Note: Thanks for the reviews it's good to know I've not gotten you all completely lost, travelling without a map can sometimes do that. But hey you make great compasses so cheers ;-) This be chapter 12.

Chapter Twelve

Unbreakable Bonds

Miranda had tried so hard to be strong, to keep it all locked inside so that her parents wouldn't need to worry about her but she knew from the way her mother's arms had opened and the look in Bianca's eyes that it had all be in vain.

"I'm sorry Mom….I'm so sorry."

Bianca's hold tightened as her daughter began to sob.

"I didn't want…..to make you sad…."

"You didn't sweetheart. I'm not sad I'm worried."

Miranda tried to get her sobs under control.

"I…don't want…you to…be worried."

Bianca pulled away enough to look into eyes that were too young to be so full of sadness. She wiped the tears from her daughter's cheeks.

"I know you don't but it's what mothers do Mimo, it's what I do when I see you so sad and lost looking. I'm here for you sweetheart, no matter what I'm always going to be here for you."

Miranda swallowed down the pain in her throat trying again to get control but her mother's eyes were pleading.

"You can't keep this locked inside you Miranda, you need to talk about it."

The teenager tried to twist away.

"No Mom….no."

Bianca held firm her voice choked with tears.

"Miranda baby don't let the past hurt you."

Miranda shook her head.

"It's not me….it's you who got hurt."

The older woman took a breath to settle the rush of emotions that flooded her; sadness that her daughter would think not of her own pain but her mother's, guilt that she had not been the one to tell Miranda, despair that the crime committed against her was years later still hurting the people she loved. Bianca had to find a way to make this better and the only way was the truth.

"Yes I did Mimo, I got hurt but I don't want that to hurt you. There's nothing you or I can do to change what happened. It's the past Miranda, it's gone. What I want to do is think about the present and the future, that's what I've been doing since I found out I was pregnant with you."

Miranda's tears flowed faster, the pain in her eyes deepening. Bianca caressed her daughter's damp cheeks, a smile breaking through the sadness so obvious on her face.

"When you'd flutter inside me I'd think maybe she'll be a swimmer but then you'd kick and I'd change my mind. I should have known it was soccer you were destined for."

"Mom…"

Bianca didn't stop.

"You were so precious Miranda, so perfect and beautiful and precious. I made a promise the first time I held you in my arms, I promised I'd always protect you. I guess I broke that promise."

Miranda shook her head.

"No you didn't….you never…"

Bianca's eyes glistened.

"Yes I did, you're hurting because you found out something that should have come from me. I'm sorry I'm so sorry I wasn't the one to tell you. You've given me nothing but happiness since the moment you were born so I let myself believe it wouldn't hurt us anymore. But it did. It does."

Miranda shook her head more fervently, she couldn't bear the sound of sadness in her mother's voice.

"No Mom no it's doesn't."

Bianca tried again.

"Then talk to me sweetheart, tell me what you're thinking and how you're feeling. Let me help you."

/

Marissa guided Maggie back to the den wondering where her son was with those drinks.

"Make yourself comfortable Maggie I'll go see what's holding up those promised beverages."

The doctor grinned at the redhead's attempt to sound British.

"I think your son had a better handle on the accent."

Marissa laughed.

"Yeah he definitely does, AJ's quite the amateur actor whereas I'm just a lowly old lawyer."

"Reggie seems to think you're a force to be reckoned with in a courtroom."

The lawyer gave Maggie one of those half shrugs before turning towards the kitchen. The doctor smiled; she was going to like getting to know her modest cousin.

/

Kendall pulled into a 7/11 not far from Bianca's and Marissa's. She was perspiring even though the AC was on, tiny beads of sweat gathering at her temples dampening the hair there. Slender fingers reached for a cellphone, the tremor in them making the brunette take a deep breath before dialling her home phone. Ian's voice greeted her, the very sound calming her in ways she didn't think she herself could have managed alone.

"Hi buddy did you get your homework finished?"

Ian proceeded to tell her all about the intricacies of Algebra, his voice growing more animated by the moment. The youngest Slater had an affinity with numbers that Kendall was sure must have come from his father because she had never liked math, in fact she had hated all things academic.

"You okay Kendall?"

Zach's voice startled the brunette from her musings, its low tenor soothing her just like their son's had.

"I'm not sure."

"How do I make you sure?"

Kendall smiled.

"Talk to me."

"About anything in particular?"

"Just talk."

"Ok. I'm going to go out on a limb here and disagree with all you great Kane women."

"Dangerous territory Mr Slater."

Zach's laughter made butterflies jump inside Kendall's stomach.

"Yes I know that Mrs Slater but you know me, I like to live dangerously."

"So what are you disagreeing with exactly?"

There was a moment of silence and then Zach spoke again, his voice softening in the way it always did when he spoke of their family.

"You all like to think that Miranda is like her Mom but I've always thought she was a lot like you."

Kendall closed her eyes, rivulets of moisture gathering along her lashes; it was the similarities she shared with Miranda Montgomery that left her too shaken to continue the drive home.

"She has your fierce loyalty Kendall, she'd do anything to make sure her family were happy."

