The Resurfacing

Whenever Mama T. came home from rehab, they had cleared out all of the alcohol, and she was oddly overly positive, like she was trying to convince herself that she was alright. She didn't really want to bother with anyone but her grandchildren, and she spent 0 time online, now, unless she had to be.

So, she wasn't aware that several websites had leaked information about Stevie having multiple affairs and the Internet was dragging him for 1 - cheating on his dying wife (they don't know he didn't know), 2 - fetishizing black women (there were only Cheriesque conquests in his catalog), and having recorded or allowed himself to be recorded, knowing he was out there eating dark meat up like KFC was bankrupt. (Actual things people had said on the Internet).

Now, Stevie had apparently been followed and/or set up by women he was with for so much of that to be out there. But, it was now on the Internet, so… forever. Fortunately, there was nothing out there about Bree, but Cheri was taking the fact that everyone knew now very hard. Marley had released statements that they were separated at the time and have since reconciled and been completely faithful, since.

Truth was, Mama T ALSO didn't know that Bree spent her nights shacked up in Stevie and Cheri's bed while Jake was camped out at the hospital, and when she went to rehab, the four of them clustered together in that bedroom, every night.

Mama T didn't know that Jake was so depressed over losing Papa Dwight the way that they had, and almost losing her, that he could hardly stand to be in his wing of the house. Bree generally went back and forth to retrieve clothes and whatever else. The only thing he did in his wing was cry by himself and clean up his face afterwards.

.

She absolutely, positively did not realize that Stacie had to spend a couple of weeks on bed rest while she was in rehab, because the stress of obsessively waiting at the hospital had taken its toll on her body and almost on her baby. She did know about the baby. That gift was still accounted for.

She didn't know that Joe was so tired from juggling waiting on Stacie hand and foot, counseling his whole family, group prayers and church meetings, that he almost passed out in the pulpit, covering for Sam, because his blood sugar was low.

Tanisha certainly had not been told that Mercedes quit her job on live TV and was in the process of suing the station for pain and distress of trying to push that exclusive interview after months of refusing to let her speak, grievances over creative content that she put into the show and expected to leave with. They could have the cohosts, panel, previous episodes, etc… But not her intellectual property. They could make their own show or keep whatever else, but she intended to make her show everything that she'd wanted that show to be, everything that had been denied to her, and everything that had been given. It was a fight that she wasn't too tired to back down from.

Also, Sam never would have told her about how hectic his life was, how he needed someone medical on standby at virtually all times, just in case, along with the security, an assistant vetted by Marley, oftentimes Marley herself, and multiple arrangements with Holly and Stevie's (now everyone's) psychiatrist, to try to keep the family sane while all of the legal proceedings took place and all of the investigations that were still open were worked on. Dr. Hitchens regularly checked on him, just because he trusted her more than any other medical professional. He was semi concerned that he might develop an opiate addiction, because he was in enough pain that he kept having to have his prescriptions refilled.

Overworking himself in order to be an appropriate head of household to an extended family (nobody really wanted to move back into their own places now that they had been here for a couple of months, and even though everyone was perfectly capable of taking care of their own individual households while under this roof… Sam took it upon himself to try to make sure that he was looking out for everyone. They couldn't lose anybody else. Not on his watch.

Other troubles included accusations of plagiarism and a resurgence of angry activists about all of the inaccuracies with the original book about things, the movie, the show and basically everything that began his reputation and career. He knew exactly what this was. He hadn't been successful enough in the past to ever be on the receiving end of it to this degree. Now that he was, he saw it for what it was - the white sheets coming for him while they were down. That was why Stevie's affairs (which he wasn't allowed to ask or speak about) were rising to the surface, and why accusations against him were making their comeback. The rumors that he killed Jesse St. James were even back in the spotlight.

He had to admit, he was curious if Stevie's friend had leaked that bit of information, but everyone who knew her insisted that if she were to strike him, it wouldn't be this way, while their family was going through this. Stevie might have, had he been a target of his, but she tended to exercise at least some modicum of consideration. But, he knew that the white sheets had always known that he was behind Jesse's death and they never used it. It was never valid, so he wasn't sure if they had proof or it simply was not a useful move in the past. If THEY were using it now, he knew that this was probably the end. He knew that the attacks inflicted on their family were the beginning. He just didn't know when the next strike would be or how long of a game they were playing. That was why, even with a beautiful wife, wonderful kids, and a family as close as they ever been, it was still difficult for him to rest.

