Brother Mine

by Blackstar1979

"Brother Mine" Mark is preparing to retire from wrestling so he can keep a promise he made to Nina his dead first wife in a drug-induced dream. The bonds that were forged and those that were almost broken play a part in book three. This is a partial summary see Chapter 1 for full.

5. Chapter 5 Combatting Bloodline Bias

Chapter 5

Combatting Bloodline Bias

Back in Houston, hours before Paula and Tracy would arrive Tony walks into the living room of his adopted parents Mr. and Mrs. Bonner. Tony says, "You wanted me?" Ruby Bonner asks him was he ok. He wasn't ok he was trying not to show how upset this day had made him. "Um, sure" Clarence Bonner walks over and sits next to him and says for him not to start lying to them. "Fine, I just don't get why you guys freaked like that." Ruby says that he didn't tell them that he was dating a part of the very family that put him in danger. Tony looked away from them and says, "That's wrong and not fair, my birth father caused this. Megan didn't properly do her job, but Janet has nothing to do with any of that. Megan is dead, so is my …Anthony." His adoptive mom said it was a shock that he would seek out a part of the family that had anything to do with it. They weren't listening to him. There were lots that he wanted to say but a lot of it wasn't his story to tell. He wasn't the only one mistreated by Megan. She'd hurt or mishandled her position in order to hurt a lot of people he cared for.

Ruby saw that Tony visibly retreated further into himself. She asked him questions about who approached who. He gave shorter and shorter answers until at one point he gets up and sits on the edge of the reclining chair. He did this when he was nervous. Her husband at one point shook his head at her. He then asks Tony was Janet the young lady he called asking about what to do to show her he liked her. Tony nodded. "So, you were interested before you knew she was related to the Megan?" Tony says they wouldn't like his answer if he answered that. "Try me." Tony flinched. "I'm just wondering why Tracy would agree to letting you date someone like that?" Tony mumbled they didn't know Janet. Clarence says "Tony neither do you. You didn't see the look on her father's face. Do you really want to put yourself back in a situation that can turn volatile?" His wife started speaking and when she said that is why they were thinking of reporting this to the court that Tracy was willing to let him venture into possibly dangerous situations. Tony says they weren't even trying to understand, gets up and runs upstairs. Anger flared in Clarence's tone as he shouted. "Anthony get back down here this minute." When Clarence stood to go up the stairs, he heard what sounded like something heavy being moved. Clarence felt instant remorse yes, he wanted his son to come back downstairs, but he'd lost his temper. He hadn't called Tony, Anthony since their first talk. He also knew what his son had just did. The sound was Tony barricading himself in his room an action he'd done a lot when he first moved in with them but as weeks turned into months he'd stopped. Ruby puts up a hand telling him not to go after him. "Yes, you're right the last thing I need is him trying to climb out of the window again."

Up inside of his room, Tony pushed his dresser in front of his door. The look on Mr. Bonner's face when he stood up sent him into flight mode. He hadn't yelled or anything. What he said was true they weren't even trying to understand. When Mrs. Bonner mentioned stopping the process of letting his birth mom get him back fulltime pissed him off and scared him as well. Getting a text from Jan just sunk his mood even more. He replied and waited for her reply.

Janet C: Hey if us being together is going to cause you to lose your mom I'll understand if you no longer want to be with me.

Tony: No please don't say that this is insane. I don't even want to be here right now. I'm sorry this is all my fault. I shouldn't have brought you here I'm so sorry. Jan please don't break up with me.

Instead of texting back Janet calls him. He answers, and she asks why it sounded like he was in a tunnel. He explained what was said and how he reacted. Hearing that he'd locked himself in his room and even thought of scaling down the side of the house made her tell him if he ran away it would make it worse not better. He says he just didn't want to lose his chance to be with his mom or her. Janet tells him running won't solve that and besides her mom and his mom were on their way if he was worried about Mr. Bonner losing it on him. He apologized again. She tells him to please stop apologizing like he set this all up. She says he didn't know that the Bonners would lose it like that. He says that was true. She asked where he was in the room. He says he was inside his window seat cabinet. After talking about other stuff, the tremble had left his voice and she heard the lid to his hiding place open. That calmed her down a bit and he thanked her for talking some sense into him. Janet hated to hear how upset he had become, but says he was welcome. He then says that her mom's truck had just pulled up.

