A Beacon of Hope

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I'd like to remind you that Gemma is definitely still an active threat. She creates the antagonistical force and will still be an active threat until she is dealt with. Enjoy the chapter ^_^


Chapter 53 (Everything's Changing)

"Why have you been so happy lately? It's starting to freak us out." Tori laughed at Jade's question. For the last week she had a new skip in her step and felt like singing everywhere she went. The sun was high, the clouds were gone, and every day seemed to be full of new hope. "Did you and Ian take the next step in your relationship or something?"

"What?" She snapped her eyes to Jade and her cheeks grew red. "No! I mean…No! I think if we even thought about doing that right now, Trina would run him off." She ran her hairbrush through her hair while smiling at her cheery reflection in the bathroom mirror. Jade was beside her and Cat was leaning up against the nearby wall with her arms crossed.

"She's always happy," Cat replied, "Though happier than usual lately." Cat pushed herself from the wall and furrowed her brow as she moved alongside Jade. "So it stands to reason if it isn't Ian, then what's been making you so happy? You're not telling us something."

"I know." It was only because she didn't know what to say before having seen her mom and dad. She hadn't wanted to get her hopes up about something that might not even come to pass, but now she wanted to scream it to the world that she had a family. "Someone out there actually wants me to be a part of their family."

Jade rolled her eyes and took Tori's hairbrush, much to her shock. "Quit being coy, and you've been brushing your hair for the past ten minutes. It is fine. Keep brushing and you'll end up pulling all your hair out!"

Tori swiped her brush back and huffed at the girls. She extended the end of her hair in front of her face for inspection. "I guess so. I'm just excited. Our parents, our real parents…they want us to be a family." Jade and Cat opened their mouths and exchanged a surprised glance.

"That's amazing!" Cat pat Tori's shoulders and grinned at her in the mirror. "I'm happy for you. You'll have to tell us all about it though." She spun around and sat on the edge of the counter.

"We are definitely going to spend Christmas together this year. There are some things that are still being worked out, but we're hoping that we can all be together by the start of the new year." Great things were happening all around, to the point that Tori was almost overwhelmed by it all. "David wants to talk to our parents to establish some sort of report with them."

"That makes sense. You're still technically under his guidance, even though your sister's eighteen, so…if there is any arrangement that would need to be made custody-wise, he'd have to talk to them."

"I guess I never thought about that. I mean, I always imagined Trina would become my legal guardian." It still felt strange to say that about a sister who was only two years older, but in some ways she felt like Trina was much older. That likely had to do with the amount of pressure and responsibility that she always had on her shoulders. "She'll be relieved if that's the case, I don't want her to always stress out about taking care of me."

"Eh you're lucky," Jade remarked. "My sister and I have been getting along great, she's even established custody." Tori followed the girls out of the restroom and flashed a proud smile at Jade. "Though, at times I think I'm the one taking care of her. That hell she was in…thank god she's out, but those nightmares never seem to end."

"Still things are going well for both of you," Cat remarked, "I'm almost jealous. I suppose I shouldn't be, my grandma's letting me move in with her." Tori's heart lifted and she pat Cat on the back. The redhead scratched at her neck and laughed openly. "I guess someone in my family decided I was important to them."

"Do you ever notice how this school seems to be at the center of all this good fortune happening to us? Or, to the people that come here." Jade pulled her purse strap further up her arm and squinted her eyes. "I mean, I get that's what they're supposed to do, being here for the homeless and the less than fortunate, but they really go out of their way it seems like."

"I mentioned Eikner, Lane and Sikowitz got mom and dad to talk?" Jade and Cat looked at Tori with astonishment. "Also that dean that Eikner got to come to the school? The one that gave Trina that ride to the college…turns out he's our uncle. He knew it, Eikner knew it."

"Strange." Cat looked from Tori to Jade and snapped her fingers. "They talked Beck into giving his brother a chance, they informed my grandmother of my situation."

"That's not all either," Jade replied with a low tone. "When the social worker was investigating my sister and my foster parents, Lane told the social worker-with my permission-how my foster parents treated me. Even Eikner vouched that Trixie was the best option. I mean, in the end it was my decision, but still-the fact that they went out of their way to let the social worker know all this."

Tori wanted to joke about how the people running this school must be some form of angels. She was even able to continue coming here while now being allowed to return to Sherwood. Alexis and Clint paid the charge, and with Trina's urging, Tori was able to return to the public school starting in the spring. She still wanted to take the drama classes with Mr. Sikowitz, as well as some of the other creative courses that Hollywood Arts offered, and the people in charge of the school were more than willing to let her.

Still came the uncertainty, because recently it had been mentioned by Alexis that she and Clint were looking to find a place to live. They were going to move in with each other, but failed to mention where this house was going to be. Los Angeles was big, to the point it had more than one school district. She could still attend Hollywood Arts no matter where they settled, assuming she and Trina were going to move in with them-which she hoped-but the matter of what high school she could attend alongside Hollywood Arts was still up in the air.