So, whenever Mama T got home and she asked, "What have I missed?"

EVERYONE in unison lied, "Not much!" From that point on, she kept herself secluded on in her and Dwight's wing, and went out of the exit on that side of the house to commune with the dogs, came back inside to wash up, invited her grandkids into that portion to spend whatever time that she could with them, and send them back to their parents when they didn't want to chill anymore. She was staying to herself, trying to stay busy, and wanted to stay content. But, there was something empty happening within her. She needed to fill it with something, and she knew that it couldn't be alcohol, even though she had used that for many years - even before she ever met Dwight, just to make it through the day. She had never realized how dependent on it she was, until it threatened her life.

Mama T had drank everyday of her adult life since Jake was 3. She had now literally drank for 20 years straight, AND had almost literally drank herself to death. She didn't even need to look at alcohol.

Enough time had passed that things didn't quite smell like Dwight anymore. It didn't even smell like home. He still had soap here, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, and she could take little whiffs of each and try to remember it on him, but there was a distinct Dwight essence that was gone and she missed it so much. When she cuddled up with her body pillow at night and browsed through all of the photos that everyone had generously rounded up to scan, send to her, tag her in, etc, per her request, she could almost grasp it. But, another portion of him was lost to her, and she felt like eventually, all of it would be. Five years was not enough, not for feelings like these. They needed more time. He deserved to live to be a hundred, at least. And how long would she live, now? Was she here for the next 50 years, without him? She didn't want to think about it, or the fact that all of her kids were handling her with kid gloves. She wasn't sure if they were afraid that she was going to relapse or if they were just too hurt to talk, but she wasn't going to force anyone to do anything.

.

Sam knocked on her door and she opened it, without checking who it was or anything. "Hey, we're tryin' to be sure to confirm that it's safe on the other side of the door, in case someone gets inside of the house, somehow."

"Your dad tried to teach me to shoot. I did more scaring animals off than I did hunting whenever we went…" she said, "But, I'd like to think if I was face to face with one of the animals that took him out, they'd be the ones that aren't safe." She put her hands in her jeans pockets and asked, "What's up?"

"We just got a delivery for you. It's from the Tennessee house…" She gasped and rushed passed him and down the stairs, to the front door, where Stevie, Matt, Jake and Bree were standing and talking quietly.

Stevie: This troubles me deeply in my soul.

Matt: It's creepy, right? That's not just me. This is extremely weird and creepy.

Jake: Just… Leave it alone. She obviously needs this…

She cleared her throat and approached them. Stevie simply asked, "Why do you have this?"

She grabbed the lifesize cardboard cutout of Dwight, tucked it safely under her arm and told them, "It was for a promo at the home improvement stores and when it was finished, I wanted to keep one. Now, I'm glad that I did. Anything else I need to explain to my children?"

"No. Sorry, I wasn't trying to…" Stevie looked at the ground and she walked off, carrying it. The others shook their heads at him. "I was just curious!" Stevie said.

"Right, but the woman lost her husband and almost died twice. Just, give her space and don't question anything unless it's dangerous," Matt advised. "She's already trying to get back into a normal life that is anything but normal for her. It's hard to come out of rehab and go to regular life. She had to come out and come back to life flipped on its head, and she can't even have one calming glass of wine."

Sam finally made it back down the stairs and told the group, "I've got some contracts to look over for EvansStrong. If anybody wants to set up a masseuse for Mama T, I'd greatly appreciate that bein' handled."

Stevie told him, "Oh, we have her set up with appointments for a while. Cheri handled it. Gimme a stack of work or something. You look half past dead."

"I've only got the construction stuff on my plate today. Go enjoy a day out, or something."

"You kiddin'? More people are pissed at me now than when I killed somebody," Stevie said. "If I'm going anywhere, it's to my quarters."

Bree commented, "I didn't realize how gigantic this place was until we moved in here. This is like… five houses, put together."

"That's exactly what it is. Five houses with one roof," Sam said. "Though, we've got most of the doors locked off. Only using the front and back doors and Mama T's been using her side door."

.

