Ch1: Hellos and Good byes
"Mom! What's happening?!"
"Just keep driving Ronnie!"
Ronnie risked a glance up at the rearview mirror to gage the situation and could see her mother's tearstained face as she desperately tried holding down the massive form of her brother in the backseat. His cries filling the car and sending Ronnie's already frazzled nerves on edge.
She could feel it -their twin connection always being strongest when one of them was in pain- and right now her entire body was hot and aflame with a pain not her own.
Something in the road caught her attention.
Her eyes grew wide with fear.
Her reaction was too slow.
She heard it before she felt it…
"on…ica…"
With a hard shake Ronnie's eyes flew open. The ringing in her ears that always followed the nightmare making her disoriented as she tried focusing on the person next to her.
Lips were forming words she was familiar with but she couldn't hear anything.
Closing her eyes again and taking a deep breath she practiced the centering exercise her therapist had taught her and slowly the world was coming back into focus.
After a few more breathes, she opened her eyes and looked over to the man who wore a sad expression next to her. His once vibrant and charming face - her mother's words. Not hers - seemingly aged and tired now. One hand was resting on her shoulder and the other on the steering wheel of the all black escalade they had been driving in for the past four days.
"Sorry" His voice was soft and a little scratchy, probably from lack of use. The time they had spent together was mostly filled with heavy silence these days. "You were having another nightmare. I couldn't bear to listen to you going through that"
The teen shook her head, pulling herself up right in the passenger seat and rubbing at her eyes "No… Thanks." She cleared her throat "I was remembering… That night."
The older man nodded. He wouldn't tell her but he had heard her call out her mother's name and pieced together what she was dreaming of.
He gave her a nod and turned back to the road, flicking on his blinker and slowly pulling back into the road they were on. Ronnie realized he must have pulled over to wake her. "How much longer before we get there?"
He didn't turn to her this time but answered her question nonetheless "Actually we should be there in the next ten minutes if the GPS is right"
This was not the answer she wanted.
Ronnie's small body sunk deeper into the seat as a scowl pulled at her face "Ten minutes doesnt seem like a fair amount of time to convince you how much of a terrible idea this is." her gaze wandered to the window beside her, the dull grey sky contrasted greatly with the lush green of the foliage surrounding the road they were on.
A bark of laughter filled the car, probably the first laugh either of them had shared in the last five days. "As opposed to the past 96 hours you tried convincing me?"
She was wide awake now. Desperation pulling at her entire being for the situation to be different.
She was on her knees turning to face him fully, her hands on the center console as she leaned towards him "C'mon Marc. This is dumb. I don't even know her! Mom would have wanted us to stay together!"
Marc winced at the thought of the woman in question. He wasn't ready to talk about her yet.
"She's your aunt. Legally I'm only your manager, no judge will sign you over to me just because I was dating your mom. As grown as you think you are, you're still a minor." He turned the car down what the GPS was saying would be the long road that lead to their final destination "Plus… It's isolated and quiet here. Safer for you. We both know mom would want you safe above all else"
"I would be safe with you"
He glanced over to see her no longer leaning on the console but against the seat. Her gaze on her folded hands in her lap.
He wanted to reply.
He wanted more then anything to tell her that he would do anything to protect her. To keep her safe. But he had already failed her. Hell the reason they were even here on the other side of the country was because he didn't do just that. He didn't keep her safe and they had paid the terrible price twice over.
"They still haven't found the guy Ron. He knew all about me and mom and … Toby." He reached a hand out to take her small digits in his hand "He's still out there. Me and detective Johnson are trying to shake him off your trail but for now you need to lay low while we try and draw him out"
Releasing her grip he pulled up to a decent sized cabin surrounded by trees. He paid little attention to the aesthetic of it all and instead unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face his small ward.
There was a cut on her lip that was finally beginning to heal. Though her newly cut bangs covered them, he knew she had three butterfly bandages stitching together the wound an inch above her left eyebrow. All caused by the impact from the airbag. Fortunately she had only suffered bruised ribs outside of that. She was wearing a wrap under her clothes to compress them and limit her movement to keep her from hurting herself more.
She finally looked up to meet his gaze and he had to stop himself from looking away.
She was broken.
Not physically. No… Mentally.
The loss of the only two family members she's known the majority of her life had left a hole so big in her heart that she herself had fallen into it. The light that so many people had fallen in love with within her chocolate brown eyes was snuffed out by a villain they had ignorantly let into their lives.