"Like hide how much she was hurting?"

Kendall's voice broke, the thought of her niece, her beautiful bright loving niece carrying the weight of all that pain alone made her heart hurt.

"It's what you'd do isn't it? It's what you're doing now."

"Zach…."

But her husband didn't let her continue instead his voice softened more.

"You and Miranda are both the greatest parts of your mothers but you are also your own women, you love boundlessly, you stand firm in what you believe never shying away from pain or other people's ignorance. And most importantly you are both so much stronger than you ever give yourself credit for."

Kendall shook her head memories of the past coming at her relentlessly.

"She's too young Zach, just like I was. We were both too young to learn the horror of what really made us."

Silence greeted the tortured words, a deep breath finally breaking it.

"You survived the learning Kendall just like Miranda will."

Kendall heard the conviction in Zach's tone and suddenly realised that this was as painful for him as it was for her. His brother, a man he had adored had created this nightmare hurting Bianca and everyone who loved her.

"Where are you?"

Kendall looked around her.

"In a 7/11 just off Park and Crescent."

"Turn the car around, go back to Monchasker…."

"But…."

"They need you Kendall just as much as you need them right now."

Kendall wiped at her eyes.

"I love you."

She could almost imagine Zach's smile.

"I know you do, fact is I love you too now go."

/

Marissa wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted her in the kitchen, no matter how aware she was of what was going on it didn't prepare her for witnessing the heartbreak written all over Bianca and Miranda's faces. Mother and daughter had sank to the floor by the fridge, Bianca cradling Miranda in her arms as the teenager's tears bled into her top. The redhead staggered to a stop feeling like her heart was cracking inside her chest.

"It's okay Mimo, let it out, please sweetheart let it all out."

Bianca's voice was a hoarse whisper, her eyes closing to set a steady stream of tears down her cheek.

"I can't…..Mom…I can't…."

"Yes you can, you can tell me anything, anything at all and I'll be here to hold you and love you and chase it all away."

Miranda lifted her head, watery eyes finding her mother's.

"Then you'll have to chase me away."

Bianca wiped at the tears on her daughter's cheek, her lips forming a sad smile.

"Never, you are one of the best things that have ever happened to me."

Miranda shook her head, more tears travelling the path her mother had just dried.

"I'm not….I'm …..I'm ….."

But she couldn't say it, she couldn't find the words for what it was and the tears started to flow faster from her eyes and her mother's.

Marissa found her step again, her heart needing to be with her family.

"You are the very best of all the Kanes….."

Mother and daughter turned to see the redhead get down on her knees to join them on the floor, Marissa's arms stretching to encompass both.

"…the very best of all the Montgomerys. And somewhere mixed in all of that I hope there is a little of Maggie and Reese and I because you are everything we want in a daughter."

Miranda sobbed, her head moving from side to side again.

"But….I'm…."

The horror that entered Miranda's young eyes made Bianca's breath hitch.

"….I'm…his too."

/

Erica tried to focus on the pages in front of her.

"It might help if you turned them up the right way round."

Jackson sat on the opposite end of their comfortable couch watching his wife pretend to read. It had been a long evening filled with strangled silences as the great Erica Kane wrestled with idea of not interfering in her daughter's life. Brown eyes lifted and Jackson felt his heart expand with love for this indomitable woman.

"This is crazy why am I sitting here doing nothing? I could just go over there and check that everything is okay."

"Why wouldn't everything be okay?"

Erica glared at her husband who smiled at the fire in those beautiful eyes.

"Bianca is fine Erica, Reggie said Maggie was more concerned about the Montgomery girls than she was about herself so she won't be telling them. Not tonight anyway."

Jackson recognised the look that crossed his wife's face and pre-empted the coming question.

"Miranda has been a little off kilter since her soccer game and her parents have been worried about it. Maggie's just looking out for them."

The news only worsened the worry on the older woman's face.

"Why has Mimo been off kilter? Did something happen?"

Jackson could only shrug in unawarenessand watch as his wife rushed to her feet sending pages billowing around them.

"Erica…."

"Don't Erica me Jack, Maggie and her business pales in comparison when it comes to something hurting my grandchildren. I'm going to see Miranda."

Jackson sighed in defeat.

/

Maggie sat looking around the den idly wondering what was keeping her hosts from rejoining her. When the door opened AJ Chandler was not who she had expected to see.

"Hi."

"Hi there."

The doctor watched as the teenager came on into the room, his steps faltering a little as he looked at her.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

Maggie offered a warm smile.

"Of course you can seems no one else is around to talk to me."

The blush that rose up on AJ's handsome face gave the doctor pause for thought.

"That's sorta my fault."

Maggie smiled.

"I doubt that very much. So do want to maybe sit down and talk to me because you standing up is making me feel a little small and I've already got issues with my height."

AJ snorted and dropped his lanky frame into the armchair opposite.

"Bit like GE then."

"GE?"

The teenager smiled.

"It's what Gabby started calling Erica when she was younger. Erica never really liked the grandma word and the girls never liked calling her by her name so I guess they all compromised with GE instead. G for Grandma and E for Erica I think."