Stacie and Mama T sat on the second story patio looking at the yard and Mama T commented, "Sometimes, it seemed like he was building on to this place like he was running out of time…"

Stacie nodded, "He did most things like he was running out of time. It was hard for a lot of people to tell. Not you, I know… But…"

"He was a very anxious person," they both said at the same time and chuckled. Stacie added, "You helped him to calm down a lot. I don't know if I have ever thanked you for it, for being such a positive change in his life and being the woman that he needed and deserved."

Mama T shook her head, "All I was was myself, and for whatever reason, he enjoyed her. And, I really enjoyed him. Everything that I'd heard about him had been secondhand information and I was honestly nervous to even be in the same room with the man. Then, when he wasn't in a room, it felt so lonely. I missed him when we were apart, even if I knew he was on the other side of the door… You understand that, or you and Joe have some other type of love? Probably something otherworldly while also natural and of the Earth."

"Joe and I both look to our relationship with God before anything else. It's been hard for him, I know - to have to consider so many different things happening. He's never shied away from risk or danger. The night I met him, he'd gone into a warehouse of Nazis to help rescue the women Stevie took. I wasn't even really paying attention to him at that time, especially when Mama and Stevie didn't return with the rest of them. But, whenever I did notice him, I knew. I knew him and I knew this was what I wanted. Then, I had to wait for God to make it plain to him." She laughed. "I've had this unique and pleasurable privilege to be able to watch every single relationship in this household develop and grow."

"You're the only one that goes out of your way to make sure that you visit and see everybody."

"Yeah!" She laughed. "I knew when Stevie fell for Cheri. I knew when Jake fell for Bree. I met Mercy right at the beginning of her and Sammy's relationship and we moved in with them shortly afterwards. But, I never saw you coming. I loved you. I adored you, but whenever you and Daddy got together, I was so afraid that he was gonna end up heartbroken. I thought that you'd have some fun, have some good laughs, and you'd part ways being friends and stealing glances, seeing each other every few years, reminiscing about the last time and wondering what if. And even though, in that scenario, Daddy would maybe still be alive, I wouldn't change things, if I could. Because, he got to have a beautiful and wonderful love before he died."

"And I got to lose one," Mama T said, sadly.

"For now. But, I think with time, even though I won't like him at first and it'll be real hard to get any of us to accept that he's good enough for you… I honestly can see you eventually moving on, and it's my wish that when and if you do, you get to love them as much as you were able to love Daddy and they'll love you the way that you deserve."

"I'm never even thinking about it, Stacie. It's okay. I'm about to be 50. I keep… coming across plans that Dwight had for my birthday… And I just want to believe that they took him and gave us a replacement body, like we're in a soap opera or a gritty thriller, and that he'll reemerge and run off with me." She cried. "But, I'm sure it's more like Mercy's image of heaven. Him wooing all of the others and very likely building a huge, spacious mansion for the rest of us to eventually join him in. It's a beautiful thought, but it also tears my soul into pieces…"

Stacie got up and moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her. "One day, it won't. I know it won't, Mama."

.

Sam happened upon Stevie on the lower patio, keeping an eye on the kids as they played in the yard. They were all finally fearless enough to play again without watching their backs, but Stevie wasn't nearly as confident, yet. Sam sat down by him and Stevie moved his things on the table around to make room. "No, don't trouble yourself. I don't have anything with me. It's not in my way." After a moment, he wondered, "How have you been holding up?"

Stevie sighed and said, "My wife didn't leave me, but then again - with everything going on, she probably feels stuck with me."

"Naw, she loves you. She wouldn't leave you for anything, at least not at this point. I don't know what you must've felt when they attacked the house, but I know a thing or two about bonding through trauma."

"Everything we have is built on trauma," Stevie sadly admitted.

"I doubt that. She's sorta adopted me as her new Papa, and I can tell, just from the little bit of time I've spent with her over the past few months that there's never been anyone more important to her than you. Except for the kids, but that's to be expected."

"Has she… Said anything to you about the news?"

"The affair scandal? No. I don't know that she would talk to me about that."

"Then, you ain't her new Papa," Stevie said.

"Do you want to talk to me about it? As my brother?" Sam wondered.

"No. I've talked about it as much as I want to, thank you. But, if you just feel like conversation, I can speak to you about work," Stevie said.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Like… Your charity work or your personal work?"

