A Beacon of Hope

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:


Chapter 54 (The Dynamic Relatives)

"You realize that you're also responsible for having made your own future great," Ian commented. Tori nodded and jogged up beside him after having stopped to admire two birds nesting on an old park bench. "The people at Hollywood Arts helped tremendously, there's no doubt in my mind, but now it's up to you where you go."

"I know."

He moved his hands behind his waist and turned his head to her. "Any more news on the parental front?" She pushed down on the bottom of her shirt, straightening it around her waist. "I know you said your birth parents were in the process of finding a place. How's that going to work with your mom's business?"

"She said she might have to move it too, or maybe get a job at a college. Uncle Miguel may be able to get her a job at the community college. I think he said they could use a martial arts instructor on the campus. They already have a club for martial arts enthusiasts, so she could lead the students."

"Sounds good. Have you met any other relatives?"

"Not yet. We all just want to start spending some time together-as a family." Her heart rocketed as the words drifted like silk from her lips. She laughed and Ian smiled back at her. "It never gets old saying that."

He folded his arms and curled the corner of his lips. "No more surprise visits from the relatives?" Tori grabbed her hair as a gust of wind swept across her face. She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"I think our parents probably had a talk with them. If any of them do show up, they'll at least be honest about who they are." Although after hearing what Alexis said about her relatives, she was shocked that she never knew. Many names she'd heard about, such as Aunt Denise or Uncle Ricky. Never did she think her family came from wealth. "It seems so surreal, so unbelievable that this sort of thing happens. Mom came from a wealthy family, then had to give me and Trina up, and we've been in poverty and homeless…"

He reached back and rubbed her back, giving her a reassuring smile. "But it's getting better now." Her eyes glazed over and she stepped closer to him. As she put her head to his shoulder, she reached out and took his hand in hers. When he gave her a gentle squeeze, a soothing spark pulsed into her arm and to her heart.

"You know, Trina and I aren't sure if we're going to take mom or dad's last name." She lifted her head and crinkled the skin around her nose. "Mom says her family's urging her to adopt Dad's name. So if she does we probably will too."

"Hmm. So Victoria and Katrina Argon?" He rolled his tongue and tilted his head to the right. "I don't know, it has a nice ring to it."

Tori thought on her sister and laughed. "Well I don't know how long that'll last for Trina at the rate she's going with Jason." Her sister was happy, that was all that mattered to her. "Won't be long before they start acting like an old married couple."

Ian looked away with a chuckle, then pointed in the distance. "Like that?" Tori followed his point to the lake. There was an older couple feeding breadcrumbs to the ducks. The man with dark hair was sitting on the bench with his elbows hanging over the top and a bag of bread loaves in his right hand. He was looking to his wife with loving eyes. The short elder woman was standing up and ranting about something while tossing bread on the ground.

"Yeah, like that." She visualized Trina and Jason in that moment and laughed. Her laughter subsided as she focused on the couple. Her lips curved up and a warmth swept over her. "I wonder if they'll let us feed the ducks." Ian raised an eyebrow at her and leaned his head back slightly.

"You're not serious?" She uncurled her hand from his and started moving towards the couple. Ian deadpanned and his shoulders fell. "And you are." He smiled softly and walked after her.

When Tori closed in, she heard a familiar name that stopped her in her tracks. Her heart stopped and her jaw fell open when the older woman spoke up again about her family.

"I did not know all our grandchildren were going to visit them, Ricardo." The man shrugged as the woman stood straight and furrowed her brow. "We should respect Alexandria's wishes, as much as I want to see my grandbabies, we'll have to wait until she and Clinton have worked through things."

"We don't want to overwhelm them, Anna. I agree with Alexis, she wants her daughters to be comfortable first." Anna closed her eyes and dropped her arms.

"Yes, well, I still want to see my grandkids." Ricardo took a piece of bread from his bag and tossed it to a nearby duck.

Tori trembled nervously and jumped when Ian touched her shoulder. "Everything okay, Tori?" Her eyes began to water as her smile grew. If she was right, then this couple were her grandparents. "Tori?"

"Ian. That's grandma and grandpa, I'm certain!" His eyes widened on the elder couple. Tori groomed her hair and shook herself to remove the nervous jitters biting at her. "I'm going to talk to them."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She pushed herself forward, watching the couple in silence. Her movement was slow and her nerves were growing heavy as the tears slid down her face. With the last bit of boldness in her, she spoke up to get their attention. "Grandma? Grandpa?"