Sighing he reached out and pulled her into a fierce hug. She didn't return it and for a brief second he wondered if the movement had hurt her ribs. But after a few seconds she reached up and held on to the only father figure she had known for the past seven years.
"I don't want to be away from you" She whispered into his chest. Her voice breaking his heart.
The irony in protecting her was that he was going to further her pain by removing himself from her side.
"Listen Smalls" He pulled away from her, taking her face in his hands to ensure she was looking at him. "Once this is over. Once we get him and he's behind bars and you're safe" He couldn't stress that word enough "I'll come back for you. We'll be a family again and if you don't wanna pick up where you left off in your career we can find something else. You wanna go to college in France? You got it. Wanna backpack for a year through Europe? I'm all for it. Feel like being an average everyday panhandler?" His smile finally broke on the last one "I'll make sure to give you the biggest donations a day...Although we can't keep that one up too long. As your manager I strongly advise against it"
She choked out a giggle as tears began freely falling from her eyes.
"But not until we get this guy" His face sobered back into his imploring expression "He'll mess up. He's obsessed and can't stay away for too long. And once he realizes you're not in New York anymore he'll start panicking and getting sloppy. That's when we'll get him. Just… be patient yeah?"
Ronnie knew as soon as Marc brought up the plan for her to stay with her biological father's sister there would be no talking him out of it. He was holding onto a lot of guilt for what happened. And no matter how many times she told him none of this was his fault he wouldn't listen. It only made her own guilt that much heavier.
Relenting, if only to make him feel a fraction better she gave him a single nod. "You promise you'll come back?"
Marc's tired eyes smiled along with his pinched lips pulling her back into a hug he nodded against her hair. Placing a soft kiss on her head "Pinky promise smalls"
Ronnie was the one to pull away this time. Her eyes flickering to the strange wooden house, vastly different from the luxurious condo she was used to. She saw the curtains in the front window shift and figured her aunt had just realized they had pulled up. She heaved a heavy sigh as the time they had together was drawing to a close.
She hardened her heart to the idea of being on her own with a stranger she didn't know existed until five days ago. "Let's get this over with" she mumbled before wiping her face and pushing the door open to step out.
At the same time the door to the house opened up and a surprisingly young woman stepped out onto the porch. She was tall, prompting Ronnie to wonder if her biological father was tall as well. And if so where had she gotten her short height from? Her mother and Toby were both a head taller than her and she imagined the woman on the porch was as well.
She reached into the car and pulled out her backpack while Marc called out greetings to the woman he had only spoken to over the phone.
Instead of greeting her aunt like Marc had, she instead, walked to the back of the car and started unloading her suitcases. She had only wanted to bring her backpack, but Marc had insisted she brought more clothes. Insinuating she would be spending much more time than she originally thought at her aunt's.
She was lost in thought - staring at the vintage trunk she had taken from her mother's room and two plain black rolling suitcases - when a tanned toned hand reached into the SUV and pulled out the trunk.
The panic that came with one of her mother's items possibly being damaged was instant.
"Watch it!" she cried turning to the stranger who had casually approached her.
She froze when her eyes landed on a ghost.
Her eyes watered and a painful lump formed in her throat as the image of Toby vanished and she was met with a stranger who resembled him far too much to be a coincidence.
His glare was enough to tell her it wasn't her gentle twin.
"Do you want help or not princess?" He growled before adjusting his grip on the trunk and turning away from her before she could respond.
"Paul!" Her aunt hissed slapping the back of his head as she rounded the car "It wouldn't kill you to be nice"
The taller, and clearly older teen didn't respond as he walked away and towards the house.
"Sorry about that" Her aunt's gaze left Paul's retreating form and she turned back to Ron. She stopped short though, whatever comment she was going to make dying on her lips. "You're blonde!" she exclaimed in surprise.
The volume in which she made the very obvious observation made Ronnie wince. She didn't get a chance to respond before Marc came around the car.
"Ah… Yeah. That's still a sore subject." He rubbed the back of his head with a guilty grin "It was my idea to change her appearance. So that she wouldn't be recognized"
The pretty woman nodded, reaching out and gently pulling on one of Ronnie's shoulder length locks without any regard for the girls personal space "Looks badass"
Ron pulled away from the unwanted touch, not giving a reply.
It was Marc who broke the silence. "She sort of cried for a solid five hours after we left the salon"
"I did not!" Ronnie snapped turning her glare to the man who held full responsibility for the completely unflattering cut and dye job. She had fiercely loved her long dark locks. Turning back to her aunt she asked "Who was that?"
