Keep it and the family together

Disclaimer: "Ringer" belongs to CW, the producers, writers, actors and all the people who make it happen. I don't want to infringe on their rights and I certainly make no profit out of this little story.

Author's note: I'm really working on my Hornblower fanfic (loved the books as child and still do and was absolutely thrilled when I learnt there were more now than the old Gregory Peck one), but I simply have to get this small fanfic out of my system after watching the last episode. Boy, was I angry with Andrew Martin. He reminds me in so much ways of a former boss of mine, it's scary. Self-made man, running a multi-national company with a partner which they had built up from scratch, very charming when he wanted to be, but really the nastiest S.O.B. I've ever had the misfortune to know, let alone to work for. Well, at least Mr. Martin is way better looking than my ex-boss ever was. Yet, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and to learn the other face of Mr. Park Avenue.

And one last thing, if you don't already have guessed, I'm not a native speaker. So be kind when it comes to grammatical and general linguistic mistakes. I tried my very best to do without a beta.

It was the morning after... . Bridget still couldn't comprehend what she and an ecstatic Andrew had seen on screen last night. Unconsciously she put her hand over her belly. She knew she wasn't pregnant. She couldn't be! Malcolm had been the last man she had been intimate with. And that had been nine months ago! So why had they seen a fetus on screen last night? What the devil was going on? They must have watched a video film; there was no other explanation for it.

But if it had been a video film…. Bridget felt shivers going down her spine. If it really had been a video film, then things were bad. Really bad. So bad that Bodaway Macawi was small fry.

Who had such kind of power and was prepared to go to such length to make sure that the illusion that she was Siobhan remained intact? And why? Why? Why? Why? Who had removed the body from the penthouse? Who had got Gemma? Was that the motive – her threat to expose Siobhan Martin as Bridget Kelly? The cell phone. Who could block their number – the government agencies and the high ranking mobsters. What had the voice said? She didn't know who she was going up against? Back then she had been rather flippant, but now that she had truly witnessed their power? What had she got herself into? Had she jumped out of the fire straight into the frying pan? Was Andrew in on it? Or was he as much an innocent puppet as she apparently was? Who was the puppet master then? … It was more obvious than ever that Siobhan had got involved into something so bad she had chosen death on her own terms over it. Who had wanted Siobhan dead in the first place and now did everything to keep her "alive"? Why? Was there a third party involved?

Bridget thought long and hard. It looked quite simple. As long as she did everything to pose as her sister, she seemed to be fine and in a way well-protected. That meant: keep Andrew happy and ignorant, clean up the mess her sister had left behind and put Juliet back on track. Keep the police and Machado at bay. She could never ever reveal again who she really was. But what if that weren't the real rules to the game? Then what was the real game here? Powerless for now, she decided to stick to the rules that seemed to work so far and try to learn who pulled their strings.

But nevertheless she could feel that time was running out on her. In a couple of weeks latest the cat would be out of the bag for sure, when she didn't start showing. And now that Andrew and "Siobhan" had reconciled at least for the moment, he naturally would expect sex. And if it hadn't been for that blessed phone call…. She had felt it in his grip when he had pulled her closer. He had wanted her, badly. But she had vowed to herself, she would never have sex again, if she wasn't in love with the guy and most important he with her. She owed it to herself and her regained self-respect. Never again someone would be able to call her a whore. And she was afraid she was already half-way there with Andrew, which made her feel so guilty because it somehow cheapened and besmirched her sister's memory. Besides he only wanted Siobhan. And what he thought of Bridget, he had made perfectly clear two nights ago. "An addict, a prostitute." His voice full of disgust and barely suppressed rage echoed in the back of her mind. No, Andrew was definitely not an ally in this matter. He saw her only as a threat to him and his family. He would never give her the benefit of doubt or understand her. He was the kind of person to judge quickly and to understand slowly, if at all. And most of all with little to zero tolerance for mistakes and expectations so high they were almost impossible to fulfil for the people around him. A quality that had made him who he was - Andrew Martin of Martin/Charles. The man who had built up with his partner Olivia Charles a world-wide operating financial empire from scratch with a starting capital of a borrowed half million dollars, a great vision and even greater ambition within just ten years. Success was a given for him. This was his greatest strength. And yet also his greatest weakness.

Suddenly the thought of having his hands all over her, eyes full of love and desire for her dead sister made her ill and feel as dirty as she had felt in her old days. Alone the thought of continuing having breakfast at Andrew's table…. She almost bolted from the table, but managed eventually to fight the nausea down.

