Castle loft, 7:30 a.m.

SoHo, Manhattan

Kate's Point of View

There is never a quiet moment in the Castle loft unless the kids are all sleeping, or we're all out doing a family activity. Every day, somebody is doing something different or needs help with a project of some sort, and that's usually what generates all the chaos.

Now that Alexis doesn't have school, she spends a lot of time with Tobias and Ashley, but she also keeps in shape by practicing her fencing skills and has actually lost all of the extra weight that she put on during her pregnancy. She hasn't stopped playing the violin, and all of the kids just love when she plays. (It's actually a little frightening when she plays because no matter where LJ and the boys are, they will come flocking to hear her like she's the Pied Piper) LJ loves kindergarten and doesn't mind wearing a uniform because she goes to the same school as her friends, with the exception of Gabriella, who is being homeschooled by Jessica. Every single day, LJ is always enthusiastic about school and looks forward to seeing her friends, and is extra thrilled that Ezekiel is in her class and that Raja's classroom is just around the corner from theirs. We were all surprised to see that LJ has been bitten by the music bug and that she's decided to learn how to play the piano. (This pleases Martha to no end because other than being a seasoned actress, my mother-in-law is a talented piano player. Even though I play the guitar and not the piano, LJ's interest in the piano makes me happy, too, because my mom had played the piano very well and my dad has been playing since he was a small boy) Tobias and Jameson are practically joined at the hip these days and they don't like being away from each other for too long. The boys are aware that they have different mothers, but other than that, they treat each other like brothers and behave like twins. (Sometimes Alexis goes out into public with them just because they like being together so much. The best part about it is that Alexis doesn't mind having both boys with her at all. However, my oldest child will always deflect mine, Castle's and Martha's teasing comments about how she's practicing for what her life will be like if/when she has another baby. It annoys her slightly that Ashley encourages us when we joke about it) Last but not least are Duckling and Joey. They're still growing inside me, and I haven't felt any real kicks yet, but I can feel them squirming around feverishly whenever they're around the kids, like they're eager to be part of all the action. (And to think that Castle and I still want one more after these two…) God help us when Duckling and Joey are born and someone—most likely LJ—teaches them how to get into trouble. Yes, I'm still hoping that one of the babies is girl, but I'm also hoping that this time around that both or at least one of the twins will be interested in baseball. I'm not letting go of that hope just yet…

All in all, my house has a tendency to be noisy almost 24/7. Castle was a bit surprised that at three months pregnant, I can tolerate all the noise that comes with having four very noisy kids under one roof. I told him that it's all part of being a mother and that he shouldn't question it. He doesn't.

And that's why, when I got up this morning and went downstairs to greet my family after getting ready for the day, I wasn't at all surprised to see that everyone was already awake and eating breakfast (or in the boys' cases, trying to feed themselves) and chatting merrily with each other about the strangest things, even though it wasn't even eight in the morning yet. I wasn't even fazed when I saw that Martha had dropped by for a visit and that she was over at the counter making one of her crazy recipes, and had all sorts of ingredients out on the counter. Intrigued by what appeared to be a basket of grass and the sight of the blender, I kissed all of the kids and my husband good morning before going over to the counter to see what Martha was up to this time.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what you're doing with a basket of grass and a blender."

Martha chuckled as she detached the blender from its base and removed the lid. "These shakes are made of mostly grass, but there is also fruit in them, too."

"Where in the world did you learn about something like this?" I eyed the contents of the blender warily as Martha poured them into a nearby glass. "It's a bit out there, even for you."

She laughed again. "Chet and his kids, Boomer and Lottie, introduced these shakes to me, and they're actually quite tasty, Kate. Don't knock it until you've tried it."

Knowing that she wouldn't leave me alone until I at least had a sip, I tried to be a little less wary. "You said there's fruit in there?"

"Yes." Martha confirmed. "Are you allergic to oranges?"

"No…"

"Good." She slid the glass towards me. "Have a taste."

I did as I was told and took a sip, and was pleasantly surprised when the shake didn't taste as bad as I thought it was. It was thick, as was expected, but the sweet orangey aftertaste was what made it taste so good.

