Title: Someone To Depend On

Author: Alexz Recoro

Summary: Kay's uncle, aunt and cousins descend on Harmony to visit Kay and Maria for Christmas, bringing along a friend of Kay's from Texas. He's an old friend, but he and Kay seem drawn each other in an entirely new way. But when tragedy strikes and a distraught Miguel turns to Kay, what will become of her new relationship?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, except

Feedback: Please read and review. NO FLAMES!

CHAPTER ONE

Kay was just finishing making dinner when the doorbell rang. Wiping her hands quickly and checking on ten month old Maria, who was sleeping soundly in her playpen, she hurried to the door. About three weeks ago, Kay and Maria had moved into their own small, two bedroom house in the middle of Harmony. Kay was just glad to have her own place, away from Grace. Her dad and Miguel were supposed to come over for dinner, so that was probably her dad at the door. Miguel wouldn't be coming. He had called and cancelled again. Kay was so angry she was ready to march over there and throttle him. He hadn't spent time with Maria in over a month! And he hadn't spent the entire day with her since she was only six months old and learning to sit up by herself. Their baby was growing up so fast, and Miguel wasn't around to see it! Kay shook her head to banish the bad thoughts, knowing her dad would let her vent later. But when she opened the door, it wasn't her dad, but it certainly looked like him. Kay felt her jaw drop, then she broke into a huge grin.

"Uncle CJ!" She screamed, throwing herself into her uncle's arms. Charles Bennett Jr. laughed as his niece threw herself into his arms, hugging her tightly and spinning her around. When he set her down, she instantly pounced on the beautiful black-haired woman who was behind him. "Aunt Mika!"

"Hello sweetheart!" Mika said, hugging Kay tightly. They broke the huge when CJ and Mika's children, Kay's cousin's came running up. The oldest, Charles Bennett III, also known as Trey, reached them first. Trey and his sibling Peyton, or 'Pey', and Christian, better known as 'Chris', were triplets and only ten months younger than Kay. Their younger sister Kairi, dubbed 'Kai' by Kay, trailed behind them.

"Trey! Pey! Chris!" Kay squealed, throwing herself at the triplets. The triplets surrounded Kay ina huge group hug. Anyone who didn't know them might have thought the four were quadruplets, they looked that alike. Kay was so excited to see her cousins, she couldn't stop grinning.

"So, how are things Kay?" Trey asked, throwing an arm around her shoulders. A sudden wail from the house interrupted Kay before she could answer.

"I got it." CJ yelled, entering the house. He could be heard cooing over Maria, who giggled at the funny man. CJ reappeared outside, holding Maria who reached for her mommy. Kay took her with a smile.

"Oh my god, is that Maria?" Pey asked, reaching out and stroking Maria's soft head. Maria buried her face in her mother's neck and Kay laughed.

"Sorry Pey. Maria's a little shy."

"Completely understandable." A new voice teased from behind Kay. Kay's heart stopped, then sped up as she turned completely around, hoping against hope that it was who she thought it was.

It was.

A handsome guy stood behind her, dressed warmly in faded jeans, a blue hooded, zipped up sweatshirt and a black leather jacket, with a huge grin on his face. He had darkly tanned skin, spiky black hair, and strange eyes that had always captivated Kay. His left was gold with large dark green flakes while his right was dark green with large gold flakes. His eyes were wide and almond shaped, which made them seem to almost jump out of his face. He grinned his lopsided grin at Kay, and held out his arms. Kay didn't resist the impulse. She practically jumped into his arms, making sure that she didn't squish Maria between them.

"Hermes!" She squealed, hugging him tightly. Indiana 'Hermes' Brant had been born in Indiana, before moving to Greece with his parents, who worked at the US Consulate, when he was just a baby. He had grown up going to school in Greece, where his skills and obvious talent at track had lead his teammates to nickname him 'Hermes', a nickname that had stuck due to his playful and prankster nature. He had finally moved back to the United States, to Texas in fact, in high school, where he meet Trey, Chris and Pey and quickly became friends with them, and through them, Kay. Despite being raised in Greece, his parents had been from Texas, so Hermes spoke with a Texas accent, as well as speaking Greek and several other languages fluently. He was one of Kay's best friends, and the last person she had expected to see. But as she snuggled into his arms, she realized that he was exactly what she needed right now.

Maria squeaked slightly in protest as her mother and Hermes pressed closer together. Hermes and Kay both laughed, then Hermes threw his arm around Kay's shoulders and steered her back toward the house.

"Come on darlin'. Let's get you and the little one out of the cold."