A hysterical thought popped up in her mind – maybe she was pregnant after all. Wasn't she Siobhan? If she was Siobhan, she was pregnant. And she just experienced her first bout of morning sickness. Maybe she had woken up one morning during her time with the FBI witness protection program with no recollection of what they had done to her. And maybe they had even used Andrew's little swimmers to make the deception perfect. And maybe they had manipulated her into bolting to Siobhan by showing her constantly the press coverage of Bodaway's trial. And maybe she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. God, she would give almost everything for a drink and a line now. Anything to relieve the stress and make her forget for just a little while. Malcolm…. She wanted Malcolm. She wanted to curl up in his arms and let him soothe her and put things into perspective again. But neither Malcolm or nor Charlie for that matter were there right now. She had to somehow keep it and this family together to buy some time for herself and all the people who mattered to her– Malcolm, Andrew, Juliet, Gemma (if she was still alive) and even Henry. She had to stay strong for them. They relied on her. They needed her. And that meant right now to fix the fall-out of Juliet's little accident last night.

Her gaze fell onto his daughter, who picked sullenly at her breakfast. She ached for the lost teenage girl. Forever craving the attention of her father and only getting it by screwing up.

"Juliet..."

The girl didn't even looked up. A quick glance to the side at the heavily frowning Andrew told her the rest of the ugly story. There had already been another fight between father and daughter before breakfast.

"Juliet... Last night your father told me his side of the story. Would you care to tell me your side?"

"Why? You'll only pick his side."

"You don't know that."

"Siobhan, there's no need. It's perfectly clear what happened."

Bridget ignored him and kept her focus on the girl. And finally she got through to her.

"When I asked dad, Monica and I... we really wanted to stay in Stanford. As I told you. But then... another friend of hers called and gushed about this big party and Monica absolutely wanted to go. And her parents were called away. And Monica saw it as an opportunity to slip out for the first time in months! When we got there... I only had two beers. I told you! But Monica... someone always put a drink into her hands and she lost control and got trashed. I wanted to take her to our place by cab and have your chauffeur drive her back to Connecticut. But she yammered on about her parents' car and that they were gonna kill her if they found out she'd snug out with me. She was terrified, dad! I only wanted to help! I thought I could handle it."

"Well, it's obvious you couldn't and your lack of judgement got you and Monica almost killed. Why didn't you think things through? The chauffeur could have brought back the car afterwards. Or you could have called the car service to send a driver to take you and the car back to Stanford." Andrew butted it.

Juliet's gaze torched her father. And Bridget sighed. So much like home. Too much like home. How many times had she acted on the spur of a moment without giving a thought about consequences? And how many times had the more sensible, reliable Siobhan to clean up her mess afterwards? And how many times had she heard from her weary mother and angry father why she couldn't be a bit more like Siobhan. And how many times the familiar tune had made her so angry and frustrated that she had got up from the table and gone out and messed up some more? Just to spite them? And then it wasn't about spite anymore and all about having a good time in her crappy, spiralling downward life. And in the end it had been all about staying alive for just one more day.

"Juliet, would you please leave us alone for a moment?" This was serious. Juliet was on the brink and her father refused to see what was in front of him. He was the prime example for the saying that people only saw what they wanted see. And once more she wondered how a man who was so spot on in business was so blind when it came to the women in his life. Indeed, a raging bull singin' in the rain.

"Siobh..." Andrew frowned now heavily at his wife. Why couldn't they be happy more than a few moments at a time? Hadn't they agreed he would handle Juliet's problem? Why couldn't she leave it alone? Was her guilt-complex at work because she had failed to help her sister years ago? Last night... last night had been a roller-coaster for him. The entire day had been a roller-coaster for him starting with their visit at the precinct, when he was still mad at Siobhan for not telling him sooner about her sister. He hated it, when he was not in the loop. It made him feel vulnerable, not in control and off-balance. In fact, since he had returned from London it was one thing after another. He felt his world spinning out of his control. Siobhan went behind his back, Juliet didn't care about what he wanted and Olivia had no qualms to go against his wishes.

Juliet stared at her father and Siobhan. She didn't understand this woman at all anymore. She couldn't help but feeling that this new Siobhan was on her side - for once. Was this some weird side effect of her pregnancy? If yes, hell, her dad should've knocked her up years ago! Although, if she thought about them still doing it – disgusting! She watched them staring at each other, preparing for battle, each trying to force their will upon the other. Finally something familiar in this sudden twilight zone version of her life. Quietly she slipped out of her chair and left the room. But she didn't go very far. She needed to know what happened next. Would Siobhan take up her colours or reinforce her father's disappointment in his failure of a daughter?