After introductions are made Paula, Tracy, and Ruby goes into the den. Paula remained quiet as Ruby spoke. When she asked how Tracy could let Tony date a part of the family that caused so much discourse. "I'm going to have to stop you right there. I'm a part of that family. My daughter is related to Megan but that is the only thing they have in common. We can't pick who we are related to by blood. You are being very closed minded right now." Ruby says that Paula's bias was showing. In a calm tone Paula tells Ruby that she too had a lot of issues with Megan and so did Mark. She goes on to say since Mr. Bonner was so interested in stereotyping her husband here is what he missed. Paula tells them how vastly different Mark and Megan were from each other and how Megan had mistreated Janet and a little boy that Paula also loves. "Megan was sick. I use was because she is dead. You both here thinking that my daughter is out to get your son in some cosmic pay back is immature at best. You as god fearing Christians should be ashamed of yourselves. So, when I look at Tony should I think the same about him, being Anthony was his father?" Tracy winced, Mr. Bonner snaps no that would be wrong. His words slowed down, and he finally says he saw where Paula was going with that.

His wife started to defend her stance, but Clarence put up a hand and says. "No, Rudy she's right. We did the same thing as your parents did to me." Ruby says that was different he was way different than his mother and father. "Which is what Mrs. Callaway just said."

Ruby thought about that and reflected on how she treated a little girl that she didn't even know. "I have been so angry at a Megan and all the trouble she caused that when I met Janet it was like the meetings all over again." As the haze of transference washed away remembering the actual interaction that happened three hours before, Ruby was aghast at her own behavior. Tony had been in such good spirits and now he'd locked himself in his room. She'd seen how him going with Tracy and going out to pubic venues with his girlfriend was improving her adoptive son's overall confidence. Something Tony had mumbled came back to her. If she was honest with herself Janet didn't resemble the older woman as much as her angry haze made it seem. Janet was smaller in stature and her eyes was a crystal blue also the structure of her face was a bit different. If anything, Janet looked like a smaller version of the man that had come with her. "Wow with exception of eye color and her smaller nose she looks more like her father than Megan. No matter who she looks like I shouldn't have treated her so badly. You're right my husband was raised by abusive racist and he is the most nondiscriminatory and selfless men I know. Please forgive me and I thank you for coming."

Tracy asks to see Tony. Mr. Bonner tells her just a minute. When he goes upstairs and knocks on the door to Tony's room more shuffling could be heard. "Tony open the door son, Tracy is here." Tony soon opens the door, but does not look Clarence in the eyes, he watches him and walks back a few feet. Clarence walks in and says they needed to talk. After reassuring his son that he would not have brought harm to him and that he and Tracy and Janet's mother had finally talked some sense into his wife and himself, they soon head down stairs. The minute Tony sees Tracy standing in the foyer, he runs to her hugging her. He buried his head in her neck as his entire body shook. He whispered his fears that the Bonners were going to keep him away for her for good, between sobs. Tracy rubbed his back as she fought back her own tears at seeing how upset her son was by all this.

Ruby moved closer to the two and tells Tony she was wrong for saying that in front of him, and that she is sorry that Clarence and her misplaced anger and guilt about the Megan situation manifested and ruined what should have been a nice day. He nods but doesn't let go of his mother.

The drive back to Ivey mansion was uneventful. Tony sat behind Tracy and Paula drove. As Paula is dropping them off at Last Ride Tony asks could he come with her. "That's up to your mother." Tracy says she was fine with it. After another round of Tracy thanking Paula for going and helping her not make things worse. Paula says, "Honey, I lost my cool the moment they started speaking but, I knew I had to rein it in. I'm just thankful I didn't make it worse." Tracy steps back from the truck, waves, and walks up to her apartment. Paula pulls off and Tony asked her if she believed the Bonners. "Well, from what they said and that's all we have to go on is their word, I'd say they were being genuine. They scared you huh?" He nods and looks out the window.

Harold who had been working the Conrad case, and trying to contact Andrew to talk him into turning himself in before time ran out and he absolutely had to list Stark as rogue, is asleep in a hotel that his agency used for agents in the field away from home. He gets a call from a number he didn't recognize. He answers in his detached tone "Commander Sean." No answer. "Hello"

Ian Sean, Harold's son speaks quickly but quietly into the phone he'd barrowed from his friend. "Dad, I can't talk long but can you please come home?" His father kept the detached tone that made him often wonder was this a good idea. "Please I know we fought before you left, and I was really out of control but there has been a lot going on since you left. Some of it I know you know about but... Dad please, I don't know what else to do or where else to turn." Ian tried to keep the emotion out of his voice. "She is my mother and I love her, but he almost put my fucking head through the mirror. I got the cut-up forearms to prove it. If I hadn't of put up my arms like Uncle Mark showed me last year. I would have gone head first into mom's dresser mirror. I know I said stupid shit to you before you left and that was stupid and… I got to go he's here."