"Well?" Martha asked expectantly as I sat the glass down on the counter. "What do you think?"

"It's not bad." I told her. "I may have just found my new favorite pregnancy drink."

Her eyes twinkled happily. "What do Duckling and Joey think?"

Resting a hand on my belly, I smiled as I felt both babies fluttering around happily. "They seem to like it, and that's a good thing because I would like some more, please."

Martha gladly topped my glass off, and I was just about to take another sip when LJ wandered over, Jameson and Tobias flanking her, as per usual.

"What's that, mama?" She glanced at the glass before turning to me for an answer. "Is really made of grass?"

"Yeah." I offered her my glass. "Do you want a taste?"

"Okay." She giggled, reaching for it. "I can't wait to tell Zeke an' Mo about this, but I just wish that Justie's, Jubee's, Shinju's an' Nozomi's class didn't have the day off 'cause I want to tell them, too…"

LJ proceeded to take a sip, but she seemed to like it because she took a few more sips. I let her have my glass.

"That was really good!" She chirped before touching a hand to the bulge on my midsection. "Do my babies like it?"

LJ's unending affection made my heart go light. "Yes, they do, Baby Bird. They really like the orange taste."

"Good." She approved. "I think Jamie an' Toby like oranges, too…"

Predictably, the boys began tugging on LJ's skirt to get her attention because they were curious about what she had in her glass. Ever the generous one when it came to her brother and nephew, LJ helped them have a taste. They both liked it so much that they asked for more and were thrilled when Martha filled their cups with a little bit of the shake.

I watched in amusement as LJ turned towards Castle and Alexis who were both surveying had been surveying the scene the whole time, him with his nose wrinkled in disgust, her with lots of interest.

Castle sounded repulsed. "How can you all stand that stuff?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think that Duckling and Joey like it more than I do."

"But it's made of mostly grass!" he cried in bewilderment.

Jameson and Tobias both chose that moment to hand their now empty glasses to Martha as they made noises of approval. LJ giggled again and turned to her father.

"The grass is the bestest part, daddy!" her eyes were twinkling like Martha's had been earlier. "The orange taste is good, but the grass just makes it silly…"

Castle turned to Alexis, hopeful that she would have some sense and side with him about this.

No such luck.

"Can I have a taste, Lily?" Alexis asked her sister as she crossed over to where the rest of us were standing.

LJ nodded and offered her the rest of her glass. (Martha, meanwhile, wasn't trying very hard at all to conceal her glee about the trouble that she had created) Poor Castle was all by his lonesome, but still came to join the rest of us. When we were all done and the glasses were all on the counter, Tobias wanted Alexis to hold him.

"What is it, little buddy?" she asked her son sweetly. "Do you want something?"

He leaned down and rubbed her stomach for a second before straightening back up to look at his mother seriously.

"Baby!" he pointed to her. "Wan' baby!"

Alexis turned bright red at this but spoke patiently to her son. "I told you, Toby: mama isn't having any more babies for awhile."

Tobias looked so brokenhearted that he screwed his little face up, ready to cry. (For such a little guy, I thought it was very cute that he wanted a sibling so much) Before Tobias could cry, LJ rushed over and quickly plucked him from Alexis' arms, cooing sweetly to him in Spanglish, all while trying not to stumble backwards under the weight. When LJ's footing was even, she carried him over to where I was now leaning against the counter with Castle.

"It's okay, mijo." She said to him as she directed his attention to my very noticeable belly. "There's two babies in there!" My daughter tapped the bulge with a finger to make things as clear as possible for my grandson. "Dos bebés!"

Tobias clearly understood the latter part of his aunt's words, even though they were in Spanish because his face lit up with joy.

"Babies!" he squealed in delight, clapping his hands together in delight. "Babies!"

"That's right!" LJ praised, pride clear on her face as she gave Tobias a cuddle. "Very good!"

Surprisingly, he didn't pull away from her right away and let her cuddle with him for a minute. When Tobias reached his limit with LJ and was still being held by her, he turned around and leaned towards my belly. LJ understood what he wanted and hoisted the little boy higher. Tobias gave another delighted squeal and leaned forward to give my belly a hug.