"Paul?" The woman reached into the back and tugged out one of the suitcases, handing it to Marc before reaching for the other "He's your brother" she answered almost as calmly as one would tell you the time.
Ronnie's eyes couldn't get any bigger as she turned her questioning gaze towards Marc who didn't at all seem surprised by the news. Did he know?
"Well, half brother if we're being technical" The woman continued before reaching up and closing the trunk firmly. "We'll go over the details in the house. I made breakfast and you two look like you need a pretty solid meal"
With that she was turning to the house with the other suitcase and leading the way.
Ron turned to Marc who started talking and walking away before she had a chance to question him. "Did she say breakfast? I'm starving! C'mon Ron-Ron"
.:o:.
Andrea. Or Andy as she liked to be called was the name of Ron's aunt.
Marc had thanked her profusely for everything she was doing for them. Taking Ron in, feeding them, not asking too many questions.
Andy was aware of only the basics.
Ronnie had a boyfriend. He became possessive and abusive after some time. When she ended things he turned into a stalker who became violent. She was running away from him the night of the accident.
She didn't ask for any information besides a picture of what he looked like in the unlikely event he found her all the way in Washington. "Gotta know whose ass to kick" she casually said when she looked over the picture.
"I'll be staying in Seattle for two weeks before heading to California with an old colleague" Marc explained as the three of them sat around the living room a few hours later. "It's not like it's right down the street but it's also not New York. Call me in case of anything"
Andy grinned and threw a casual arm around Ronnie "We'll be fine~" she shook the teenager "Right Veronica?"
Ronnie winced at the use of her full name and pulled away from her aunts overly friendly grip. The woman seemingly taking no offence to her actions. "It's Ronnie" She quietly corrected.
"Right, Ronnie" Andy nodded "So Ronilda, you got any questions? About me? The Rez? School? My sexual orientation?"
"Excuse me?" The teen paled looking over to Marc who was watching them in amusement.
Andrea broke out in a loud laugh shoving her Niece playfully "Relax kid, I keep my sex life away from the house. You're all good"
For the first time since she arrived Veronica was questioning her ability to handle being in this house alone. Andy was a personality she wasn't too familiar with. Most people tended to be shy around her because of her career on Broadway. Strangers were star-struck and treated her like an extremely breakable object. She wasn't used to being approached so casually so soon after meeting someone.
Thinking about her new living situation made her think about the older teen she had met earlier. "Actually, I do have a question" Andy turned to her and wordlessly prompted her to continue. "Your nephew. Paul"
"Your brother"
Ronnie winced at the term Andy used for the young man she met earlier.
She only has… had one brother. Paul was just a kid who happened to share the same father as her. She didn't want to come off as rude though, so she continued "Him. Does he live here with you?"
Andy gave her a nod and a gentle look overcame her features. She pointed to the wall across from them that held a picture of a much younger Andrea standing behind a small boy. Pinching his cheeks and grinning madly at the camera. The small boy was glaring up at his assailant, pulling his face into a hilarious expression.
"I've been with Paul since he was born. I've had custody of him since I was eighteen. There was a pretty big age gap between me and my brother so when my parents passed in a boating accident he took custody of me. I was ten when Paul was born, twelve when his mom took off."
For the first time since Ronnie had met the sister of her biological father, an almost sad look crossed the woman's face. "David. Your birth father. He wasn't the nicest of guys. He had a temper that was quick to set off and a hand that came down quicker. It's one of the main reasons your mom took off after she found out she was pregnant with you."
Ronnie had never known anything about her birth father. Her mother never liked talking about him. So she was eating up all the information she could about the man she never knew.
"He had a drinking problem. Got pretty nasty when he was drunk out of his mind" She shrugged and looked back over at the picture "The minute I turned eighteen I took Paul away and got custody of the little turd. I had basically raised him up to that point anyway" she gazed at the picture fondly "It's been us two against the world since then"
Ronnie digested the information quietly as Andy got lost in her memories with her nephew who was part brother but also part son to her.
Marc was aware of what kind of man David Lahote was, Mia had mentioned it to him once. She was young, impressionable, and thought the world of the older man. She had no idea he had a wife and an almost two year old son at home until that very wife confronted her one day.
By that point, Mia was already heavily pregnant with the twins. So she packed up her belongings and moved to Massachusetts with some family. Then moved to the Big Apple not long after their birth and stayed a single parent until Marc had met them.
They had become a family.
An alarm suddenly rang from Ronnie's new cellphone. Everyone equally pulled from their thoughts at the loud chime.
