CHAPTER 36-DAMAGE CONTROL

~~Sorry for another long update. I've been dealing with some lack of inspiration as well as supporting my Best Friend during a time of need. Anyway, things are picking up and these next couple of chapters change the game completely~~ Reanna.

The rest of the night was a blur as Jessica began to make Lena lunch for school. After she came out of her bedroom last night, she had fallen asleep between them which left Jessica and Baz pause their conversation. They had kept their eye on her all night, so she didn't have any more nightmares as they didn't know how often Lena had trouble sleeping. Most of the time she had been at Smurf's but in the last couple of days, Jessica made a plan for her to be at home more often.

"Lena, you need to come eat your cereal. I don't want you to go to school without eating anything" Jessica called out, pausing from making a sandwich to peer into her room. "You didn't have any homework in that journal I brought last night, did you?"

The little girl had been pulling her sparkly bookbag out of her room and head to the kitchen table. She was dressed in jean overalls and a white t-shirt that had a pastel mermaid on it. It was better than Smurf dressing her up as if she were a little doll. Shaking her head no, Lena sat down and began to eat.

"Can you take me to school today? I like your car"

"Of course…Do you want apples or oranges for lunch?" She asked her, feeling a weird wave wash over her. Jessica wasn't a Mother, technically she was one, but she had never raised a child. It was a strange sense to just jump into this and it also began to prepare her for the future.

"I like oranges" She said simply before taking another bite of her favorite cereal, Fruit Loops. She watched her pack her things and it finally gave Lena some sense of normal. "Aunt Jessica? Are you going to be my Mom?"

Baz had been walking out of the bedroom but stopped in the hallway when he heard his daughter ask that. It was refreshing to see her get along with Jessica even though they were family. After Cath's disappearance and before Jessica's return, he and Lucy were close to becoming an item. Lena didn't' take kindly to that idea and wasn't fond of her, she hated being around it. Things were more natural with Jessica around and it seemed to brighten up the little girl's mood.

"Um…" Jessica had paused while she was peeling the orange to snap her head in her direction. The question had caught her off guard and she honestly didn't know what to say. "I mean, I am your Aunt so that just makes me your Aunt"

"But you always spend the night and color with me. I like you better than Lucy and Grandma Smurf. You do things with me"

"Look Lena, things are complicated, and I don't expect you to understand" Taking a deep breath in, Jessica was careful with what she was saying. "I know that you've been having a hard time dealing with your Mom being gone and stuff…Your too young to understand what I'm trying to say…"

"Can you be my Mom?" Lena asked politely and quietly.

Her the vulnerability in her voice really pulled at Jessica's heartstrings and she could feel her eyes begin to water. This was something she hoped to bring up in the near future when things were more settled after the whole money scenario calmed down. She also wanted to know what Baz was going to say about it all, but Lena was the one asking so she had to deal with it.

"Yeah, I can be your Mom" She said with a smile appearing on Lena's face. It was nice to see her be excited about something.

While packing the rest of her things, Baz had stepped out of the shadows after hearing the exchange. Lena had said hi to him and he took it upon himself to go sit with her. Jessica wasn't Mary Poppins and wasn't changing things instantly. These little steps needed to happen without her help and was appreciative that things could work without her interfering.

"Hey…What would you think about having a sibling?" Baz asked Lena who had a confused look on her face.

"I'm going to have a brother or sister?"

As Jessica stepped around the kitchen counter, she immediately froze when he asked her that. She didn't think they were going to tell her so soon. "Baz, what are you doing?"

"You have a baby in your stomach?" Lena asked her while Jessica looked down at her tank top. The outline was clearly showing so there was no hiding it.

"Yes, you are going to have a baby brother or sister. You can't tell anyone, not Uncle Pope or Grandma Smurf. You promise to keep it a secret?"

Jessica could feel a sense of relief rush through her veins before they filled with panic. It was hard not to tell anyone about a life changing event, but no one could know. More than anything, she wanted to tell her siblings, but Smurf could not know, no matter what the situation was. Involving her this early was dangerous and Jessica had no idea what to think.

"I promise. Can I have a sister? Isabella has one" Crystal's daughter Isabella was the same age as Lena, and they were always playing together.