"What, Siobhan?"

"Is this really necessary? Cutting her off like that? You heard her, she didn't mean..."

"Yes, she did. And it is necessary. We had an understanding, Siobhan. I let her visit Monica under the assumption they would stay in Stanford. She promised she wouldn't do anything wrong. And she turned her back on us and did anyway. She broke her promise with almost fatal consequences. She needs to be put in line. And I just see no other option anymore."

"Yes, she broke her promise. Yes, she could have gotten herself and Monica killed. But Andrew, she did mean well. Don't you see that? She tried to help a friend in need. Don't that count for nothing? "

"If they had stayed put, there wouldn't have been any need for helping in the first place."

"Have you never screwed up in your entire life, Andrew? Never made a mistake? Never thought you did the right thing and it turned out to be the worst way to handle things?"

Taken aback Andrew looked down at his empty plate. Certainly he had messed up in his life. Just now he had a business deal running he desperately wished he hadn't negotiated. And despite all he did and tried, he couldn't get out. Dear God, up to now he had only dodged the letter of the law, all in the trade did. Honestly, how else they got return rates over 10% to keep their investors on board and moderately happy? But now, this deal Olivia had talked him into, this was way past a slap on the fingers and a fine, if he ever was found out. "This deal catapults us directly up into the Top 10, Andrew. This is a once in a life-time opportunity. It would be a folly not to seize it. …Nothing can go wrong.…Trust me…." And he had. Olivia may be a class-A bitch, but she knew what she was doing.

Now he regretted it more than anything in his life. Back then, he had been in a dark place. He hadn't cared about consequences, had even been thrilled to put everything he had on the line in a mad gamble, because it had infused him with life again and kept the numbness and indifference at bay and his thoughts off his failing marriage to Siobhan. But now, he had so much going for him again. Last night, he and Siobhan had reconciled for good. They both wanted their marriage to work. Despite all the silly games they had played with each other that had got nastier every time, slowly and almost unnoticed by them, they still loved each other. He was going to be a father for the second time. Even the mess with Juliet was tolerable because he had his little girl around, though she drove him around the bent with worry.

And this was why he was mad as hell. The mess Siobhan had dragged them into, unwittingly, was an unmitigated disaster. And Gemma's untimely disappearance jeopardized everything! Right now the very last thing he needed was to be involved in a police investigation. And to top it, the FBI poked around as well. If they decided to dig a bit deeper and branch out into Martin/Charles…. he'd face ten years of prison. And he and his family would loose everything and what would become of them then? What if the man Bridget was supposed to testify against came here? Siobhan often appeared in the society pages. In fact only last night several camera teams and press photographers had extensively gathered material for publishing news on the well-known novelist Henry Butler and the mysterious disappearance of his wife.

He realized there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep his family together and safe. He needed a gun. He needed to hire a bodyguard service for his wife and his daughter. He couldn't let them out alone on their own anymore. Especially Siobhan. What if the killer mistook her for her sister? He had the unwelcome feeling, if he was confronted with both sisters dressed up just the same, even he would be hard pressed to tell them apart. He would need to call his lawyer. Could he set up a trust fund for his unborn child? He needed to make sure that Siobhan, Juliet and the little one would be well provided for, if the deal bust. Damn that Bridget Kelly to hell! She had put them all in so much danger! He could fully understand why Siobhan had never mentioned her to him. The further they stayed away from her, pretending she didn't exist, the better for all of them.

Andrew Martin sent a quick prayer to whoever was on duty this moment. Just three more weeks. They had to make it through three more weeks. And Martin/Charles would be okay. And he vowed to himself he would never ever let himself get involved in such a high-risk deal again. Being among the Top 10 players meant nothing in comparison to an intact family life. They were in good health. They had true friends like Gemma and Henry. They lived at Park Avenue, had among several houses an unfinished penthouse for Siobhan to play with and keep her busy and content, a boat and more money than a small Third-World country dictator. They had it all, to ask for more was asking for too much.

"I thought we had come to an understanding last night" interrupted Siobhan his musings.

"What's got last night to do with Juliet?"

"Last night you forgave me for my error of judgement by not telling you about Bridget for which I have little excuse but selfishness and trying to make a fresh start with you back then. And now you don't want to forgive your daughter, when she has the better excuse for messing up?"