Harold was so angry hearing the distress in his son's voice that his own words froze in his mouth, by the time the action part of his brain caught up and he yells "Ian, don't hang up" the call ended. Leaving him alert and pissed beyond measure. Harold jumps up and nearly crashes into the ajar bathroom door, as he rushes around the hotel grabbing clothing and his weaponry. With all the rushing around he was out the door before he'd picked up his key fob for his rental. That moment was needed, because as he ran back in the hotel room and franticly searched his pockets and looked in unusual places rational thought and procedural law crept in to him as he held the end of the bed up looking under the wooden base that his key fob would not have fit under. Harold slowly puts down the bed and takes a breath. He had to first not run in without a plan. He had no more data than what he son had told him. Yes, he would get to the bottom of this. But he needed a cooler head before he charged into something that could backfire as quickly as a domestic dispute. He knew if he went into that house right now the fucker that put his hands on his son would be dead before morning. That train of thought collided with another tactical one because if he charged in and the man killed his wife or child trying to get away, he'd never forgive himself. Harold had to use his head not purely his protective nature. He had to calm down. Going to the desk he pulls up the camera system installed both in his cars and inside parts of his home.

Up inside of his room, Joshua looks out at the setting sun as he does exercises to strengthen his hands and feet with a physical therapist. The shit hurt like hell but when Dr. Middlebrooks told him that there was no permeant nerve damage done, he asked what he could do since standing was still an iffy process. Yesterday just walking to the bathroom he'd almost brought Angel to the floor with him when he took a step wrong and it seemed like pain took all the air from his body. The doctor assured him if he continued the exercises he would improve faster. Hearing Angel's side of the conversation with their dad and Gloria just made him want to get better even faster. He had lots of respect for his dad and felt bad for letting him and the band down since preforming right now was not going to happen soon. After his session with the physical therapist was finally over Bobby came in and greets him "Hey."

Bobby says hey and then says, "I told Angel that I would come up here when Joy recovered more." Joshua asked how Joy was doing. "She's sore and wants get out of here. I'm just glad that everyone including my kid are ok. How are you holding up?" Joshua tells him that he is doing better. "That's good, Angel went to go get JC." Joshua says he knows and was glad because he really wanted to spend time with him. He continues by saying before Bobby can speak that he knew it was for the best since the place they kept him wasn't the cleanest and they had to make sure he hadn't contracted anything. "Yea, Angel said your skin was pretty much ripped to shit when you got here." Joshua asked had Andrew surfaced yet. "No, but most of the team that was with him that night have been questioned and transferred to other states. As soon as the paperwork comes back the contract will change, and Joseph will be leading a more privatized security force for dad and the rest of the family. Since dad is the mayor my contract will not change, well when I'm fully cleared to reenter the field that is." Bobby hadn't missed the nervousness that came from his brother when he spoke of the room. He wanted more than anything to tell Joshua that Andrew had surfaced. "We are going to bring him in Josh." Joshua just nods. Angel enters and for the first time since he arrived, Bobby saw Joshua's face light up with a genuine smile as Angel handed him JC. After chatting with Angel for a time. Bobby heads back up to Joy's room.

Joshua held his son and talked at him and was content until his strength started fading and he had to hand JC back to Angel before his son wriggled out of his grasp. JC was displeased that his contact with his dad was broken as well, and he showed it by letting loose a cry that broke Joshua and Angel in two. Joshua thought of something and let the bed back more so that he wasn't sitting straight up and asked for JC again. Angel placed JC on Joshua and he almost instantly started to calm down as he now lay on Joshua's chest. Joshua placed his hand on JC's back to stop him from rolling off him. "Hey little guy here I am. My Johnny Chase daddy's here."

As Angel watched father and son, she thought of the fact that this was the first time in almost two calendar weeks that JC had a chance to even be near his daddy. In a brief silent moment, Joshua looked up at her. Joshua comments that JC was getting so big. The smile that lit her husband's eyes at the comment was a lot better than the terror in them this morning after yet another of Joshua's nightmares. Dr. Middlebrooks had held off on letting anyone under the age of 10 into the room until all the lab work came back clean. Angel saw that Joshua was getting winded with JC laying on his chest and went to pick up the baby. Joshua minutely shakes his head and mouths "He's fine." Angel stopped her forward motion when she heard the telltale lip smacking that cued that JC was almost asleep. Moments later they both hear little snores Angel carefully picked up JC and placed him in his padded stroller.

