"Would you two stop making out already? You're making me sick," Zeke whined when he went searching for Cassie and Jake and found them in the stacks up to their usual shenanigans.
"Did you need something Jones?" Jake asked without moving from his place on the love seat.
"Yeah, Baird says we have a case that is going to take all of us. She wants to brief everyone in ten minutes."
"Ok, we will be right down," Cassie said, but she giggled as Jake's hot breath tickled her neck. Zeke walked away making gagging sounds.
"God, seriously. you too, I'm going to get a fire hose!" Baird threatened from downstairs.
"Snitch!" Jake said, glaring at Zeke as they walked down the stairs.
The younger man just smirked.
"Get along, children," Flynn clucked as he swept in from the main library. "We have an exciting adventure today and everyone needs to be on their A game."
"What is it? Ogres? Mummies? Big foot?" Cassie asked excitedly.
"No, sadly, none of those. Today our quest is for a belt," Flynn announced. Everyone stared at him as if he was crazy.
"A belt?" Jake asked the question everyone was thinking.
"Not just any belt. Thor's belt, Megingjord," Flynn explained.
"Thor, as in Thor hammer?" Eve asked, though she wasn't particularly shocked anymore. At this point, Flynn could tell them they were hunting were-rabbits, and she would simply go find a bow.
"Yes, that Thor. There has been a rash of violence in Philadelphia, and indications show that the belt may be the cause," Flynn continued.
"It gives the wearer extra human strength, and increases levels of testosterone and adrenaline. It would very dangerous in the wrong hands," Jake added.
"Let's get a move on then," Cassie said, moving toward the door.
"Maybe you should sit this one out, darlin'," Jake replied quietly.
"Jake, I am seven and a half months pregnant. I haven't had a single problem so far. I want to go out with you guys. I can help," she declared, but then he gave her that worried look, and she softened a bit. "I promise I will be extra careful."
"Fine, but you have to tell us if you are feeling even the slightest bit tired," Jake finally agreed. She grinned her little 'I win' grin.
They team had split into groups, Eve, Flynn and Jake were investigating the gym that seemed to be the source of the violent outbursts. Meanwhile, Jones and Cassie were sent to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Museum was hosting an exhibit of Viking artifacts and the team agreed that it was likely the belt had been stolen from it.
Cassie was staring at Mont Sainte-Victoire by Cézanne, wishing that Jake was there to see it, when she heard a familiar voice.
"Cassandra?" her mother called out in shock.
"Hello, Mom, Dad, good to see you," she said calmly.
"Cassandra, what are you doing here? We thought you were living in Boston," her father asked.
"I'm on vacation. I was just…"
"Is it safe for you to be… wandering around like this? What if you have an episode?" her mother interrupted. Before Cassie could say anything, her mother noticed the elephant in the room. "Cassandra Cillian, are you pregnant?" she asked in abject horror.
"Cass, I found the curator," Ezekiel called, coming from the opposite direction. "I explained about the exhibit we are hoping they will host, so he agreed to talk to us."
"Who is this, Cassandra? Is he the father? What is he talking about?" her father asked, glaring at Zeke.
For her part, Cassie just looked from one person to the next, until the stress got to her and she slipped into a hallucination. Ezekiel's reaction was immediate. He had his arms around her in a matter of seconds and was already dialing Jake's number.
"We have a situation. Everything is fine, but you need to get to the museum," Zeke said into the phone, before hanging up to focus on Cassie.
"Honesty, Cassandra, the dramatics are unnecessary," her father muttered with disgust.
"Oi, I don't know who you are buddy, but you might want to back the hell off. My friend is sick and she doesn't need an audience," Zeke glared right back at the well dressed couple.
"I am Cassandra's father and I demand you treat me with respect, boy," the man sniffed indignantly.
"Then maybe start acting like you deserve it ya miserable old coot."
"Do we have a problem here?" the security guard asked, noticing the commotion.
"Yes, we have a problem. This hooligan is distressing my wife," Mr. Cillian announced much louder than necessary.
"Oh, I haven't even begun to distress you. If I wasn't worried about your daughter, I would take you outside right now and show you how we deal with deadbeats in my neck of the woods," Ezekiel threatened.
"Sir, I am going to have to ask you to…"
"Do we have a problem here?" Colonel Baird asked, interrupting the security guard.
"Um… there seems to be a bit of a dispute," the man said, stuttering slightly under Baird's intense glare.
"I'll take it from here," she announced in curt dismissal. The guard nodded and stepped away, for no other reason than Colonel Baird scared the hell out of him. While Baird was dealing with the security guard, Jake had manage to pull Cassie out of her head.
"Now what's got ya all twisted up, darlin'?" he asked when her eyes cleared.
"Umm, my parents… these are my parents," she said slowly. "Mother, Father, let me introduce you to my friends Ezekiel Jones and Colonel Eve Baird and this is Jacob Stone, my…"
"The man who knocked you up and signed your death certificate?" her father offered. The whole team stared in shock. Cassie tightened her grip on her boyfriend's arms as she felt his muscles tensing.
"He is the father of my baby and my boyfriend," she answered a little defiantly. "Now, it's been great catching up, but we have things to do. So… see you in another ten years?"
"Cass are you sure you don't want to sit down for a bit or go back home?" Jake asked, focusing all his energy on Cassie and not killing her father in front of her.
"I'm fine, babe. I'm sure," she grinned at him.
"We had such high hopes for you," her mother said wistfully. "What a waste…"
If there was one thing that Cassandra was tired of, it was other people telling her how to live her life. Rage she hadn't felt since the apple of discord, welled up in her and turned on her parents with fire in her eyes.
"You know what, MOM? I don't giving a f*** what your hopes were. I have a good life. A great life. It started getting better the day I left home, but it got great when I met people who love me unconditionally. Jake is a good man and these people are my family and if you have a problem with that I don't care. These people that you look down on have seen the worst in me and they still love me, they are still there for me every day, which is more than I can say for you. Now, I have a job to do. Be gone when we get back and make sure I never run into you again," she warned before turning to Zeke. "Let's go find the curator."
Not knowing what else to do, everyone took her lead. Ezekiel led the team to the curator's office. The rest of the day, no one brought up her parents. They went about their work, retrieved the belt and set right all the problems it had caused.
It wasn't until she was laying in bed almost asleep that Jake felt like he could bring it up.
"Do you really think you will never see them again?" he asked carefully.
"Jake, my parents weren't parents. They were scientists and I was their biggest failed experiment. I hadn't seen them since I left home. Seeing them today just reminded me of all the reasons I left," she sighed sadly.
"But forever is a long time," he replied. Even though he still wanted to kill her parents for treating her like that, he still knew they were her parents.
"Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what," she said.
"Well, then thank you for being my family Cassie. I don't know how I got so lucky, but I am damn grateful."
"You got so lucky, because when I was falling, you caught me. I am not the girl they wanted me to be, but you don't ask me to be who I'm not. You love me for who I am," she smiled.