"Those are the same thing, but do you mean my investigation into the white sheets that killed Daddy? Because, that's what I was talking about."

Sam nodded, moved in closer and asked, "What have you got?"

"We think we may have nailed down where Preston Schuester is. Some of Matt's personnel have caught wind of activity in Washington."

"Do… You think that he's trying to contact Rose?" Sam wondered, already ready to warn Quinn, unlocking his phone.

"Maybe. It… Looks like from what we've uncovered… Well, you know how Preston Schuester fathered Rose, even though it was his son Will's wife who had the baby?"

"Yeah, that's kinda why I asked that."

"Let me process as I speak, please." Stevie continued, "Well… I never told you about this, but I think you might have heard about the breeding program?"
"Right, Rick used to say that I'd make a good stud, but they would never take me, because I had too many tattoos, which meant too many needles and they'd see it as potential imperfections to the kids," Sam said.

"Okay. I was actually a part of that program, so I know a little bit about it on a low tier level…" Sam looked surprised, but didn't interrupt. Stevie finished, "I wasn't aware that there were leveled tiers, but apparently, there are… And among the breeding stock…"

"Preston Schuester," Sam completed the thought. "Okay, but why does he suddenly care about his offspring, to be in Washington, possibly retrieving Rose. I thought that he didn't even care about having daughters. He didn't care about Emma."

Stevie shook his head, "I don't think that he particularly cares about Rose. I think that she's simply the last one living and with all that's taken place… He's had to have been pulled from the program, at this point. But, it may be deeper than that. It may be more personal. Look at this…" He turned his laptop around. "These are files that Jane obtained on the Giardi Triplets and files regarding three other red headed individuals who happen to have a lot of similarities and features as them."

Sam studied the screen for a while, the letters were getting mixed around and there were a lot of open tabs. "Bro - I'm dyslexic. This is a lot going on for my eyesight…"

"Right. Sorry. Basically, what it looks like to Jane, and I'm subject to agree is that these three individuals never actually existed and were simply backups for the Giardis. Now, one of them should be a familiar name - Max Van Zonder."

"That was the alias that Max Giardi used whenever he met Cheri."

"That was the alias that he was living under from the time that the trouble began with he and his brothers. As soon as Kyle was arrested, Josh and Max suddenly disappeared, and Max Van Zonder suddenly appeared. He began to use his credit cards and other shit. He officially became a functioning person when they took the hit of losing Kyle, and a younger guy named Jonathan Fleischer also seemed to appear. Well, he only had any type of activity between then and when Joshua Giardi died. But, this other guy Cameron Donatello… He never quite got off of the ground. He didn't really ever create a paper trail besides being born. So, what it looks like is whenever the Giardi triplets were born, alternate identities were faked for them. Whenever they ran into trouble of being caught, those identities were activated… well… two of them were. One of them died and one of them went on - the one that we know of Max Giardi, aka Max Von Zonder, and activity stopped whenever Max died."

"Okay. You've figured out how they vanish, but how do they… I don't know… do that? If they create the identity whenever they're born, how do the ones that aren't so connected vanish, as well?" Sam wondered.

"That's the thing - usually, they just use typical fraud parameters, but the fact that the Giardis were given well, you know… Foundation protection is a key giveaway that they couldn't have just been some flunky brotherhood infantry level trash, like we've always presumed."

"Well, they're Preston's great nephews via marriage, and he adored Terri. I think he'd have covered her sister's kids," Sam said.

"That's the sweet and innocent version. The one that I'm more likely to believe is that Preston…" he keyed some things into his computer, "Was Kendra's baby-daddy, meaning that the triplets would have been his own flesh and blood. More importantly, after finding out everything about Will's genes on his mom's side…"

"The triplets would have been his only white sons…" Sam said. And more importantly, "And we destroyed all of them. I mean, Kendra saw it that way and there was always something that seemed wrong about her having that many connections willing to attack so hard. But, if they were there in Schuester's old name, on behalf of his sons… That might be different."

"None of their DNA is on file where we could easily find it, but Matt was able to get into some files of Josh's and compare them to Will's (which he still had from his dad's investigation into him)... They do have the same daddy."