Joshua was tired, but it was a good tired. Today he'd done physical therapy and had a chance to bond with his son. After the monitors and neck brace were removed it had taken a few days for him to get up the strength to start moving around. Letting his son lay on him was great until he started getting winded. He missed JC so much and apparently his son had missed him as well if that roar of a cry he let out when Angel tried to take him before he'd laid the bed back and was able to let his son just lay on him was any indication. "It's really amazing how much he is growing. He sure didn't get the extra inches from me." Angel puts a hand over her head and says it must be the McBride in him. She says that at his doctor's appointment today JC weighed in at 16.9 pounds and 30 inches long. Joshua chuckles and says, "If he keeps up that rate of growth, he'll be taller than dad and Mark by the age of 16."

Angel says, "I don't know think of how long I was taller than Sophie, then I went college came back to visit during my first band tour and like magic, I was looking up at my baby sister."

Back near New York, Harold approached his home. He'd seen more than enough and had brought back up. The team wasn't for his protection in the sense that he would need it from Officer Stanford Ryan the man that had beat his son Ian for trying to stop him from beating on Natalie. Harold put up a hand and pulled his key. This was still his house, damnit. Harold entered and called out to Ian. His son came running towards him, just as he was mere feet away Harold saw movement and turned gun drawn and ordered Stanford to stop advancing on his son. Ryan stops but starts talking shit about how this was his family now. "Ian, walk towards me son." Ian looked back at Ryan who told him not to, then back at him and slowly walked towards him. The fear was coming from his son in waves. Harold watched Ryan for any movement. "Officer Stanford Ryan as of now there is a STOP team present. If you attempt to move from the spot you are in right now you will be depopulated." Ryan says he is an agent as of two days ago. "Where is Natalie Sean?" Ian starts to speak. Ryan yells for him to stop lying.

Ryan stood frozen to the spot and spoke in his Jumper Squad voice. "Commander Sean my wife is sleeping, and I would appreciate very much if you would just leave. Right now, you are trespassing." The kid wouldn't shut the fuck up. A muscle in Ryan's jaw ticked. He watched as the commander for this area raised his other hand and two men entered. "You don't want to shoot me, I have done nothing that would warrant this behavior. You are angry at me for sleeping with my wife." Harold tells him the reason he is here is that he was tipped off that an officer under his command was assaulting and battering a part of a government family. "That's just not true. My stepson has a very vivid imagination I assure you."

On the inside Harold screamed "Look at his fucking face and tell me that again." Ian had a busted lip, a swollen left eye, and scars running up and down his forearms. On the outside he said in his detached tone that he'd reclaimed. "No, he doesn't, but we can settle this at the compound." Standing beside him, Ian kept up a fast dialogue begging hm to please check on his mom. Harold was becoming worried, what he'd seen on the camera and what he was seeing right before him were two different realities. He also knew that Nat didn't sleep hard and she would have been down here when his team pulled onto the road, she knew what their vehicles sounded like they were not noiseless. 12 diesel engines coming down a quiet suburban street at this time of night, were hard to ignore. Also, Ian was not quiet, and no matter how she felt about him Harold knew his wife loves their son. Harold tells one of his agents to take Officer Ryan into custody. He moved forward and pulled Ian behind him as the agent went for the officer. In quick fashion the agent unarmed and cuffed, the officer that tried to move out of the agent's reach. As they walk toward him Harold meets Stanford Ryan's glare with a neutral gaze and says "That could have been very deadly for you, had you of drawn that weapon." Harold moves up the stairs to his bedroom. Ian walked behind him filling him in on what he would have missed on his camera system that only picked up in the common areas of the house. Seeing that fucker drag his son out of his bedroom minutes after the call had disconnected made Harold want to charge in here and just shoot the mother fucker. Turning to his son he tells Ian to wait out in the hall. He'd seen where they were separated, officer Ryan had pushed Nat into their bedroom and locked her inside then came back and finished beating on his son until Ian managed to hit him hard enough to temporarily stun him and run. At which time, Stanford returned to what used to be his room. When Harold made it to the house, Stanford had been in the bedroom with Nat for at least 15 minutes alone. Harold didn't get the eerie alone feeling that training had given him to cue when he was walking into a room with the dead. He didn't get that feeling but would not trust it enough to let his son follow him into that bedroom. Harold turned the knob Natalie was in a bad way, she lay across the bed her clothing torn and her body bloody. He moved further into the room and spoke into his shirt-com to his team. "I need a Med crew at this location ASAP." Natalie only flinched at his voice but made no other movement even to turn towards him. He rounded the bed and saw that she couldn't have come down stairs if she wanted to, the fucker had handcuffed her to the bedrail. Her eyes swollen, mouth was bruised, and she'd been gagged. That explained the labored breathing that was not his own. The only other time he'd seen something like this was when he'd rescued human trafficking victims. Harold pulled his key and unlocked the cuff from around her wrist. She didn't move she just stared at him wide-eyed breathing heavily around the gag that had be no doubt forced into her mouth. Pulling his swiss army knife, he gently pulled the strap away from her cheek that held the ball in place, instead of trying to move her head and disconnect the harness looking contraption behind her head where it was no doubt fastened, he cut the rubber. It quickly unwound from around her head. Her first words were a raspy question spoken through bruised cracked lips. She'd said their son's name. "Ian is safe." When she tried to speak again it turned into more of a seemingly painful wheeze. "Save your strength." She opened her hand Harold put his hand in her open one. Her other hand was now wrapped around her blood soaked middle. The med crew arrives he let go of her as he watches them get her on the gurney. He walks out of the room following the crew as they carefully retract the wheels and carry his wife down the stairs. Ian stood in the corner of the hallway where he told him to stay. "Ian?" that one word broke his son's resolve as tears ran unchecked down his face. His son grabbed him in a hug and whispered over an over that he tried to stop him. Harold hugged his son back and says with more bravado than true confidence in his tone. "I know son. She's tough, she'll be fine."

