Chapter 21

AN: The final night of the reunion.. and a culmination point. Thank you for the reviews. They make me incredibly happy! Warning: there is some violence in this chapter (No blood or gore, though- just warning if you are sensitive about punches, etc).......

The night of the luau was spectacular. Everyone was there, every cousin, every aunt and uncle. There were fire dancers, limbo lines, tons of Hawaiian food, hula dancers. Nothing was forgotten. There were also tons of fun and games to be had.

Derek was pulled into a island tug of war contest by cousin Bubba. There was a fake volcano pit in the center with lava spurting out of it. It wasn't dangerous, but the men in the contest were taking it seriously anyway.

There were three men per team. Every man gave their weight, it was evened out per team. Bubba and Jamie were on the same team, along with cousin Dennis, an average built man. Derek, Andrew, and Matt were on a different team.

The first contest was Derek's team versus Brock's team. Derek just wanted to be done with Brock. He considered him a vague threat at this point. He tried to reach Reid for the information all day, but was unable to make contact. He decided not to worry that much about it. He wasn't escalating; he was just annoying as hell.

The "island big kahuna," otherwise known as Uncle Irwin, blew the whistle and the teams started pulling. It wasn't a very hard contest; Derek's team nearly levitated their competition. Of course, Brock scowled at him, but Derek was beyond caring what that fucker thought anymore.

Penelope cheered, and the next group went up. Amazingly, cousin Bubba's team went down next. They all walked away with a laugh, and enjoyed some drinks in hollowed out pineapples.

Derek was sitting on the ground, on the sidelines with Penelope. He was in jean shorts, a t-shirt, and his feet were bare. She was wearing a fake grass skirt, had a flower lei around her neck and a big orchid behind her ear.

"Beautiful," he said, looking over at her. He cupped her cheek in his hand, smiling with twinkling eyes. "The flowers aren't bad, either."

She smiled and gave him a kiss. "Thank you."

His team was called again and he pouted. "Damn. Tugging again." He stood up and held a hand out to her, lifting her to her feet.

"I'm going to go potty then," she said, giving him a quick kiss before he ran up on the stage. She started wandering over to the cleverly disguised port-a-potties; they looked like little grass huts.

The music was loud, people were dancing. A limbo contest was going on with the strains of Hot, Hot, Hot playing. There was a beach volleyball game a little farther away. It was all perfect: the weather, the company, the games. All so much fun.

When she exited the bathroom, a hand yanked her hard behind the little grass hut. She stumbled and fell against a hard chest.

"Ah, I said soon, cousin Penelope," Brock sneered, leering down at her. "I didn't realize how soon." His arms clamped around her tightly and squeezed. It was hard to breathe.

He was so strong, it was amazing. Derek made him look so weak; she didn't anticipate Brock being so strong. He easily manhandled her, even fighting with all her might.

"It's no use fighting," he said with a laugh. "You've been asking for this since the first moment I saw you."

She started to scream, but with her lack of breath, the music overpowered her. She tried to kick, but she was barefoot. It was part of the luau theme for everyone to be barefoot. She ended up just hurting her toes.

"I've wanted to show you all week exactly how a real man treats women," he snarled, pulling her even closer to him. "Especially a defiant little bitch like you!"

His mouth came crushing down on hers and she saw black. Not from passion, but from the bruising force and pressure of his lips. One hand came up to her jaw, his fingers squeezing hard to force her mouth open. His tongue shot deep in her mouth, causing her to gag.

Penelope did the only thing she could think of to save herself. She bit down. Hard.

Brock immediately released her, and his hand went to his mouth. "You fucking slut!"

Penelope was shaking. She turned to run, and made it to just in front of the huts, when Brock grabbed her again. She let out a scream to wake the dead. There was no mistaking the deadly rage on his face. He yanked her close again and slapped her, quickly, across the cheek.

"Let her go!" cousin Jamie cried. The young man was standing with his fists balled and a very angry look on his face. He was much smaller than Brock; he would be no contest in a fight.