My heart turned to mush and all I could do was rest a hand on the top of his little head as I leaned against Castle. I couldn't speak for a minute because my pregnancy hormones were making me a little loopy again. Castle wiped my tears away for me.

Tobias' affectionate gesture lasted for about a minute, but it was a minute that I would cherish dearly and remember to share with Tobias and the twins if they ever got into a fight when they were older. Someone—Alexis or Martha—had the foresight to take a picture because I heard a camera shutter click before I came back to my senses, remembering that LJ needed to be taken down to the bus stop.

Castle volunteered to take her down, and Tobias was immediately upset by this as LJ returned him to his mother. Jameson was upset, too. Neither of them like it when she leaves because they would rather that she stay home so she could play with them all day. LJ is well aware of this, but never fails to cheer them up with her charm, always promising that she'll be back later.

While Castle and LJ were gone, Jameson was a bit sulky, so Alexis rectified the situation by inviting him to a puppet show that she and Tobias were going to attend in Washington Square Park.

"Alexis," I addressed her as Jameson jabbered happily to himself in toddler-speak. Tobias left his mother's arms to join his best friend while Martha was still at the counter, cleaning up that mess that she had made. "That offer was very nice, but you didn't have to do it."

"I know that, mom, but I want to."

"Who's going to the Square with you?"

I knew the habits of Alexis and her friends to know that even though she isn't pregnant anymore, there's always at least one person with her so she's never alone in public for long.

"Ashley will be around in a little while to pick us up," she explained with a blush, most likely remembering Tobias' want for a sibling. "And I imagine that Jess and Bella will be with him because he has the biggest car, and the Esposito house would be on his way here."

"What about Calvin, Melissa and Kiyoshi?"

"Calvin is babysitting Justice and Jubilation today because they don't have school, but they're going to meet us there. He also said something about collecting Shinju and Nozomi because they also don't have school, and Amaya and your dad figured that the girls would probably like to spend the day with friends." She sighed with an air of disappointment as she spoke next. "Yoshi, unfortunately, has been knocked out of commission because he has the flu. He's upset that he can't be with us today or at my birthday party tomorrow…"

I spoke swiftly so she didn't have too much time to dwell. "So that's all of your friends—plus a few extras—but you didn't talk about Melissa."

"Missy has other business to attend to, but I don't know what it is. She said she'll meet up with us when she's done."

Her eyes darkened slightly as her thoughts began to wander, so I put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped slightly.

"Are you okay, Sunshine?" I asked in a moment of motherly concern. "You look a little out of it."

"I'm fine." She promised me. "I'm a little concerned about Missy and Jess because they seem to be out of it these days."

I would've liked to ask why, but Castle reentered the loft at that point with Ashley, Jessica, Gabriella and Shinju and Nozomi in tow. During the ensuing chaos and excitement generated by Jameson and Tobias because of the new arrivals, Alexis recruited Ashley to help her get the boys ready, saying that I needn't lift a finger because it was my day off, and I should enjoy as much of it as possible.

Fifteen minutes later

Once everybody was out the door, I realized that I was quite hungry. Castle gladly made me a huge breakfast with all of my favorites and we enjoyed a very pleasant and quiet breakfast together, something that doesn't happen too often anymore. (The only thing missing from breakfast was eggs because no matter how many times I eat them, the twins appear to be disgusted and won't let me keep them down) After breakfast, I stretched out lazily on the couch with my shirt pulled back to expose my baby bump to the morning sunlight streaming in through the big window. It felt good, especially since the twins were shifting around gracefully, so I knew that they had to be just as content as I felt.

Castle came over and sat down on the floor, leaning against the couch to look at me. "Well, look at you, all content in the sunlight like a cat."

"I'm not the only one who's content right now." I rested a hand on my belly. "Duckling and Joey feel the same way. I wish…"

My voice died, and I just sighed, giving my belly a gentle pat.

"Kate?" my husband asked with caution. "What is it?"

"I really wish that you could feel the babies moving around, is what."

His eyes flickered suddenly for a second, as if he was remembering a bad memory. "Is it all right if I touch your belly?"