Anna flinched and looked over with wide eyes while Ricardo looked back with calm silence. Upon seeing her, the woman dropped her bag and turned towards her. "Victoria? You're Victoria, Alexandria's youngest?" Anna's breath trembled from her lips and her hand moved up to her chest.

Tori hooked her fingers together in front of her waist and felt her blood rushing to her cheeks. "You know me?"

"Alexandria and Clinton showed us a photo of you and Katrina." Anna moved forward, extending her arms. Tears ran along the woman's face as Tori hurried to hug her grandmother. Her heart pulsed swiftly to meet the racing of her grandmother's. When she stepped back, she wiped her eyes and looked towards Ian.

"Oh um, that's my boyfriend. Ian." Ian waved and glanced over as Ricardo stood from the bench. She hurried to hug her grandfather, squeezing a bit too tight, causing him to chuckle when she apologized. "I-I didn't think I'd meet you before the holidays."

"We were in town," Ricardo answered. "We don't live far from here. It's only our children that are scattered across California and Nevada." The man turned towards Ian and motioned him to come over. "Don't just stand there, son, we won't bite." Ian walked over, chuckling nervously.

"I don't want to interrupt the moment. It's good to meet you." Ricardo shook Ian's hand and smiled at him.

"You're fine. Strange." He cupped his hand over his chin and slid his finger through the dark stubble. "I was aware Katrina had a boyfriend, I did not realize Victoria did as well."

Tori rubbed the back of her head and lifted her shoulders. She knew the reason for that had to do with the level of intensity that Trina had with Jason being far more than hers with Ian, so it didn't bother her too much. "Trina and her boyfriend are um-they've been together longer."

"You don't say." His eyebrows flattened over his eyes and the corner of his lip peaked up while Anna sighed. "I don't suppose we'll be getting any great grandchildren anytime soon?" Anna clapped her hands together and moved them up to cover a laughing smile.

"I don't think so." Tori blushed as Trina and Jason came to mind, she never liked to visualize her sister having sex, but she was getting used to it at this point. Considering how much her friends teased her about the possibility of becoming a teenage aunt. "None of our cousins have children yet?"

"Paul is the only one that is engaged," Ricardo laughed, "But no children on the way. You've met most of your cousins, I assume?"

"Oh yes, even though they were still pretty secretive about the fact. Trina didn't care so much for that."

Anna nodded and kept her warm gaze on Tori. "I think they just didn't want to start overwhelming you." Tori brightened at her grandmother's gaze. Anna looked to be overwhelmed just in this moment, her tears were running down her cheeks. Of course, she was seeing a long lost relative for the first time, so Tori had to imagine her grandma felt the way she did, as though this moment were but a dream. "You are as beautiful in person as your mother described you."

"Thank you grandma." Anna moved her hand to her chest and closed her eyes, breathing in quick. "Mom and Dad said they got into a lot of trouble with you."

"Yes!" Anna slid her hands to her waist and her eyebrows disappeared beneath her curly hair. "They filled me with worry for vanishing. I would not believe my daughter would just disappear without a word, but I am glad they are back. I am glad they are taking responsibility as they should."

"I'm hopeful. I think everything will work out. Mom says Aunt Denise is trying to focus on um…Aunt Gemma."

"Gemma." Anna's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. The woman's lips turned to a scowl and she shook her head. "That woman should not be allowed near my child's family. I do hope that Denise will find something."

Ricardo nodded and put his arm around his wife's shoulders. He turned his aging and wise eyes to Tori and moved his lips into a small smile. "Alexandria tells us she and Clinton are taking great steps in becoming a family once more. I am proud of them."

She folded her arms and looked absently towards one of the ducks. "Same here. Trina says it's going to probably take some time, but hopefully we can all be together soon on a permanent basis. Not just visitations."

The good news was that Alexis's family were the dynamic relatives. In other words, they were making things happen and pushing things forward. She was grateful for them and owed them a lot because they were the ones that truly set things in motion for both of her parents.

In a way, Gemma was a dynamic relative too, but it wasn't the same way as the Ortiz family. For Gemma, she was the roadblock, the one that set in motion the events that would tear the family apart as well as making moves to try and keep them apart. Because she took action, as negative as they were, she too was a dynamic relative.