"I can try my best" Jessica said while grabbing her bookbag to put the lunch inside. "Finish up, I don't want you to be late"

After finishing her cereal, Lena hopped into the bathroom in order to brush her teeth. That gave Jessica a chance to bring up what just happened.

"I thought we were going to wait to tell her" Jessica told him, her eyes locked on him.

"She was going to find out sooner or later" Baz said even though they both knew it was the truth.

"But…If she says anything to Smurf, we're screwed. I can't say anything to Deran about the bar, but you can tell her that?"

"Stop worrying about everything. I've got something planned later so we will be I the clear, okay?"

That sentence alone intrigued Jessica as she had not a clue what he was talking about. "What is it?"

Lena came back out, fresh faced and ready to go to school. They couldn't talk about anything else in front of her, so they had to end the conversation.

"I'm ready to go" She said while slinging her bag over her shoulder.

Giving him a quick glare, Jessica grabbed her keys from off of the countertop and walked Lena out the door. She hoped the dreadful nervous feeling would go away, but it didn't.

All morning long, Craig and Deran had been doing their best to fix up the bar. It hadn't been busy whatsoever, so the younger Cody took the time to make some things work. It was mostly just moving tables around as well as changing up the decorations. Since both of the boys had been living there, Craig was free for the help.

Deran had been dragging over a pair of chairs to the table that Craig moved out in the back. Deran had recently got a fire pit for more space and it started to become a popular spot later at night. Right now, it was empty which gave them more time to change the area.

"I feel like we've been doing this for the past five hours" Craig said while leaning on one of the brown tables to see his brother.

"It's been like a hour, stop bitching already. You're just complaining because of what happened to that kid yesterday"

"Please don't remind me of that…I wonder if Baz has run into Lucy at all. You know, after what happened"

Setting the wooden chairs down, Deran ran a hand through his hair. "I doubt it. He's been with Jess, so I don't think he's had time with her"

When Jessica had confronted Smurf the night of discussing the yacht money, all of them knew that she and Baz were together. The two of them had hardly come around Craig, Deran, Pope or even J and they didn't know why. Deran had assumed that Jessica was still angry that she didn't' get a cut but Pope said they were so wrapped in each other that hanging out with them didn't matter anymore.

The blond Cody had walked away from his brother and went to get the other chairs when he saw a familiar face step through the door.

"Looks like your pretty busy in here…Can we talk?" Lucy asked while glancing around the place. She was dressed in simple jeans and a pink tank top, definitely not a crime boss like she had been the night before.

Sighing heavily, he wanted to punch Craig for opening his mouth. Leading her into the back, his brother couldn't believe that she had walked in either. As Deran went and sat down by Craig who was still standing, Lucy took it upon herself to sit in one of the chairs.

"What in the hell was Marco thinking? We pull a job with him and he does that? Who was that kid?"

When Craig had gotten back from Las Vegas, he had a prize waiting for him from Marco. He had to babysit a teenage boy that he didn't know until Marco came back. The boy was a hassle, with Deran getting involved since the elder Cody couldn't handle the problem himself. They had fought with him despite the boy pleading to not give him back or he'd be murdered. In the end, they handed him back over to Marco and found out that Lucy was the mastermind behind it.

"I'm pretty sure he told you when you had a hold of him. His Dad needed to pay so he was a hostage. I'm not here to make excuses for my brother because I know what he did was reckless and stupid. I dealt with him already. The only reason I'm here is because I want something"

"What a surprise…What did his Dad do? Do you run a cartel or something?" Craig asked her as she leaned forward in the chair.

"Something like that" Lucy said with a complete straight face before adding a little smirk. She ignored his first question and only answered the second.

"This is unbelievable…Cutting off that woman's finger was enough but now he thinks were best friends that can handle his problems. We don't do jobs involving drugs anymore and he knows that"

The Cody brothers couldn't believe what happened yesterday, let alone Lucy getting involved in everything. It made sense how Marco was always pushing the drugs to Craig and how they did jobs with him years ago involving drugs. No one would have figured that Lucy was involved, it seemed like her brother just went his own way and did his own thing. It really surprised Craig considering that he had been friends with him more so than everyone else.