"I think we owe the people here a lot." Tori opened her locker and tossed the hairbrush in. "I mean hell, would mom and dad even be together right now if Lane didn't get them to sit down and talk things out?"

"It's possible," Jade remarked, "But probably would take a lot longer to get that dealt with" She scoffed once and curved her lips upwards. "Taking an interest in bettering the lives of the youth. I think they live up to that in more ways than they say."

"Things are getting better for all of us." She didn't want to explain about Gemma, or the fear she had in regards to the woman. In truth, she was terrified of her. Whenever she head Trina talk about her, or even from Clint and Alexis, she pictured a cold woman with murderous eyes that would creep up on her in her dreams. "There is that one thing that kept all of us apart, but we're trying to move beyond that."

"What is it?"

"Some woman." Cat and Jade stared at her for a minute before their mouths formed ovals. Seeing the look of pity in their eyes, Tori was able to figure they were taking it out of context. "Not like 'another woman' thing, just some woman that had a hand in forcing our parents to give us up."

"So it isn't like your dad has another wife or something?"

"No, not like that at all. He still loves mom, mom still loves him-they're back together and everything." She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. "Look, all I really want to say is that this woman is so dangerous that mom's sister-in-law has the police on high alert." That, and as long as Gemma was still walking around, she was a threat to the future of Tori's family. "As for mom and dad, I'm not even sure if they've ever been with anyone else over the last decade."

"That's a long time to go without sex." Tori slanted her eyes at Jade and leaned sideways. Jade shrugged as Cat slid her hands down to her waist. "What? Beck and I have sex, okay? God, I thought you knew this."

"At this rate, I'm the only one not having sex with my boyfriend…"

"I'm not having sex." Cat threw her hands up, then glanced off to the side with a quiet hum. "Then again, I don't have a boyfriend."

"What about Robbie? I thought you were into him."

"He's alright, but I don't know…"

Jade smirked at the redhead and curled her right brow into her forehead. "Cat, you need to stop hiding the fact that you're into him. Everyone knows you are." Cat pursed her lips and Tori laughed. It wasn't hard to see, even Tori could see the way Cat looked at the guy. "What on earth is stopping you? Even Tori and her insecurities landed a hot guy." Tori jerked back and shot a glare at Jade, who looked back with a shrug. "You can't say it's not true."

"Still, I wouldn't phrase it like that. Ian and I had a lot of confusing stuff to sift through." She closed her locker and walked to the doors leading onto the patio outside. The guys would be waiting for them out there. "Anyway, speaking of boys. I'm eager to hear what Beck and the others said they have to tell us."

"Well I already know what Beck's got to say, but I'm interested in hearing the other guys."

"Yeah. What is Beck's big thing?"

"He's going on vacation for the holidays." Tori smiled, but that faded when Jade frowned. An eerie calm came over her, flooding her veins like a hot poison. All this talk revealed one thing to her, nothing was going to be as she knew. While good things were happening for everybody, things were changing.

Jade's eyes closed and her voice grew soft. "He's going with Derek to visit his family in Canada. He said they're probably going to stay there for a couple months, but they don't know just yet."

"You don't want him to?"

"I'm not going to keep him from visiting his family, Tori. I'll be a little lonely yeah, but I'm not going to say he can't go."

"That would be selfish."

"Yeah." Tori crinkled her nose and looked off into the distance. At the far end of the patio, Andre was waving from a table. Robbie was seated beside him, and Beck was across from him with his back turned to the girls and body twisting around the chair.

They hurried to the table and took their seats. "So Jade you never answered my question earlier," Beck replied as she sat beside him. Tori pursed her lips and Jade looked up at him.

"Trixie and I talked about it, but I haven't talked to the girls yet." Jade pat her hand on the table and looked to Cat and Tori. "Derek has been hanging around, Trixie's kind of growing fond of him and the two have been on a couple dates." Tori chuckled and watched as Jade absently groomed her hair back. "So they invited Trixie and myself to join them in Canada. I'm not sure if I want to go, but then I know I'll be lonely if I don't go."

"I think you should." This was a great opportunity for Jade and her sister to get out of California and explore things as well as get in with a family that might be good for them to interact with. "I wouldn't turn something like that down, Jade."

"Yeah but…" Jade pursed her lips as Beck put an arm around her shoulders and leaned into her.

"Come on Jade, meet my family with me. I'd love to have you there for support." Jade's smile grew and she took exhaled slowly. "What did Trixie say about it, anyway?"

"She's all for it, to be honest."

Tori leaned forward and made eye contact with Jade. "Don't pass up on a great opportunity, Jade."