Brock then noticed there were three cousins standing there. Bea, Jamie, and Alton, three of the young teenage cousins. They were at the nearby limbo and obviously saw what happened. Bea immediately took off to get the nearest adult men to come over.

Soon, there was a small crowd surrounding them, mostly younger people and women. Brock's face went ashen and he reluctantly let go of Penelope.

The first adult male, the first real challenge near, was Bubba. He immediately reached for Penelope, who gratefully went into his arms. "There better be a damn good explanation for this, boy," he said, anger coming off of him in visible waves.

Brock didn't bother saying a word to him. He was smart enough to know whatever he said to Bubba was not going to fly with him.

The next men who arrived were Palmer and Parker. They took one look at their sister, then turned nearly identical narrowed brown eyes at Brock. The brothers stepped closer and flanked Brock.

Aunt Mary and Uncle Irwin were the next to arrive, along with Bridget.

Finally, Brock spoke. "It was her. It was not me. She has been hot for me all along. She was all over me, whenever she wasn't forced to be with that other guy."

He looked around nervously; no one seemed to be buying it, but he kept going. "It was an accident. She tried to kiss me. I turned her down and she went hysterical. I had to slap her-"

"That's a lie, Brock," an unlikely voice said. Bridget moved closer to him. "You have been after Penelope this entire time, trying to get her in your bed." She swallowed nervously. "In the beginning, I helped. I wanted what she had, and was more than willing to exchange you."

"You lying bitch!" Brock seethed.

"No, not anymore," she said, turning from him. "I'm done with you; I have the bruises to prove it."

She walked over to where Penelope was standing, shivering still in Bubba's arms. "I'm so sorry. I saw him take you, and I didn't stop him." Tears filled her eyes. "I haven't been a good cousin to you… until now."

Penelope didn't answer. She continued to stare straight ahead.

At that moment, Derek came running over. "What the hell is going on?" Jamie followed shortly. There was worry and concern in his voice. "Where's Penel…"

His voice trailed off as he took in her face, the still visible red palm print on her cheek, her bruised lips. He walked over to her and gently cupped her face in his hands. "Baby, are you okay?" His voice was soft, his fingertips stroking her gently, like he was touching spun glass.

She nodded and the first big tears spilled over. He held her close and she cried for a moment. He rocked her, tipping her chin so he could kiss her cheeks, her lips.

"Are you okay?" he asked her again, holding her slightly away from him. "Say it, angel. Tell me."

"Yes," she said softly.

"Good," he said with a tender smile just for her. He turned, looking directly at cousin Bubba. "Hold her again for a moment, please?" He guided her over to the giant man. The look on his face changed immediately from sweet, gentle caring to murderous rage in a heartbeat.

"Derek, no," Penelope said, starting to panic. She'd had enough violence for the night. "My brothers have him. You don't have to do this."

"Oh, yes, Baby Girl; I do," he said, taking one step towards Brock.

Being who Brock was, he turned to run. It appeared he only had the courage and strength to pick on women. He only made it a few steps away before Derek caught up. Brock swung out at Derek, but missed. Derek punched back, hitting him in his stomach. Brock had his guard up, trying to protect his handsome face. It took two strong jabs to the gut, a few blocks of Brock's punches, and a strong uppercut to the jaw to knock the man flat on his ass.

Brock made a foolish mistake by rising partially and roaring towards Derek's knees. He stepped aside easily, letting Brock land on his face. With a hand on the back of Brock's neck, Derek hauled him to his feet.

Brock swung one more time and landed that punch near Derek's neck. However, there was so much adrenaline from anger in his system, he didn't even feel it. One last strong solid punch knocked Brock out cold.

Derek stood there for just a moment, willing the man to get back up. He was rather disappointed when he didn't. Suddenly, he heard noise around him. It started with just one person, then more and more joined in. Clapping. Nearly every Carson standing there was clapping and cheering.

He had a lot of well wishes from people, but he didn't care about that. One person wasn't clapping. The only person that mattered. She wasn't even there anymore. Derek took off, looking for his fiancée.