Sam scoffed, "Preston Schuester was the father of the Giardi triplets. That makes sense, now. I'd always wondered how a throw away soldier pawn like Giardi had children who were so in the inner circle, EVEN being related through Terri… the Schuesters threw away everyone that didn't have value to them. Sons would have had enough value to keep nearby."

"But, Will most likely would have kept them beneath him, knowing that when people found out who he really was that the Giardis would take his inheritance. His father disowned him, immediately. He would have been ready to elevate his purer sons just as quickly if he'd realized that they were all who could pass his name on. Preston being a breeder wouldn't have thought much of impregnating Terri for Will - I'm sure he spun it in such a way where it seemed like he and Terri either couldn't have kids or that he wanted Preston's heir to continue on their legacy. So, he was deceived, and when he realized that he could have been making his sons what they needed to be all along…"

"Max was already too far gone into vengeance mode." Sam covered his mouth… "If… That's the case, he'd be going after the kids, right?" He suddenly looked at the children and got up to round them up and tell them that it was time to go inside, get cleaned up and do some fun stuff in the house. Bree and Cheri collected them for him and he returned to Stevie, who continued the conversation where he left off.

"It means that he would blot out our entire family, because in his mind, especially now… We have destroyed the Schuester dynasty. We've ruined their name. We've killed his sons and their mothers. We've taken his daughters and much of his property. He will want each and every last one of us dead," Stevie said. "Most of all, me and you. Probably more you circa 2012, but definitely more me today."

"It doesn't matter when it's OUR family. And… I mean, how reliable is this information?" Sam wondered. "Maybe we're just being very paranoid. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Here is the files that Jane found on whether or not you killed Jesse St. James," Stevie said.

Sam looked over his shoulder and sighed, "She's damned good."

"The best since Dre. I trust in the information that she finds."

"Shit," Sam said. "Wait, why do you still have this? Especially after the leaking of all of your affair stuff? Is this the reason that this conversation is back? Could they have gotten this when they got into your system?"

"This is encrypted," Stevie said and closed it out. "So… Washington. Matt and I are gonna gather a team and head that way." He shut the laptop. "I've gotta pack."

"Just like that?" Sam asked.

"What… Do you think that I normally do?" he asked.

"I don't know. I suppose I thought that you argued online, went to rallies, and sometimes got into fist fights at those rallies," Sam said.

Stevie furrowed his eyebrows. "I mean, yeah, I do… and then, I also do this. I can't just send someone to go check and see if something is going on, and with Preston, this is personal. For me and for Matt."

"For all of us," Sam corrected him.

"Yeah. But, they need you here," Stevie reminded him. "And your busted up ass would get us all killed." He threw him a smirk. "I don't know when we'll be back, but I have to get ready and also kiss the ground my wife walks on to smooth her over about it." He started to leave, then paused, "Sammy, if I don't make it back…"

"I'll always look after what's yours the same way I do my own, Stevie, you know that."

"I was gonna say it's okay if Jake fucks my wife," Stevie joked. Sam didn't know whether to laugh or what.

.

Stevie hugged and kissed everyone on his way off of the safehouse grounds. Sam noticed that Bree and Cheri both cuddled into Jake, sadly and worried before the three of them vanished into Stevie's wing of the house. That whole arrangement was bizarre to him, but he couldn't judge. He was too worried about his little brother walking into possible danger, on behalf of all of them here. He was also concerned about what would and could happen if Stevie didn't make it back. How would the family handle another loss and how long would this be happening to them, the children in particular?

Sam led prayer, played with the kids, checked on Stacie and Mama T, who had been having a four day spa weekend together, checked on Cheri, who was bundled up with her kids, all five wanting to spend every night in her bed with her while Stevie was away (and he supposed that Jake and Bree had gone back to Jake's wing to give them the required space, and finally, he retired in his wing with his wife and children. Mercedes said, almost as soon as he came in, "I miss the fruit trees."

Sam smiled and sat next to her on the bed, "I miss the whole house. I miss normalcy. I miss comfort and safety. I miss peace. But, with all of that, I still manage to miss the fruit trees. We'll have some planted here."

"Because, we're here to stay?" she wondered.

"I'm sorry, Babydoll. We gotta, for a while."