"Of course." I laughed and sat up to make room for him on the couch. "You loved touching it when I was pregnant with Jameson, so why are you asking now, love?"

He joined me on the couch and pulled me close to him. "That was before I remembered that even when we found out that Alexis was on the way, Meredith never let me touch her belly once. She never told me why she wouldn't let me, but it was made clear pretty quickly that it was off limits." Pain filled his voice. "The first time I ever felt my baby girl move was when the nurse handed her to me in the delivery room."

"Oh, Richard, I'm sorry." My voice was filled with sorrow at his words as I kissed his hand before putting it on the spot where I could feel the twins moving. "I'm so sorry that she hurt you like that. It was wrong, and she shouldn't have mistreated you."

"Lots of what she did was wrong, Kate," He was now massaging soothing circles over the spot, and the babies appeared to be enjoying it immensely. "But I did everything I could to make sure that Alexis didn't turn out like her mom."

"Well, you did a great job with that because Alexis has a curious and adventurous mind like you do, she's nothing like the Deep-Fried Twinkie." The old nickname for his first ex-wife drew a chuckle from him, and it gave me some relief.

Seeing that Castle was now at ease, I kissed him on the lips passionately and bit my lip when I heard him moan slightly. "Meredith doesn't matter anymore because I'm here now, and I could never, ever hurt the kids. Ever."

He was at a complete loss for words, and became slightly sunned when I straddled him so my belly pressed against his abdomen. In that moment, as we sat together, I realized that all of the hurt and pain that Meredith had ever caused Castle was right on the surface. His expression was unreadable, but I was knew that he was feeling all sorts of things that he couldn't properly express because there was so much going on in his head. In response the quiet, I just rested my head against his chest and moved a little closer to him, breath hitching when he tightened his hold on me.

"Don't speak, Richard." I whispered to him. "Just breathe, love. She's been gone for a year, and she'd have to go through me before she touched you or any of our babies."

Following my instructions, he didn't say a single word, but just focused on breathing while rubbing my back gently. Neither of us uttered a word, but I knew that he was thanking me.

I didn't mean to, I drifted off to sleep. My nap was brief because when I woke up to a solid kick coming from inside me and registered that my husband was grinning at me like a small boy at Christmastime, it didn't feel like too much time had passed at all.

"Kate," Castle said breathlessly as I sat up, still straddling him. "I felt that, too!"

My eyes widened. "You did?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes."

"That was the first time that I felt either of them kick like that!"

Castle was still breathless as he pulled back my shirt to expose my belly again. "And they're still kicking right now!"

I looked down at the bulge that was sheltering the babies as they grew, moved and now kicked inside me, and saw that both of Castle's hands were now tracking the movements of our children. As soon as I put my own hand down to do the same, I felt a sharp jab from what felt like an elbow.

"Hey!" I complained to the spot. "Cut that out, Joey! Mama doesn't like the jabbing!"

"Should I kiss it better?" Castle joked.

"Yes, you should." I answered promptly as I moved off his lap.

He leaned over and placed a few feather light kisses on my belly, drawing a happy sigh from me.

"Is that better?" he wanted to know as he straightened up.

I nodded and rubbed both hands over my belly, reveling in the new joy of being able to feel both babies move a lot more than they had been yesterday.

"Kate?" Castle asked after a minute.

"Yes, Rick?"

"What makes you so sure that the one who have you a jab was Joey? We don't know the babies' genders yet!"

"My mom told me once that during each of her pregnancies that Natalie, Charlotte, Evangeline and I all gave her hell when we learned that that we had arms and legs to use." I smiled at the memory of my mother sharing that with me. "Amaya told me the other day that the baby she's carrying now is the same way, and that's really saying something because she also said that the rest of her kids were pretty mellow when she was pregnant with them."

"Even Shinju and Nozomi?"

…Those two had a tendency to get on each other's nerves regularly and cause trouble almost every day, but none of it is as bad as what everybody knows what the Shaw twins are capable of…

"Even Shinju and Nozomi." I confirmed with a nod.

He moved his hand to the other side of my belly where the other baby was moving its knees against me. "Duckling doesn't seem to be as aggressive as Joey is."

