardian . co .uk / weekend / story / 0,3605,956454,00 . html