"I know you guys don't, because of your sisters, right?" She remembered the time that Baz had told her they stopped doing runs because of Julia's habit. Jessica was always a factor, but the eldest sister had a harder time with getting clean, staying sober and stealing. "I just want you both to be quiet on this. I've given Marco a warning so if we could keep this between all of us, that would be great"

"Does Baz know about any of this?" Even though Craig asked Deran earlier, the blond still wanted to know.

Shaking her head no, Lucy leaned back faintly. "No, that's why I want you two to keep it a secret. He wouldn't understand, you guys got out of the business and I stayed in. Besides, Baz and I are through, he's with Jessica now" She paused on that sentence but continued on a moment later. "We can just pretend that nothing ever happened"

The two of them had exchanged looks momentarily. "What if we don't?" Craig asked her.

"You'd only be causing yourselves trouble in the long run. I never want to hurt any of you or involve anyone else. My brother made a stupid move and I'm past it. I don't want any of you to be wrapped up in whatever my brother did. We're all friends, remember?"

Lucy quickly stood up and pushed her hair off her shoulder. She smiled politely at them before turning away and moving back out into the main area of the bar. It came as a surprise that Lucy went out of her way to ask them to be quiet and just abruptly left, especially on a threat. If any of this got out, they would be in trouble, specifically by Smurf. This would start a war before the family and apparently a drug cartel that they didn't even know existed.

Deran had gotten up to make sure she left, peering into the room, and watching the door. "What are we going to do? Are we going to tell Baz?" He heard Craig call out lowly.

"I honestly don't know…He's going to flip once he finds out that Lucy is in a drug cartel. I mean, they been, how has he not known?" Deran questioned while walking back over.

"What if Smurf finds out?" The eldest asked, a clear concern in his eyes.

"Man, I don't even want to think about that…Let's just get back to what we were doing"

When Jessica arrived at Smurf's to pick up Lena, she did a quick look over in her famous blue jeep. She wanted to make sure that she looked okay to go in because she couldn't take any chances. Hiding her growing baby bump was starting to get challenging because she was naturally skinny. Two months along wasn't that far but the bump was clear depending on what she was wearing.

The problem was that Jessica dressed like it was summer all year long. Her skin was always the right shade of tan, her blonde hair hung in beach waves and her outfits consisted of tight clothes. Most of the time, Jessica was dressed in form fitting vintage shirts and shorts but occasionally she'd change it up to long skirts and crop tops. Jessica needed to change her wardrobe completely and not look suspicious doing so. The only thing was…Smurf could find out anything about anybody.

Braiding her hair quickly, Jessica stepped out and threw her shades back on as the sun was beginning to set. Slamming the car door shut, she pulled at her grey, oversized t-shirt to make it a little bit baggier. It read Oceanside across the chest so she hoped that all eyes would be up top, rather than right underneath. She wore a pair of white bicycle shorts underneath it and if Smurf asked, Jessica's excuse was that she went for a quick run, something she did occasionally.

Slipping into the house, Jessica checked her phone for a second while looking around. She was waiting to hear from Baz and was hoping that it could distract her from being around her Mother. After their explosive fight, the last time she saw Smurf was when she stopped by to give her back Dylan's birth certificate. It didn't help that they stole thousands from her either as Jessica was fighting a guilty conscience.

When Jessica reached the kitchen, she watched Smurf head down the opposite hallway, presumably to her bedroom and that gave her the opportunity to head outside.

"Look Aunt Jessica, Uncle Craig's been teaching me how to swim" Lena called out from in the pool. Decked out in her lavender colored swimsuit. Craig had been sitting on one of the lounge chairs, a beer in hand watching his niece attempt to swim.

"I see that, once you get the hang of it, next up is surfing which I'll show you one day" Jessica told her while approaching them. "Hey Craig"

Craig and Jessica exchanged a look that was pure confusion. The conversation earlier with Lucy really bugged him, actually the one situation did. He wasn't about to tell anyone what happened, let alone his sister. Nodding in her direction as a greeting, he looked back to Lena.