"I guess you're right. It is too good of an opportunity to pass up." Jade looked to the other guys and hummed. "What about you? What have you got to say?" Andre reached behind his head and Robbie shrugged.

"I found an aunt in New Orleans," Andre replied. He lowered his hand and glanced to Tori. "She's Dad's sister, survived hurricane Katrina and says that I actually have a little sister that was with her. Opal. She's been with Aunt Nadia ever since while I've been with grandma…"

Cat furrowed her brow and spoke hastily. "How did you never know about her?" Andre shrugged while the others marveled over the oddity.

"I was with Grandma when the hurricane hit. You've seen my grandmother, I think she just assumed everyone died." He bowed his head and slanted his eyes. This was the first time he spoke up about his family, it surprised Tori to hear it. As disheartened as she was, she was glad that he finally found his family.

"I was just a kid when it happened and Opal was an infant-barely born. My older brothers were Miles and Louie, they were with Dad. Of course mom, god knows what happened to her." He threw his hand up and looked away to the right. "Anyway, I'm going to visit Aunt Nadia over the holidays, hang out with Opal and learn a little more about my Dad and older brothers. If all goes well…I might stay."

Tori held her breath and Jade reached over to pat Andre's back. "How did you even find out about your aunt? You talk like you didn't know she existed."

"I didn't. Grandma was mom's mother. Turns out Lane had family in New Orleans too." Tori closed her eyes and let out a dry chuckle. "I was talking to Lane about it, mentioned about my dad and how Grandma never talked much about him other than she didn't like the guy. Lane recognized the name and told me Dad worked as a jazz musician in New Orleans around that time…and he had a little sister that often hung around the band's place. That same sister was visiting Africa and insisted on taking her niece on the trip."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Aunt Nadia did that with all of us kids. Whenever we were born and had our first birthday-Miles, Louie, me, Opal-she would take us to Africa. She and Dad are actually from Africa while Mom was only from America."

"So that's why they survived? They were in Africa?"

"Sort of." Andre cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "They were flying into New Orleans. Their flight had to land elsewhere because the storm had already arrived. It had been years before she even realized that I was alive, I think she assumed I was among those either missing or never found."

"Ouch." Jade curled her lips and let her eyebrows dip down in the middle. "What the hell does your grandma have against your dad!"

Andre sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "I'd rather not go into it. It has more to do with the fact that coming from Africa, dad and Aunt Nadia didn't have any slavery in their heritage and didn't like when people used slavery as a crutch. Grandma and mom hated that about him, I think."

A wrinkle formed on Tori's brow and she leaned back, speaking carefully as her mind focused on her slowed heartbeat. "So you think you'll stay with your aunt?"

"Probably. I'm getting tired of grandma's hysterics anyhow, and I really want to know more about what my dad and brothers were like. Also, I want to get to know my sister and my aunt."

"Well, I think you should. Whatever you decide, I hope you'll be happy."

"Thanks, Vega. Or is it Argon now? Or Ortiz?"

She put her right hand over her left and looked up to the left. Her parents were technically still married, though separated. They were back together, and if everything worked out, there was always the possibility of renewed vows. In which case, Alexis could very well take Argon as her last name. "You know what? I'm not sure." She rubbed her chin and looked back to Andre. "Vega is only our social worker's name. Trina and I haven't really talked about taking on any particular last name."

"You'll have to let me know when you do."

"I will." She glanced to Robbie. "What about you Robbie? Any new feats coming up for you?"

"Kind of." Robbie set Rex on the table and everybody looked to the puppet. "A little similar to Andre, but not as you know…tense. My uncle's come to town, for those of you that don't know, my uncle's the only sensible minded person in my family since my brother died."

"Okay?"

"Well he's part of a ventriloquist act in Vegas." Robbie took a deep breath and his eyes focused on the puppet. "He wants me to live with him and says he'll even teach me to become an expert ventriloquist one day."

"And you're going to go…" Tori watched Cat's face fall. She wanted to mirror the girl, and internally she could.

Robbie shrugged and spread his arms out. "Of course, I don't want to stay with parents who hardly give a shit if I lived or died."

A reasonable concern, and Tori agreed. Still, everyone's life getting better meant eventually they'd have to go separate ways. At least they could maintain contact. Or at least she hoped that was the case.

"We can't all stay here forever, that's for sure." She smiled at the group and took a deep breath. "I'm glad for all of you. I just hope we can all keep in contact over the holidays and with whatever happens in the future." The others murmured their agreements and nodded at her.

Still she couldn't shake the feeling inside that everything was changing. Even though it was a good change, and she was ecstatic about it, she was going to miss this place.

"And let's never forget Hollywood Arts, and the impact this place had." The others laughed and commented over the unlikely chance that they could ever forget the place. "The future can be a scary place, but at least this school has given us all the opportunity and hope of one."


So everyone's having good things happen for them, I'd say this is great news. Sad yes, but good news still