Maggie had to laugh at the explanation, obviously La Kane hadn't changed much over the years.

"So what did you want to talk to me about AJ?"

The young man started to find something interesting to look at in the fireplace.

"It's about Miranda, you and she are sorta close right?"

Maggie smiled.

"I hope so."

"She's been sorta weird lately, not herself like maybe something is going on with her. But the thing is she usually tells me when something is up, we've always been able to talk to each other right from when we were kids. And I know things change as you get older, like puberty and stuff but I don't think that's got anything to do with it. Ok so she's moody a couple of days every month but this is a house full of women so I get that."

Maggie found herself smiling some more at how matter of fact the young man was.

"I guess what I don't get is how to get her to talk to me again, I miss her. I miss my best friend."

The doctor felt like hugging him.

"I think maybe Miranda is trying to get her head around some things that she isn't ready to talk about."

AJ nodded.

"Like maybe boy things?"

Maggie stared at him in confusion.

"There's some guys at school who like her a lot. Some friends of mine who ask me if she'd be into them. Like I would know right now. There was even this guy on the team last week who was looking at her like that."

"Like what AJ?"

The young man shrugged, he'd started this embarrassing conversation so now he might as well finish.

"Like he liked her a lot. I think it's why he was being so mean to her. Some guys are wired like that you know, like the only way they can relate to a girl they like is by being an asshole to her."

"I don't think this is about boy things AJ."

AJ sighed, he'd really hoped it was boy things because maybe that would explain Miranda's silence. Maybe his best friend, his birthday twin was a little uncomfortable talking to him about boys because well he was a boy.

"Why does growing up make everything so complicated?"

Maggie smiled.

"I wish I knew. I'm still trying to figure out some of those same questions and I'm all grown up."

AJ smiled too.

"At least our friends won't change. Maybe Miranda and I can be like you and Mom."

Maggie sincerely hoped not.

"You have it better than Bianca and I could, Miranda is more than a friend to you, she's your sister."

AJ's smile grew wider.

"Yeah she is, she's my twin sister. And any guy that messes with her better be prepared to come through me."

Maggie couldn't help but laugh when AJ stuck out his chest in a proud strut.

/

Marissa and Bianca were both shaking their heads, both promising Miranda that she was nothing like Michael Cambias but their words were falling on deaf ears.

"But you don't know that…..you can't know that…..no one can…."

Miranda's sobs shook through her parents as both tried desperately to comfort her. The teenager pulled away, her eyes pleading with her mothers to let her go.

"I want ….to be on ….my own."

Bianca shook her head fervently and held onto her daughter even tighter.

"No. No Mimo I'm not letting you go. You're my baby, my miracle girl and I'm not losing you."

The brunette was shaking, her face white with pain and fear.

"Mom ….please…..don't…"

Mother and daughter stared at each other, Bianca's hand rising to wipe again at a tear stained face.

"You're everything to me Miranda, everything. Don't you see that?"

Miranda bit her lip.

"But what if…."

Marissa turned the teenager to her realising what it was that Miranda was afraid of.

"We are not our parents Miranda, we are more than the sum of what makes us. You could never be a monster honey just like I could never be like the man my father once was or AJ like the man his father was or your aunt Kendall….."

"…like the man my father was."

Kendall entered the kitchen in time to hear Marissa start her sentence and knew from the look in her sister's eyes that she'd been right to come back; Bianca's watery brown eyes pleaded for help.

"I think maybe you and I need to talk Mimo."

Miranda turned back to her mother fully expecting Bianca to object to the hand Kendall offered but Bianca only nodded. There were few people the brunette trusted her children with and Kendall shared joint top on that short list. Miranda made to get up but Bianca held her back a second.

"I love you, all of you Miranda. Don't ever ever doubt that baby. I wouldn't change a thing not if it meant changing you."

Miranda's eyes flashed with more tears.

"I love you too Mom. Always."

/

Erica pulled up onto the Monchasker driveway dismayed to find so many cars already there. What in heaven's name was going on? The front door was unlocked, she entered the house to find it eerily quiet. The light in the landing suggested the kids were in bed so Erica made for the den knowing her daughter and Marissa favoured it.

"Bianca?"

It was Maggie Stone's shocked gaze that met her.

"Erica."

Brown eyes turned cold.

"Maggie. What are you doing here? And where is my daughter and her family?"

Maggie offered a forced smile.

"I was invited here not that I think you care. Bianca was putting the girls to bed and Marissa went looking about drinks. AJ's just left to go finish homework and I think Miranda was in the kitchen. Anything else I can help with?"

Erica scowled.

"I see time and space hasn't altered that attitude of yours."

Maggie's laughter sounded sardonic.

"Nor yours."

The two women stared at each other neither willing to be the first to turn away.

"Is Miranda okay?"

Maggie's eyes softened, the look easing a good deal of the fire in Erica's belly.

"Not really."

Erica's tension doubled at the words.

"What's going on?"

"That's not for me to say Erica. I think you'll need to ask Bianca."

"Have you told her?"

Maggie's eyes hardened.

"Told her what?"

"The reason why you're really back in Pine Valley."

The doctor closed her eyes, so it was true; Erica did really know.