"Don't listen to her, I think I should be the one teaching her that. I mean, I am the best out of all of us" He said which made Jessica place her hands on her hips.

"Oh please, I'm the one who taught Deran, and he went on to competitions. If anyone will show her, it will be me"

"So what? I used to take him to them. I'm the better surfer"

"No, you're not Craig so trying to push it" She said back playfully as the two always seemed to bicker like children. It was better than fighting with Baz as her brother wasn't so hardheaded. "Your Dad wanted me to pick you up"

Craig went to say something and instead watched Smurf step outside. Jessica hadn't heard her but still had her focus on Lena. Walking closer to the pool, she bent down to get Lena out.

"Will you swim with me?"

"Not tonight, it's not that warm out right now. You should be getting out; I wouldn't want you to catch a cold"

"You should listen to your Aunt, Lena, after all she is a nurse"

The voice that came from behind Jessica nearly made her jump out of her skin. She knew that she'd have to face her at some point, but she didn't want it to be so soon. Jessica remained frozen in place and didn't want to turn around.

"Come on out, we can stop for ice cream on the way back to your house" Lena shook her head faintly wanting to continue swimming. "Please Lena, what if we color in your mermaid coloring book again? We can even buy some more crayons. Remember those ones you want that had over 100 colors in it? We can grab the special ones too"

"Really? Those ones that have the glitter in them?" As Lena struggled to get to the edge, the blonde leaned forward to grab her hand. Dragging her over, she helped the young girl out of the water. "Are you going to stay the night again?"

Craig got up to hand Jessica the towel that was in his lap, Jessica nearly jumped out of her skin when she asked that question. When she grabbed it from him, she could hear him whisper that she was busted. He wasn't going to miss the show though, he sat right back down to hear what speech Smurf was going to go on. Wrapping it around her shoulders, Jessica stood back up.

"Go on in and change your clothes. We'll run to the store quick so you can take a shower"

Nodding at her words, Lena smiled before running for the house. It also made Smurf crack a smile despite her finding out the new revelation.

"So, he isn't showing up and you had to pick her up right?" Smurf asked her once her granddaughter was out of sight. "I'm surprised it isn't Pope this time. You know, he's been spending a lot of time with her lately"

"She likes spending time with her Uncles. It's not like she sees them often, it's nice that Craig offered to watch her swim"

"How come you didn't jump in to help her? I've never seen you around water and not get in"

Looking over at her, Jessica could feel Smurf's eyes on her. Even though the Cody Matriarch had sunglasses on, she could tell that she was silently judging her. At that moment, Jessica got very self-conscious and tugged at her shirt to loosen it. It was probably a stupid thing to do but it was a desperate move.

"It's too cold, I don't want to freeze to death" The temperature had dropped in the afternoon, but it still wasn't bad for swimming.

"That never stopped you before. Are you feeling okay baby?"

"Remember that one-time Deran wouldn't come home, and you had to drag him out of the ocean? He was crying like a baby because he saw a shark swimming around. Good times…" Craig chimed in trying to break the tension that was starting.

Luckily, Lena came back out of the house, towel wrapped around her red one-piece swim suit. She was dragging her bag behind her while trying to hold the towel at the same time.

"I'll meet you in the car Lena, say goodbye to Uncle Craig and Grandma Smurf" The little girl did as she said, giving them each a big hug before Jessica spoke again. "You can ride I the front seat as long as you don't tell you Dad"

"I can?" Lena asked back before the blonde nodded yes. That caused her to run out the backyard, heading straight to the car.

Smurf watched her with a smile before turning her attention back to her daughter. "Sometimes I wonder how you became a better parent that your brother did" Jessica could tell the way she said brother, as if she were trying to remind her. "It's funny because sometimes I wonder if Baz thinks I tell Lena I hate her. I don't know where a crazy idea like that would come from"

"I guess I just have motherly instincts, after all I'm still a Mom, right?" Crossing her arms, Jessica looked over at Smurf in order to stare her down. She not only meant it as a dig, but she meant it as the truth after exposing her. "I mean, I may not have raised my kid, but I still have one. I just didn't want him to grow up around a fucked-up family"

As Jessica was telling Smurf, she was hoping that Craig wasn't listening. None of them knew about Dylan, at least that was what she was believing. Jessica didn't want to confront it yet or get questioned by her brothers. She also assumed that if they knew, they would be asking already.