As they head towards the door Ian stops and says "Dad about last time you were here um, I'm sorry. At the time I was mad and really didn't know what to do with that emotion. I wasn't paying attention in school, and you were right that teacher had really nothing to do with it. I knew the secret and believed that I had to keep it. I wished you were here more so that you could see what I was seeing, but you had to work. I understood always had but, it still made me angry. You already know about me getting stopped after you left. After you left mom told me that I wasn't grounded as long as I kept the secret." His dad asked him where he was going the night he got pulled over. "I got into trouble because I was driving too fast trying to keep an eye on mom and Stanford when I shouldn't have been. When the police stopped me, I thought that's it I'm for real never driving again. He had me conned there for a while. Stanford made the charges and my file just go away. On paper I was never on that street, I never broke curfew or the speed limit. I checked the system that you use. Looking yourself up is kind of scary."

Hours later, they sat in the waiting room at the Harrison and Sheldon Medical Center. The Department of Defense's contract with the hospital chain was a direct influence of Luke Sheldon's visit to Washington D.C. last year. Lucky for Natalie Jean Lynn-Sean being still married to him, she could get the care that she would require. He researched to see if Officer Stanford Ryan had in fact been awarded a promotion to agent. He had not, which meant that if their divorce had been final, Ryan's plan would not have covered Nat. Harold did not think the leading medical center would turn her away, but the bill would be astronomical or when he called for a med crew, she would have been taken to the nearest county med center instead. Waiting was never one of his strong suits. Harold rose to his feet and Ian asked was he just going to leave. "Ian, half my team is at the compound and as much as I would like to sit here and let my thoughts wonder what caused all of that," Harold gestures to the double doors that separated them from Nat, "I still must make sure others are safe. As of right now I'm not leaving the center, but if I do don't think I'm going to leave you here. Officer or Agent I don't want to have to contemplate Stanford Ryan trying to make a retaliation play." Ian asked but isn't he under watch at the jail somewhere. "Yes, but there are ways around that and that's all I will say on matter."

Jackson Knight owner of Knight and Day Trucking had read the paper and kept up with a story that had received a lot of attention. He'd just buried his son. He thought of his grandson, that was a stretch to call a perfect stranger grandson, but it was truth. If the stories were true, his grandson was a performer that had a brush with death due to his own son's poor choices. Jackson or Jack for short, sat back and tapped the end of an envelope on his temple. He hadn't ever met the young man personally but had trucked product to the tavern that he owned. Hell, if it could be shipped on land from Texas, Jackson had probably shipped it. He was and always would be a Grandville South resident. The things the news said about his son weren't a surprise until they mentioned his child. If the age of the young man was correct it would explain why he had no idea his son was a father. Shortly after Alex turned 17, he dropped out of school, Jackson tried forcefully making his son go to school and his son retaliated in a way that severed their relationship forever. Jackson would never forget the day he lost his wife and youngest child. He came home off a long haul to flames. It was revealed that Alex burned down the house. That fire spread through the house too quickly his wife and youngest son never stood a chance. Alex spent only 6 months in jail. Some friends of his got him a lawyer that won his freedom through an appeal loophole. Jackson hated the justice system. When Alex discovered that Jackson had moved while he was behind bars, he got angry, but Jackson would never tell his son where he lived. Months ago, Alex found him and showed up at the newest site of Knight and Day Trucking begging for forgiveness. Jackson tried because his wife would not have wanted him to keep such hatred for his own offspring for nearly three decades. Jackson foolishly thought his son had in fact changed. Just when he was starting to trust his son, he caught Alex trying to steal a shipment one night. Jackson had heard a noise and went to investigate, he'd walked out onto his receiving bay and could not believe his eyes, his own son that he had been trying to forgive was aiding two men take a truck full of computers that were to be delivered to Ivey Enterprises. Jackson threw his own safety to the wind and ran out on the loading dock and pointed his Desert Eagle at the now adult that bared his last name. He yelled that if Alex as much as stepped foot on his property ever again he'd blow holes in him and his fucking men. Knowing that Alex was dangerous by what he'd done in the past, Jackson had hired a security company that was suggested to him by Chase Ivey. Jackson gets up and puts on his jacket he wanted to meet the young man. Jackson gets to the hospital that had been in the news for weeks now. When he asked for Joshua Davenport's room, he was asked for his ID. After turning it over to the woman he watched as she sent it through a machine. "I can assure you I'm of age." He nervously joked. The woman made no attempt to honor his humor with even a smirk. When she handed the card back to him, he was once again surprised when she told him he was not on the approved visitor list, he would have to either come back when he was approved, or he could meet with one of Mr. Davenport's approved med contacts. "I'll stay put." The woman asks him to have a seat, and someone would be down to speak with him. "Thanks" Jackson says as he sits in the ground floor waiting area. Though he didn't know what to expect when he looked up and saw a camera following his movement, he wondered who was watching.