"Oh" Ronnie jumped and silenced the iPhone and looked down at the reminder "Alex should be waking up soon"
"I'll go grab him" Marc decided pushing off his knees and heading towards the door "He'll want to eat anyway and the cooler is in the car"
Ron nodded looking back over to her aunt "Thank you again for letting me bring him along. Alex gets pretty stressed out when I'm not around, so a long-term babysitter wouldn't work out"
Andy shrugged "Doesn't bother me none. Although I haven't gotten a chance to tell Paul we'll have two houseguests instead of just one"
And as if the spirits themselves were intervening, Paul's angry outburst sounded from the front lawn "What the hell is- ... Andy!"
Andrea grinned and wordlessly beckoned Ron to follow her as they went to check on the spectacle that was her nephew.
Outside they found Marc failing miserably at holding back his laughter while Paul was sitting atop the Escalade. His eyes trained on the small pink miniature pig that was pacing the ground below him snorting and looking for the boy that had disturbed his feeding time.
Paul's panicked eyes landed on the two women leaving the house and his glare intensified "Why the hell is there a hog in our yard!" He hollered not moving an inch from the car that was his only safety from the small beast.
"He's not a hog!" Ronnie huffed stepping down the stairs and blowing out a sharp whistle.
The small piglet immediately looked around for the source of the sound and perked up when he caught sight of his precious owner.
Ron knelt down and scooped up the ten pound piglet and nuzzled him into her chest before glaring back at Paul's ridiculous form "Alexander Hamilton is my son! An esteemed member of my family! Not an average everyday barnyard animal!"
Seeing that the small animal was contained Paul placed his feet back on the ground "Ands, you can't be serious, right?!" He asked ignoring the petite girl and the tiny pink and brown polka dotted thing in her arms.
Andrea who had crossed her arms and leaned against the porch beam, smirked "Scared of a little babe Paulie?"
The scowl never left Paul's face and Ronnie wondered if he had permanent wrinkles in his face when he isn't busy being angry with the world.
"Where the hell is it going to stay?" He growled out.
Ronnie rolled her eyes, adjusting her hold on Alex she answered the question intended for Andy. "Alex is house trained. Andy already agreed. He's staying in the house with me"
"You might want to rethink that," He turned to the girl he only recently found out he was related to "unless you want fresh bacon tomorrow morning"
Before she could give him explicit instructions on where in his body he would find her foot if he so much as laid a finger on her child, Andy interrupted them.
"Already bickering like brother and sister!" she clapped her hands with a wide toothy grin "Lahote genes run strong yeah?"
Marc grinned at the scene as well.
He knew first hand how pampered and protected Ronnie was. She had withdrawn deep into herself since the accident, so this was the most animated he had seen her in days. It only reinforced his decision to leave her there.
Looking at his phone reminded him that he in fact should be leaving her soon.
As Paul grumbled something and walked off into the woods surrounding the cabin Ronnie placed Alexander down on the ground so he could roam around freely and get used to their temporary home.
Marc approached her and the look in his eye told her all she needed to know.
He was leaving her.
"Alright Smalls, it's time for me to hit the road" His large hand came up to rest on her cheek, forcing the petite teen to look him in the eyes, "Remember what I told you?"
Andy gazed upon the two, watching as Ronnie squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to cry in front of other people. The woman smirked at the resemblance she shared with her nephew. She briefly wondered if Tobias shared the same features as Ronnie and Paul, the thought causing a dull ache in her heart for the family member she would never get the chance to meet.
"I'll let you know if I wanna go to Greece or Korea by the time you come to get me" Ron's tone was nonchalant but her red nose was a dead giveaway to both adults present.
Marc smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Instead, he pulled her to his chest and held onto the last bit of family he had left. "I love you, Smalls" he whispered into her hair.
"Love you more old man" She choked back.
Ch1: End
woah, its been years since i wrote a new fanfic. i couldn't tell you where an embryxOC story came from but it's here for your enjoyment. this originally started on wattpad with a totalllly different story line so if you go find that gem you might find some clues as to what may have happened in ron's past. as you can see i took come liberties with Pauls background story and added my own oc (andy) because lets face it, paul deserved more. anyways, if you were hoping for an immediate imprint, youve come to the wrong place. lol but if you're patient i promise it'll all be worth it in the end! i've already uprooted ronnie's whole life, i dont want to rush anymore. anyways reviews are heavily encouraged! let me know what you think! and thank you for reading.