"You're right Jessica, after all, I'm such a bitter, selfish woman. I wouldn't want you to turn into me"

Hearing those words made Jessica's heart pound and sink to her stomach. They sounded so familiar, and it clicked almost immediately. Before she could answer word, Smurf turned on her heel and strutted back into the house with a smirk playing on her lips.

"What was that all about?" Craig asked before taking a drink from his bottle.

"You know her, always starting something" Rubbing the back of her neck slowly, she turned away from the pool. "I'll see you later Craig, I gotta get Lena home"

The younger sister knew that there were a pair of eyes watching her from inside and they obviously belong to Smurf. She had to remain collected and cool because something about the whole situation seemed off. As she made her way out of the back yard, Jessica picked up the pace and hopped in her jeep.

After making sure Lena was buckled in, she kicked the engine on before her phone starting ringing. Seeing Baz's name pop up, she slid her finger across the screen to answer it.

"Hey, I just got Lena. Craig was teaching her how to swim, can you believe that?"

"Can we go to the beach tomorrow?" She chimed out as Jessica began to hook her phone up to the car. As she backed out of the driveway, Jessica knew she was going to have a hard time hearing him as she had her top off the car.

There was silence for a moment before Baz spoke. "Maybe we can go this weekend. I know you're behind on homework…You're not around Smurf, are you?"

"No, I'm on the way to the store, I promised I get Lena some new crayons and ice cream. You're on speaker because I'm driving so watch what you say. Where are you?"

"I just got done doing something that's going to change everything. You and I are good from this point on"

"What are you talking about? What did you do?"

Coming to a stoplight, Jessica quickly unhooked her phone and put it in her lap. She asked Lena to reach into the glovebox, hoping there were headphones inside. Luckily for her there were so she plugged it in the jack and put one in her ear. Jessica had no idea what Baz was referring to so she had to play it safe with Lena in the car.

"I'll fill you in when you get back to the house. Our plan is moving forward, and I got Smurf right where I want her. I'm gonna finish up here and I'll see you back at the house"

Keeping her eyes on the road, she wanted to know immediately what he was talking about but had to concentrate. "Wait…Smurf knows Baz" She was glad she caught him before he hung up.

"What do you mean she knows?" She could hear the confusion in his voice.

"She knows something is up. I swear to God that she just repeated almost word for word what I said yesterday. She was telling me how she's selfish and that I wouldn't want to turn into her. I told you that last night"

Baz had been trying to recall their conversation as they discuss many things the night before. Trying to take out a specific line was difficult, but he could remember her saying something along those lines.

"How could she have known that?" He believed Jessica but it didn't make any sense.

"I don't know but it's too much of a coincidence. She even brought up how someone told her that you hate Lena. She told me that Smurf said that before and now she made it seem like I said it or something" Jessica said that part lowly while turning up the radio. Lena seemed to be looking out the window and not paying any attention to her. "Hey Lena, has Grandma Smurf been over to the house lately"

"Yeah, she picked me up from school and brought me home"

"When was this?" She questioned the little girl.

"I don't know, two days ago? She told me to go into my room and do my homework and she stayed in the kitchen. Uncle Pope came to watch me then we met Amy at the park. Why?"

"Jess, I can only hear the radio. What's going on?"

Shaking her head faintly in disbelief, Jessica knew that Smurf had something to do with it. There was no way that these things just fell into place without any explanation. She hated asking Lena, but the truth had to be out there.

"Lena said Smurf was at the house days ago"

Giving Baz an idea, he didn't want to believe it either, but it was Smurf after all. "She bugged the house…That's how I found out about the storage unit. I put a tracker in her purse to figure out where she was going" Taking a deep breath, this just added another piece to the puzzle. If Smurf knew that they stole her money, she would grill J again which would create another problem.

"She what? And you did what? How am I just finding out about this. Dammit Baz, why can't you just tell me what all happened. It's always something new with you"

"Just get back as quick as you can, I'll hurry up here. We're going to search the entire house"