Chase had come to visit Joshua this evening while Angel was at LEGNA. She hadn't hidden the fact that she kept putting it off because she didn't want to be so far away from him for so long. Joshua had told her to please go and help their dad. She and JC had even Facebook called him to tell him when they got to her office since he still didn't have a phone. He really wasn't in a rush to get one right now. During a comfortable silence after speaking with Chase, the system informed Joshua that he had someone requesting a visit. Joshua looks at the screen and the name on the ID made him nearly drop the handheld device. He couldn't blame it on a spasm. The last name seemed to jump off the screen tunneling Joshua's vison for a second. Chase asks what was wrong. Joshua looked away from the screen sharply. "Dad someone with the last name Knight is here requesting to visit me. I've seen him before, but I don't want anything to do with him. I know the name Knight isn't rare, but I don't think I'd survive a round three if he's here about what happened to Alex."

Chase takes the hand held and instantly recognized Jackson. "He's a local business man that is my only guess on where you would have seen him son." Thoughts that were not very pristine invaded Chase's mind and tone. "I'll go see what he wants, and then tell him to get lost." Joshua says for Chase to please be careful. "Always, goodnight son." Chase exits the room, "Joseph, with me." Joey stands from the seat he'd taken outside the room and is soon at Chase's side asking what was wrong. As they reach the end of the hall and step into the elevator, Chase says, "There is a man here that wishes to speak to my son. There are also a lot of things I will not tolerate. Joshua is afraid that this man that bares the same last name as his birth father is here for some type of round three. Joshua need not worry, because if Jackson Knight gives me any indication that he is in line to hurt my son I will shoot him my fucking self."

Joey stops the car's decent; Chase eyes him. "No Mayor Ivey you won't. If you or I find that the gentlemen is dirty, I will be the one planting him back in the ground. We talked about this, let me do my job." Chase says yes, they talked about a lot of things, but he'd be damned if he let that happen to his family again, he goes on to say that he couldn't afford to drop the ball again considering that it was a miracle that his son and daughter survived. "Beating yourself up about choices you made to protect your family wasn't you dropping the ball. The Agent that kidnapped your son and the people in that house were and are the only ones that deserve that blame." Chase says that is what Joshua said. Joey smirks, hits the release for the car to continue its decent, and says, "Smart kid" Joey pulls his phone "Got the last name, what's the first name?" Chase tells him, and says he knew of the man not from any connection to Joshua but because of his trucking business. Joey types in his system and calls one of his men to do a deeper search. As they get to ground level Joey asks, "So, do you really think this guy is dumb enough to come here wanting a fight of sorts?" Chase tells him the dark thought that ran through his head. He explains that all of this started at a public venue that uses Knight and Day Trucking. Joey didn't want his friend to just let emotion lead him without logic. "Chase let's not put the cart before the horse here. This Jackson character knowing what kind of food and drink your son sells isn't grounds to think he had anything to do with the chain of events that took place that night. I get it, trust me I do, but shooting at shadows isn't going to make this case any less outrageously complex. We got lots of questions and lots of people involved that are confirmed to have had a part in it. If this guy turns out to be thickheaded enough to come here wanting blood, he'll be mopping his own up off the floor."