"Thank goodness." I breathed a sigh of relief, touching that spot with my free hand. "I know I could handle two mellow babies, or even one peaceful one and an aggressive one just fine, but…"

"But if we end up having two aggressive children on our hands?" he prompted.

"You and I would most likely lose our minds and the kids wouldn't know what to make of it for awhile."

Castle nodded in agreement. "I know mother has given us and Alexis lots of insight into dealing with Toby and Jamie because she raised me, but it's too bad that your mom never had a boy."

"Yeah, that is too bad." I sighed wistfully. "My mom would've loved a little boy…"

As I felt my heart beginning to grow heavy, I pulled my shirt back down and stood up to find something else to do. (Over the years, talking about my mom has become easier, but it gets harder when I'm pregnant because she'll never get to meet the child growing inside of me or any of my other children) Eventually, I busied myself with folding clothes from the never-ending pile of laundry that dominated the other half of the couch whenever we didn't have a formal gathering at home.

It wasn't until about eleven-fifteen that my phone rang, and I recognized Ryan's ringtone.

I groaned, reaching for my phone. "This had better be good! Ryan knows I don't like being bothered about work-related issues on my day off!"

Castle took away the shirt that I had been in the middle of folding and replaced it with my phone. "Then Ryan is clever enough to know not to bother you unless it's an emergency. Now answer your phone!"

I took it from him and slid it open to talk. "Yeah, Ryan, what is it?"

On the other end of the line, he sounded a little stressed out. "We need you down here right away. It's an emergency."

Gold star for Castle…

I rose to my feet immediately. "What is it? Is Esposito hurt? Did someone get…?"

I didn't finish my sentence, but it was obvious what I had meant by the last question.

"No, he isn't hurt, and nobody has been shot," he promised. "But the situation does concern him and Lanie." A sudden sound in the background momentarily distracted him before continuing. "Look, can you just get here now? We're near Jordan's office building. You've been there before, haven't you?"

I was now at the door and letting Castle, who had no idea what was going on, help me with my jacket and shoes.

"Yes, I have." I told Ryan as Castle handed me my purse and I was thankful in knowing that my badge was already in there. "Where exactly are you?"

"In the Korean grocery across the street."

"Okay." I put my purse over my shoulder. "I'm leaving the loft now."

I hung up and turned to Castle, unable to say anything right away because I was worried about Lanie and Javier.

"Emergency?" he guessed.

"Yeah." I nodded. "I gotta go."

"All right." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek. "I love you."

I smiled but then groaned and began massaging a spot near my belly button. "I think the babies heard you and are jealous that you didn't say 'I love you' to them."

Castle chuckled in amusement and kissed my belly. "I love both of you, as well. Please behave for your mama! This is her day off, and she wants to be getting lots of rest tight now instead of going out to a crime scene. You two need to do your part and be calm for her."

The babies kicked again, so he gave my belly one more kiss and stood up to face me. "Be safe, Kate, and call me when you can. I love you!"

I returned his words and kiss before leaving the loft for the parking garage as soon as possible.

Twenty minutes later

Choi's Grocery, Greenwich Village

When I arrived at the grocery store, I had to park across the street because of all the squad cars, the ambulance and the coroner's van. By the time I got to the crime scene and was left under the caution tape after identifying myself and showing the other officers my badge, it took me a few moments to locate Ryan. When I finally did, I saw that he was lingering near two bodies with sheets over them, and was just out of range from the pools of blood on the floor.

"I'll find out the details when I come in tomorrow," I told the anxious-looking detective. "But what I want to know right now is if we know who these people are."

Ryan nodded and motioned towards the body nearest him. "This man's ID says his name is Conrad King."

I filed that information away. "All right. What about—"

In the middle of asking him about the other victim, one of the onsite uniforms hurried over, saying that my presence was being requested at the ambulance. Leaving Ryan, I followed the uniform out of the store and a little ways down the sidewalk. When I reached the ambulance, I saw that both of the Espositos were perched on the back bumper, and while Javier looked upset, poor Lanie was devastated, and there were no two ways about it.