Andrew wavered, it was all over his face. Since last night, it seemed another mask had dropped and more and more of the true man showed. A vulnerable man. So fragile in his strength she realised with a start and waited for his internal struggle to come to an end. It was all about letting go of some of his tight fisted control, which scared him as much as it apparently scared Siobhan to tell the whole truth, when she expected his disapproval. Which told him a lot about the state of his marriage despite their reconciliation. They still had a long way to go.

"Siobh, what shall I do? How can I not... I see her spiral out of control and there seems nothing I can do to stop it. I need to save her. I love her so much despite all and it hurts so much...Why does she keep doing it?"

"She's a vulnerable 15 year old teenage girl. She's lost. Please try to put yourself in her shoes for a moment and look at her life. Catherine's not a very good mother. She shouldn't have told Juliet about us. What happened between us should've stayed between us. At least until she'd be old enough to understand that people fall out of love and a bit more about life's many shades of grey. But what's important here is that she witnessed the end of her parents' marriage. There's another woman in her father's life. And she ends up in boarding school far away from her home. I'm the intruder who destroyed her life as she had known it and her security. And I failed to see how much it hurt her. Again I was selfish. I wanted to have you all to myself and not a little girl running underfoot. At least for the little time we had together before you rushed back to your figures... I'm so ashamed of my behaviour, Andrew. I think I truly was the evil fairy tale stepmother."

Andrew opened his mouth, and Bridget knew he would defend her against Juliet, as he always did.

"It's not about me. It's about Juliet. We all failed her, Andrew. In one way or the other. Catherine's too bitter, you're never around and I... From the time we sent her off to boarding school the only support net she had are her peers, which are as lost as she is. It's no wonder she broke her promise to you. At this point of time, she'll choose her friends over us every time. Because as unstable as they are ... they're there for her in ways we are not. And I'm afraid as long as we don't prove her that she can count on us, unconditionally, she will continue as she does and keep looking for another parenting figure. Just be glad it's Mr. Carpenter for now who seems to be a good man, and not some creep with designs on her."

Andrew got up the table and went over to the window, stared out of it for a long time. Time... time was off the essence here. There was never enough time in a day. He slumped a bit.

"I hear you, Siobh, but what am I supposed to do? ... I can't stop working these long hours. There's too much at stake right now. The company needs me. You need me. She needs me. The baby...I can do only so much" he whispered more to himself than to his wife.

Feeling her heart break for this man a bit more, she stood up and went to him. Carefully she laid her front against his back and reached around him to lay her hands over his, which he had protectively folded against his chest. Only when she was barefoot, she realised how much taller he was. Sometimes taller than life, it seemed.

"You're not alone, Andrew" she whispered. "I'm here. Let me help you."

And slowly the man her arms turned and tried to curl himself around the diminutive woman.

"Please, Siob. I need you."

"Shh, I'm here. " For a moment she was tempted to say "love", but she didn't know how Siobhan had called her husband during tender moments. So she contented herself by repeating her words. "I'm here for you. I'm NOT going anywhere. We'll make it together." This was as much a promise to Andrew as to herself. She owed it Siobhan. To do just once in her life the right thing.

Stunned Juliet stood in the doorframe and watched. And really realised something for the first time in her life. Her dad, the successful, terrifying, god-like Andrew Martin, was only a man. A man who had too many burdens to carry on his shoulders. And maybe too many things to regret. He was far from being perfect and not taller than life. He was as fallible as she was. And he loved her. Maybe he didn't say it often. And maybe she didn't give him reason to say it often. But she loved him as well. And she realised he needed her to be there for him as much as she needed him to be there for her. And Siobhan...maybe this mess with Gemma, her sister and a baby on the way... maybe she should give that woman a chance after all to make it up to her. Maybe it brought out the female in her.

"Dad?" she called out, tentatively and insecure. Would he frown at her and push her away again? No, he looked up and held a hand out for her to take. And Juliet took the steps and his outstretched hand and let herself be pulled against his chest, next to her stepmother, who smiled at her like she never had before. Shyly she returned it with one of her own.

Maybe they would make it – together, as a family.

So, it's out and I feel loads better. Now I can travel back to another universe long gone by and take care of Mariah, poor thing. It's her wedding day and she's the unhappiest bride ever. No wonder, upright Horatio isn't behaving like a gentleman. How absolutely shocking! :-P