"Sorry for what? I love being here with the whole family. You remember when you met me, I was almost constantly surrounded by family. I mean, they weren't blood, but I spent just about every day and night with them nearby. This is the most comfortable that I've been in a long time. Oddly enough, even with everything that has been going on… I don't think that I miss peace. In fact, I think that I went through a world of madness for many years in order to have peace for right now. If I can give you some, well that would fill me up with joy."

Sam smiled, "Woman, if my lungs were back to good, I'd wear you out tonight."

"Your lungs are… I mean… At least oral pleasure good, right?" She asked.

"I mean… I've gotten winded doing less, but this is definitely worth the risks," he said, laughing. "Wait. Oral on me or oral on you?"

"What kinda…?"

"Because I wanna DO the oral!" Sam insisted, getting closer and gathering her up.

"What's da ora?" Heaven asked, appearing in the doorway. "Is that a game?"

Sam bit his lip as Mercedes giggled and said, "Yeah, baby. It's a grown up game."

"Aww, Man," Heaven said, coming into the room and settling on the bed. "Grown up games be fun, huh?"

Mercedes collected him into an embrace and said, "They sure do be!" and started tickling him. "Mama bear, Baby bear games be fun too, though!"

"I'm not baby bear! I'm big boy bear or bumblebee, Mama! It's me! Heaven!" he took her hands and put them on her face.

"Boy, I know my baby's voice! You're my baby, too. All of you are my babies!"

"What about Daddy? Daddy is Papa Bear."

"Papa Bear is my baby, too!" She said.

"WHAT?" Heaven wondered, amazed. "HOW?"

"Because I love him SO much!" Mercedes explained.

"Well, that's a baby? I thought a baby lived in your belly! News to me, Mama. You mean… Aunt Stacie is MY baby? Uncle Joe? Cowboy?"

Sam leaned towards her, remembering her taunting him about the three bears whenever she delivered and Heaven had been confused about babies and bears. "So, um… Just wanna point out, this misunderstanding is completely on you…" Sam told her.

She cackled into the sky and Heaven wondered, "Is this a grown up laughing?" Which only made them laugh more and him join in, in confusion.

.

Stevie made arrangements to meet up with Matt and Aphasia at Happy Place and they were going to go with their collective and with the guards to the airport, so that they could travel to Washington together, meet up with Matt's old friend and set up shop to try to get a handle on the Preston Schuester bull. He wasn't sure how long he would be gone, so he decided that he would "feed the pigs" before he left. The last thing that he needed to do was be gone for a while and come back to cells of dead bodies because Dani forgot to throw some slop in the troughs. He parked his car in the back parking garage, and went in through the back.

Whenever he got inside, the alarms weren't set. That was unusual, because Dani was very proficient about the alarms, if nothing else in her vague job description of "answering the phones, posting to social media, and locking up, among other various tasks." He pulled out his cell phone and called her. He heard it ringing and went into his office, following the sound. "Dani?" He called out, reaching for one of the stashed pipes he had in the place, suspiciously looking around. Someone answered the phone.

"I've been waiting on you to arrive," a man's voice said. "If you could put down that weapon and come downstairs, I would very much appreciate it."

"Who the fuck is this and where is Dani?"Stevie asked.

"She's down here, with the rest of them. We were expecting you. Come on down and let's finally talk about everything that you think you know."

"Who is this?" Stevie asked.

"Oh, you don't know? You've been searching for me. The name is Preston Maxwell Schuester. Now, do you want to come have a conversation with me, or do I have to have it with your rainbow haired friend? I have to tell you, she doesn't seem up for it…" Stevie threw the pipe down and went to go downstairs to the dungeon. Whenever he came down, a couple of goons grabbed him to search him and he was finally faced with a man that he had only heard and read about, never met.

He noticed Dani, in one of the cells, tripping out. She probably hadn't been able to take her meds for however long she had been locked up. Add to that, inside of the cell with her were the guards that were supposed to be hidden outside to keep an eye on the place were dead, not too far away from her. Stevie guessed at least two days that they had been there. He hadn't spoken with Dani today, but these would have already been there, even when last she spoke to him on the phone. He wasn't sure how long Preston and his flunkies had been here.

"Ah, Steven James Evans. We meet at last," he said, right before someone hit Stevie in the head and knocked him unconscious. The last thing he heard was, "Strap him to the chair. He'll get to learn what my forefathers built this place for."