After giving Esposito's shoulder a comforting squeeze, I sat down on Lanie's free side and didn't hesitate with to cuddle with her the way a mother does with a frightened child. My heart even fluttered a little faster when I felt Lanie's baby move against me as she burrowed closer out of instinct.

"What happened here, sweetie?" I asked when she was a little calmer. "You never let the scene get to you like this because everybody knows that you have a stomach of steel."

When Lanie replied, her voice was hoarse. "This is a little different. It solves a family mystery, but… I just never expected it to happen like this…"

I was afraid of the response, but I still asked: "What do you mean by that? Did you recognize one of the bodies?"

"We both did." She indicated herself and her husband as she pulled away to look me in the eyes. "Kate, the dead woman in there is my mom. She was shot by…"

Lanie couldn't make it through the whole sentence before starting to sob. As she did so, I didn't try to hold back my own tears when I held her again because I remembered all too easily back to that night when Detective Raglan broke the news to dad and me about my mother. I knew that Esposito was upset about the situation because this was his wife's mother who had been murdered, but I also knew that he knew it would just be for the best if I held Lanie right now. Between the two of us, I'm the only person who can really understand exactly what and how Lanie is feeling.

Washington Square Park, Same time

Jessica's Point of View

Melissa had arrived near the end of the puppet show and had taken the empty spot next to me, but that was as much I had been able to process because I knew exactly why she had been late, and it made me think about what Melissa and I would be doing in the next few days, and what all of the costs would mean to us and the ones we love.

I was also thinking about the fact that out of everybody in my circle of friends, it's more than likely that I know more about the conspiracy to kill Johanna Beckett than the rest of them do because I'm Sir's wife.

But ever since Melissa had told me that she was going to go ask Jordan what she knew about Leila Ryan, I couldn't let go of the feeling that that I should tell Jordan all that I know about my husband and the crimes he's done, not just because she's an FBI agent with special privileges, but also because she's actually seen Sir and lived to tell the tale. I know firsthand that not everybody who crosses his path is as lucky.

Melissa's voice brought me back to reality, and as I looked around, I saw that my friends and I just at the arch, and that the little kids were playing with each other nearby.

"What is it, mija?" she was looking at me with concern. "You look like you're pondering something."

"I am." I told her. "I need to see Jordan."

My sister-friend appeared taken aback by my declaration and kept her voice low as she drew closer. She led me away by the wrist so we were standing a little ways away from the others.

"Are you insane, Jessica Rose?" she demanded. "I thought we agreed that the less people who know, the better!"

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and matched my tone for hers. "We did agree to that, and I haven't forgotten, but this is Jordan Shaw, Calvin's mom!"

Melissa appeared to be reading my mind. "And she saw el Diablo and lived."

"Exactly." I nodded. "As much as I don't want to say this to you, Melissa, if you or I don't make it back for whatever reason, and maybe you had to watch over Gabriella, it would be a good to have someone who knows all that I do."

She sighed heavily. "I won't argue that one, but I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to say goodbye to Calvin. I've never loved anybody the way I love him…"

Melissa looked like she was going to start crying, so I just pulled her into a warm hug while she rested her head against my shoulder. I understood exactly what she had meant. It's common knowledge that Melissa's heart is bound to Calvin's and vice versa, but nobody knows that I feel the same way about Yoshi, even though I've only met him twice.

(I know he feels the same way about me because I wouldn't have told him as much as I did, otherwise, and I'm quite sure that he wouldn't have told me his memories from the night his dad was killed or written me that note, given me the balloons and flowers or even told me that he loves me. (I'm also pretty sure that we wouldn't have our very long and nightly phone conversations, either…) We haven't been around each other for that long like Alexis and Ashley or Melissa and Calvin have been with each other, but mine and Yoshi's bond is very unique, but we both felt that we've already loved each other forever)

"I still need to talk to her." I reiterated after a brief silence.

She composed herself before responding. "Of course you do. Jordan's office is five minutes away, so I can take you. I'll keep an eye on Bella so she doesn't hear anything she shouldn't."

I gave her a grateful smile and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. "Thanks, Melissa."

She was about to respond, but the others chose that moment to join us, and Alexis was leading them with Tobias on her hip.