"Anyway, I think we're all going out together this weekend too. The botanical gardens. I'm looking forward to it." It would be an amazing day. They were going to spend the morning at the gardens, then at two o'clock, they were going to head out to watch an airshow. "I get the feeling Aunt Denise will be watching though…"

"Knowing my daughter-in-law, yes." Anna chuckled softly and shook her head. "I've spoken with Denise and Alexis multiple times. Alexis is firm about spending time with you and your sister, Denise is firm about protecting all of you."

"We can never be too sure with Gemma out there, that's what Trina says."

"Just be careful, dear."

"Definitely." With her aunt Denise watching from the shadows, Tori was bound to feel even more protected. Alexis and Clint were tough in themselves, but Gemma sounded terrifying. "Anyway, it's great to meet you. Ian and I are going to continue down the hiking trail nearby, you're free to join us."

"Unfortunately we can't," Ricardo frowned, "Anna and I were stopping on our way to a doctor appointment." Tori heaved a disappointed sigh, then hugged her grandparents. "Until next time. We enjoyed having a chance to see you."

"You too, grandpa." She watched tearfully as her grandparents departed over the hill. As Ian set his hand to her shoulder, she reached up to pat it. Her eyes turned up to him and she wiped away her tears. "Let's go, Ian."

"You alright, Tori?"

"I'm good. Happy to meet my grandparents." Trina would be jealous, that was certain. "I can't wait to tell Trina about them. They seemed nice."

"They are good people."

"I wish everyone could be good." As they made their way down the path, they saw a tall woman in the distance. She was slender and had long, brown hair. She had on a leather jacket, tight denim jeans and dark boots. Her face was blotchy from heavy makeup, and her eyes seemed piercing. The woman looked towards Tori and curled her lips into a frown.

"Hey miss, I need some directions." The woman waved her over. The energy that wafted from her caused a great deal of fear in Tori. She huddled close to Ian, wrapping her arms around his.

"What's wrong?" Ian whispered upon sensing her sudden anxiety.

"I don't know. That woman, there's something about her. I can't put my finger on it."

"Okay, I'll handle it." Ian moved forward while Tori held back and watched the woman's jaw move in a chewing motion. She leaned over a trash can and spat out a chunk of gum. "You're lost, miss?"

"Yeah, can't find anyone in the park." The woman rubbed her neck and narrowed her eyes. "I'm looking for Hollywood Arts. I thought it was near this area, and my GPS is failing me."

"Oh." Ian shrugged and pointed at a street. The woman turned around and put her hands to her hips. "You just take that street down about three miles, then take the first left, and the school will be on the right. What do you need there? Making a donation?"

"Yeah. Thanks kid."

Tori heard a rustling noise and twisted around, then spotted a woman she recognized. Aunt Denise. Her hair was up in a bun and her face bore a stern expression. She was wearing a dark blazer and black slacks, and her arms were crossed over her chest. "Is there a problem here?" Denise asked while narrowing her eyes.

The other woman made eye contact and furrowed her brow. "No trouble, I was only asking for directions." The woman moved towards Denise and tilted her head back while keeping her eyes locked with hers. "You're the deputy chief around here? What are you doing following a couple kids in the park?"

"Making sure they don't run into any biker women from Charming."

"Yeah, I heard you've been doing some investigation on the Sons." Tori's eyes widened as the woman circled Denise. "Why the sudden interest?"

"That's police information."

"How much to make you look the other way? Something buys every officer."

"Not this one." Denise curled up the left corner of her lips and dipped her eyebrows in the middle. "Can I send an officer with you to help direct you where you're headed?"

"No." The woman turned and walked off, clenching her hands tight. "I don't trust cops." Tori rushed over to Denise and watched the other woman disappear in the distance.

"Who was that, Aunt Denise?"

"I don't think she recognized you. That's good." Denise rubbed her forehead and let a heavy sigh fall from her lips. "That was your father's sister-in-law." Her heart stopped and her hand flew up to her mouth.

"Gemma?"

"Yes. Now be careful-I'll drive you and Ian home if you'd like." Her hand trembled and she moved it away from her mouth, then nodded. She wanted to keep walking, but now she was too anxious. Ian moved over and looked at her with a frown and understanding eyes.

"She wouldn't find you or Trina at Hollywood Arts right now," Ian stated, "But it might be a good idea to keep the police on alert in that area." Denise furrowed her brow and a soft hum drifted from her throat.

"I'll call it in. We need to keep tabs on that woman."


The good, the bad and the ugly. Well I'm pretty sure Gemma takes care of the last two. Great meeting with the grandparents, they seem happy. You just know both aunts are eventually going to clash, it's bound to happen.