As Jackson sits watching the camera move with him, he sees Chase Ivey and a slightly taller man walk in. When Chase walks towards him he stands and greets him. "Mayor Ivey congrats by the way." Jackson put out a hand. Chase takes it tells him to call him Chase and pulls him close asking him what he wanted from Joshua Davenport. Jackson pulls his hand free with a bit of effort and stands back. He'd been on the other side of this steely wolfish glare before in board rooms across the state. "I don't want anything thing from him Chase, I…" Chase cuts him off and says then he would not mind leaving and not returning. "If that's what he wants." Jackson reached in his breast pocket for the envelope and instantly stopped when the taller of the two opened his jacket revealing a gun shaking his head. "Chase it's an envelope, not a weapon. I found out that he's my grandson. I didn't even know my son had a child until all this shit hit the papers." Chase tells him that he had better produce an envelope when he removed his hand from his breast pocket, or his brains would be donated to the floor. Jackson saw that the taller of the two had not taken his hand off his own gun. Knight slowly pulls the letter he'd written to his grandson out of his pocket and hands it to Chase.

Chase opens the letter and reads it whiles standing in front of Jackson, looking up and meeting his gaze every so often. "I can tell you now he's not going to want to see you. No matter when I give him this letter. I'll also say Jack if I find out that you have some nemesis plan in the works that deal with my son, I will put stop to it."

"I read you loud and clear, I would expect nothing less. As I said in there" Jack points to the letter, "the ball is in his court. Goodnight gentlemen." Jackson walks out of the automatic doors. He takes a deep breath. He didn't know what to expect he surly hadn't expected to see Ivey. He guessed with the young man being a local celeb Chase wasn't taking any chances, what the hell he thinks Jackson would want from Davenport, an autograph. To Jack's knowledge he'd never done anything that would earn such mistrust, but these were crazy times and he'd seen a lot of the Ivey family members in some sticky situations in the last year or so. That thought sparked another one. Did Joshua send Chase down to send him away or was that Chase just being protective? Well he wasn't going near Ivey for a while and what he'd written was the truth the next move would be on Joshua. He didn't have to worry about running into the young man because he didn't drive his trucks as much as he did when he first started the business, he had people for that. If Joshua didn't want to talk Jackson understood and would keep out of his grandson's way.

Days later over at LEGNA, Angel and Cassandra go through pictures that Angel would be approving for drop label photos. Usually, Jonathon or Gloria were the only ones that signed off on these, but her father had a few meetings and asked if she would do it. She agreed after Joshua put her out of his hospital room again reminding her of the promise, they made to help Jonathon so he wouldn't have to be over taxed and pulling all-nighters anymore. Today was the longest in two weeks that she been away from Joshua. This latest ordeal had not only given him nightmares, but hers were also back as well. The night Andrew took him merged with when he'd been taken by April. Images overlapped she'd woke in a cold sweat to Joshua shaking her. She'd looked up, met his gaze, and a calm stole over her that helped her get her racing thoughts back under control.

Cassandra noticed that Angel was out to lunch in her head and waves her hand in front of Angel's face. "Earth to Angel," it took a few seconds for Angel to snap out of wherever her mind had gone, and shove Cass's hand out of her face. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, what were you saying sorry?" Cass asked her had she heard from Bradley. "No, I haven't since he visited Joshua the first time." Cass asked how long they were going to be bad at Bradley. Then goes on to say that everyone made stupid mistakes when they were stressed. "Look, I get that he is your brother."

That irritated Cassandra. "He's yours too we're a package deal remember?"

Angel says "I know Cass. For now, can we please table this heart to heart. We still have photos set to approve." They had been at this for hours and Angel wanted to get done so she could run JC by the house since Sophie wanted to watch him tonight so Angel could go back up to be with Joshua. Cassandra says in a snippy tone sure they could table it but putting Bradley through this was not right. "Ok, I'll bite, putting Bradley through what? I haven't said or done shit to him." Cass says exactly and he feels bad for what he said he can't go back and undo it. Angel sits back in her seat away from her desk and looks at Cass. "I asked him, and I'll ask you what he wants from me?" Before Cass could say anything else, Angel's phone rang Joshua's hospital line was ringing through. "Hold that thought," Joshua spoke of Alex's father coming and attempting to visit him. "Are you ok?" He says yeah that the guy sent him a letter and he'd just read it. "What does he want?" Joshua says on the surface it sounds like he just wants to meet but even that is up to him. "How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know, on one hand, he may have answers to questions that weren't so important or that I hadn't really thought about. On the other hand, if this is just bait for the next move on his part, I don't want to get taken out for believing that a part of my bloodline isn't fucking nuts. We've talked about this and your view about how me getting separated from Brenda and the Smyth family was one of the best things for me because I didn't take on their personality traits. I can't agree more. I'm afraid to trust anyone outside of our circle right about now though. When dad gave me the guy's letter, he said he'd investigate the guy's past more and get back to me. In the letter, he claimed that he was robbed of ever knowing that he had a grandson. I got questions that no paper trail can really answer, but I just can't go about this the wrong way, the price would be too high if I'm wrong."

