Thanks for being patient! I LOVE U! Here, 100 years overdue as it may be . . .

Ezra stared into the icy, crystalline blue eyes of his mother. She mashed her lips in a flat, disappointed line as she stared back at her estranged son. "My god . . . you look so differant." Her bittersweet voice salted out. Ezra nodded sharply, "Obviously not enough."

Gertrude Cambridge looked her son up and down, "We had a deal, Ezra." Ezra laughed a brief and humorless chortle. "How did you even know I was here, mother?" Ezra asked, not making the word mother sound at all pleasant. She smiled, "We have people all over this city making sure you don't show up, dear."

Ezra folded his arms, "Really? Really? After . . . all these years?" he smiled angrily. How dare they keep such tight tabs on a son they didn't even want? He had made a huge mistake. But, not like it took away from what he did, everything had turned out fine. Gertrude shrugged lightly, "Well we weren't wrong, were we? You are here." Ezra raked his left hand through his hair, "Recently. And Mom, you really have no idea what is going on with me now. I . . ."

"Oh well I can guess! Drug cartels? Hmm? Some form of black market or rave party organizer or what not?" his mother rushed out accusingly. Ezra bit his cheek so hard he tasted a little blood. "Whether you want to believe it I've changed. Okay. There's a lot of things to explain that I just don't even have the time or consistency to unload right now, but-" Ezra's mom cut him off again, "If Natalie even got possible wind of this, Ezra, I swear-"

Now it was his turn, "She knows, Ma." Ezra turned and wiped his hand over his mouth. Gertrude followed him into the apartment, stunned. "What the hell did you do Ezra?" she screeched in a low voice. Ezra's mouth hung open, "Me? You told her I was dead!" Gertrude pursed her lips, "You might as well have been."

Okay, that had hurt a little more than expected. But Ezra gathered himself, "Well, I didn't do anything. We ran into her at a musical and she knew me right away. I can see she regained her walking capability." Ezra seethed out in his mother's direction. Gertrude's eyes widened radically, but she didn't have time to ask what exactly 'we' implied.

He hadn't realized Gertrude had shut the door till she heard a quick knock, followed by the sounds of keys turning all of the little axils and twists in the lock. Ezra didn't want Aria being caught in the crossfire. Natalie, though, bumbled in, her back turned to the two, holding some items. "Ezra can you help me? I brought over some groceries for . . ." she turned with a smile on her face only for it to quickly disappear when she saw her mother and brother standing close to each other in the middle of the apartment.

"Mom . . ." she whispered through her small lips. Gertrude stood silently for a moment before rubbing her pointer and middle finger against her right temple. "How long have you known?" Gertrude asked Natalie, for the first time with emotion in her voice. Natalie shakily put her keys on the counter top. "A while." She daintily whispered, not looking at her mother.

"And you didn't tell me? Oh, Natalie Emalia Cambridge . . ." she sighed. Natalie looked ashamed for a moment, then questioning. "You say that like If I'd told dad it wouldn't have mattered." She sighed. Gertrude averted her eyes from both her children, but Ezra caught on. "No . . . No, you didn't." he shook his head.

"Didn't what?" Natalie raised her eyebrow. Ezra locked eyes with his mom before pointing at Natalie and sighing, "You tell your daughter what you did or I will." Gertrude looked up desperately at the ceiling, "Fine! Natalie, sweetie, your father . . . may not know about Ezra being alive." She said quietly. But Natalie heard crystal clear.

Natalie breathed out a shutter. "Get out." Gertrude smiled nervously, "What? Darling you must be-" Natalie smacked the corner, "Get out! You . . . you go and make this right, dammit! And never threaten my brother, your son, again. Ever! But right now, you go to my father and you make this right!" Gertrude shifted her weight to her other leg, "Or what?" she said, even though intimidation was clear in her unsteady and unconfident voice.

Natalie walked over to her brother and put her arm around his waist, "Or I never speak to you again. Losing both kids may be fine with you but I know you'd do anything to keep this out of the papers . . . the news! And I swear mom, with all my being, if you don't make what you've done right I will take everything to anyone I can find." She sighed out.

Gertrude looked between her two children and steadily shook her head before starting to leave. Then she stopped briefly, "No matter what I've done, kids, or what I've said, I always loved you both." Ezra and Natalie just wordlessly nodded as their mother shut the door behind them. They were both thankful for the other not pointing out the silent tears dripping from their eyes.

Five minutes later Aria and her other friends stumbled in, spooning around ice cream and laughing. When the girls noticed the blonde they knew it had to be Natalie but when they saw the puffy eyes on the two Cambridge's, their eyes dotted to Aria. She smiled nervously, "What'd we miss?"

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