"What's the matter?" Alexis wanted to know. "Why have you two been standing off to the side while the boys and I have been making plans for lunch?"

"I have an errand to run." I said truthfully. "Missy is going to take me, and she's also going to look after Bella."

Alexis had a look of skepticism on her face and didn't say a word. (She obviously wasn't buying my excuse) Instead of responding to me, she focused on Jameson, who was crouched near his big sister's feet, poking at an anthill with a stick. Realizing that his girlfriend wasn't exactly happy, Ashley spoke up.

"You're going to know what's going on eventually, right?"

"Don't you know it?" Melissa answered our friend's question in her usual playful manner and winked at him. "You lot will know soon enough, mijo."

Ashley opened his mouth to respond to that, but a sudden cry of protest drew our attention to the kids, and when we all looked over at them, we saw that the Shaw and Serizawa twins were all eyeing Gabriella with annoyance and that my daughter was backing away slowly from them, a sheepish grin marring her features. Not really wanting to know what was going on, I hurried over to keep anything from escalating, and by the time I was done and back to others, Melissa had informed me that she was going to mind Gabriella for me while I "ran my errand," and we were going to meet up with the others when I was done. I agreed that this was a good plan and bid the others goodbye before Gabriella and I followed Melissa out to her car.

26 Federal Plaza, Jordan's office

Jordan's Point of View

Krista left to her own office after awhile, and I was left to my own devices again, seeing as Avery was now holed up in a meeting that I wasn't needed for and nobody had surprised me with anymore paperwork. (Yet) That left me free to think.

At one point during her visit, Krista had strongly advised me to tell Rick about my relation to his first ex-wife, since I've obviously gone twenty, almost twenty-one years without doing so because I was afraid that he wouldn't believe me. It was then that Krista told me that I had better get a grip on myself and not get hung up on my insecurities (again) because that was exactly what had ruined any good standing that I'd once had with my parents and anyone else from their social circles. (Both of my parents' families had left them huge amounts of money, so my parents knew nothing of anything outside of the high life. Even now, eight years after my father's passing, mother remains one of New York City's most wealthiest, most powerful and most influential socialites) I promised that Krista that I would tell Rick soon. She was very satisfied by this, and let me be.

Then there was the matter of Meredith. Why the hell does that woman want to see her children when she knows very well that they're both equally terrified of her? (At least Alexis isn't like her mother. One of the most shining examples of that is that even though I'm her aunt and she sees me as a fellow survivor of being in the Dragon's lair, Alexis long ago placed an incredible amount of trust in me and has shared all of the memories that she has of living with Meredith, and has even told me some of the few memories that LJ shared with her about it. None of them are happy, especially since both sisters remember getting hit by Meredith or puking because they were literally sick with worry because they were worried she was going to hit them again) So why is my sister back now? She does have good standing with mother, but that's only because my sister been mother's mini-carbon copy in every way possible—dangerously sly and cunning personality included. My baby sister has always had an ulterior motive for everything, so I shudder to think at what she could (and wants to) gain from seeing her oldest daughter.

All at once, I realized that I wasn't alone because as I looked at the doorway for the fourth time, I saw that my hunch was correct because Jessica Rose was there.

Just as Melissa had been, Jessica was dressed in a unique outfit: a long classic Burberry overcoat, an emerald green empire waist mini dress with the word 'Tokyo' printed near the hem in large gold letters, black tights decorated with Japanese characters and a pair of matching emerald green heeled lace-up ballet flats. The appearance of Jessica's tattoos once she removed her coat and attached her ID to the front of her dress added even more flair to his enigmatic persona, and I shivered inwardly because Jessica has never failed to leave me with the impression that she's a lot more dangerous then she lets on. As I took Jessica's overcoat and bag to hang up, I saw that her beautifully long dreadlocks were tied back with a chiffon scarf, and as per usual, her J necklace and dog tags were hanging around her neck.

Unlike Melissa, Jessica looked a lot calmer and confident, more sure of herself.

…But I was a little wary of the determined fire I saw the determined fire in the young woman's eyes…

"What's up, Jessica?"

The fire burned brighter. "Jordan, we need to talk."