"What ever you say Cowboy." Kay teased, using her own personal nickname for him. Hermes grinned at her again and everyone crowded into the house. Kay put a squirming Maria down on the floor where she could toddle around and examine everyone to her hearts content. As soon as she did, little seven year old Kai threw herself into Kay's arms. Kay laughed and hugged her little cousin tightly. Kay and Kai were very close. Kai had been born on Kay's eleventh birthday, and birthday that Kay had spent in Texas with CJ, Mika and the triplets. It was she who had named Kairi, and even come up with the nickname Kai.

"How your dad?" CJ asked, as Kay moved Kai to her hip and moved toward the kitchen.

"He's been great, every since he and Grace spilt up and he got back together with Ivy." Kay said with a grin.

"Grace is gone?" Asked Mika, a huge grin on her face.

"Ivy's back?" CJ asked at the same time, a matching grin on his face. Kay laughed at her aunt and uncle. Her Uncle CJ was her fathers twin brother, older by ten minutes. He and Sam had had a falling out when Sam married Grace, because CJ refused to be his twin's best man. CJ had never trusted Grace, and had never liked her. He was also deeply disappointed that Sam and Ivy had split up. He had liked Ivy, and got along great with her. And Mika had never liked Grace either, and had in fact had a fight with her shortly before Kay's eighth birthday, which caused Mika to storm from the house cursing Grace and refusing to ever return.

It had been because of her that the fight had happened. Her mother and Aunt Mika had been in the back parlor, where Kay wasn't allowed except for special occasions because it was Grace's room, the one room in the house that she had designed and decorated herself. Kay had hated the parlor all her life, much preferring sitting in the kitchen with her dad, or even going down to the station with him when she was very tiny, and sitting in his desk chair, the black leather one that dwarfed her, and spinning around while her father laughed and showed her off to all his friends, 'This is Kay, my oldest daughter. Isn't she beautiful?'. But the parlor was where Kay was made to sit quietly and not fidget and not scratch or do anything that her mother might consider embarrassing.

Then when she was seven, about to turn eight, Kay had ridden her bike into the mailbox post while looking over her shoulder to yell something to the triplets. She cut her head, bloodied her nose, lacerated both knees and had actually greyed out for a few moments from the shock. When she came around her cousins had helped her stumble up the driveway to the house, weeping and horrified at the sight of so much blood coming out of herself and covering her cousins. She would have gone to her father, but her father was working, and while her second choice would have been her Uncle CJ, he was also out of the house, having run off to buy 'just one more present for my favorite niece'. So she had stumbled into the parlor where her mother was serving tea to Eve and a disgusted looking Mika.

"Get out!" Her mother had screamed, and the next moment was she was running to Kay and the triplets all of them covered in Kay's blood, embracing Kay, crying, "Oh Kay! Oh dear, what happened?! Oh your poor nose!" But she was leading Kay back to the kitchen, where the floor could be safely bled upon, even as she was comforting her, and Kay never forgot that Grace's first two words that day hadn't been 'Oh Kay!' but 'Get out!'. Her first concern had been the parlor, where blood was not allowed. Mika had never forgotten either, and through her tears Kay had seen a shocked, slapped expression cross her aunt's face, and later that day Mika had gotten into a screaming match with Grace over it, as CJ and Sam cuddled a still distraught Kay and triplets up in Kay's room. Kay had loved her Aunt even more for that day, and Mika had always been sure to be extra kind and loving to Kay, as if to make up in some way for the way Grace had treated her.

Kay shook her head to bring herself out of dark thoughts, and smiled at Kai. "Do you want a cookie Kai?"

"Yeah." Kai said, nodding and smiling. Kay smiled back and gave the young girl a cookie.

"Here you go." She said. The doorbell rang just then, and Kay set Kai down on the floor. "Why don't you go get that? I bet it's your Uncle Sam."

"Uncle Sam!" Kai yelled, running to the door as fast as her legs could carry her. She was intercepted halfway by CJ, who scooped up his youngest daughter. "DADDY!" Kai squealed, wiggling as her father tickled her. Kay watched with sadness in her eyes, knowing that Maria would never have that. As far as Maria was concerned, she didn't have a daddy. Miguel was practically a stranger to her.

Hermes came up into the kitchen just then and saw Kay's face. Without asking any questions, he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug. Kay closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest as the tears came. She wasn't crying over Miguel, or her rejected love. No, she had cried enough tears over that. Instead, she was crying for Maria, who had been rejected by her father, the one thing that should never happen to a child.

AN: What do you think? For those of you who are completely disgusted with me, I have not given up on any of my stories, I'm just. . . stuck right now. But I'll get chapters up as soon as I get ideas, I promise.