"Did he leave a number? If Dad gave you his letter, he must have met with the man downstairs." Joshua tells her who the guy is and the fact that Chase recognized him as a local business owner. "Really, did the guy ever work with you?" Joshua says he really wasn't thinking all the clearly when he saw the I.D. the last name kind of freaked him out. Dread crept in her voice. "What's his name?" Joshua tells her Jackson's name. Some of the ice of her dread melted. "I know of him, he used to deliver for dad but that's about it. Candy or Vash for sure since he's been there so long may have been at the club when Jackson delivered product to The Davenport maybe ask them if they got any weird vibes from him." Joshua asks her was she near finished at LEGNA "I'm about done here for today. I'm going to go meet up with Sophie, make sure she has everything for JC, then I'll be back up there." Joshua tells her to please be, then stopped speaking. Angel knew how that common phrase of care played through Joshua's head, especially when speaking to her. It was one of their things that had been tainted by the fact that the night Andrew lost his fucking mind on her husband, she'd told Josh to be extra careful. She wanted to reclaim their speech and not let the past taint anything else for them, so after a breath she answered in what she hoped was a reassuring tone, "I will babe. See you soon ok, love you." He says he loves her, and they end the call. Angel starts signing out of her programs after saving their progress.

Cassandra watches as Angel starts closing down the programs and says "We only have five days to get this approved, any longer and I'll be left with the bare minimum to choose from and If Jonathon or Gloria kicks one of the image batches for whatever reason I could be in trouble. Are you listening to me Angel?" Angel looked back at her and says Cass wouldn't get in to trouble because Angel was the final word on this project so if anyone got called to the carpet it would be her. Angel closes her laptop and folds it into her desk locking it and rises to her feet heading to collect JC in the little room that set off her office. "So, you mind on telling me if you're done, or are we doing more tomorrow?" Angel says she'd be back tomorrow. "Ok so what has my little brother sounding so freaked out?" Angel sighs and says it wasn't nice to eavesdrop. Then tells Cassandra what Joshua said about a possible grandfather coming out of nowhere. "I say don't trust it. Aside from Joshua, his bloodline doesn't have a good track record with not being completely psycho. Perfect example his birth father showing up out of nowhere, stalking him, trying to extort shit from him, and then having him kidnapped." Angel says she's sorry she even said anything and walked into the little room and closed the door behind her putting an end to anymore conversation.

Angel walks in and picks up JC as she talks at him and gets him ready for travel. Her thoughts were filled with lots of snippy one-liners that would not have did anything but probably brought the crazy bitch in her sister in law. All three of their families had mental defected members in them, that did not mean they were all criminally nuts. That thought was a slippery slope into thinking of her own mother. JC brought her back to the present rapidly, as he pulled a lock of her hair that had worked its way out of her ponytail. "Ouch," Angel giggled and started tickling him. "ok Jonathon-Chase let go." After managing to get her hair out of JC's fist as he giggles from her tickling, she wipes any possible hair product off his hand with a diaper wipe and finishes getting him ready.

Harold sat in the room with Natalie, Ian was over on the stuffed chair asleep. Originally there was supposed to only be one person allowed in here at a time. The hospital made an exception for him. Harold looked down at his wife. Gone was Natalie's tan, it was now replaced by a brutal paleness that didn't even look human. What wasn't pale was ripped or bruised black and blue covered in white bandages. It took her 18 hours in surgery and another 2 hours in recovery to just be moved into this special ward of rooms for critical patients. When she was at the house her oxygen level was so low that the doctor said if she had not of been rescued when she had, she would have died in her bed within the hour. Harold tried not to think about the fact that Stanford, one man, had caused all this damage to a pregnant woman. She was farther along than Harold thought, the baby was in the infant part of this wing born three months too fucking early and fighting for its own life. There was punctures in Natalie's lungs and one of her kidneys that had to be repaired. She had bleeding on the brain. She still wasn't out of the woods. She was in a fucking coma. Her brain activity falling was what scared him the most. Four broken ribs and a ventilator breathing for her. Even with as much as Harold was mad at Natalie, he could have never beat on her. Let alone hard enough to put her in this condition. The fucker had almost caved in her chest, abdomen, and head. Tubes, so many tubes carried things out of her and put things into her right now, she looked more like a science experiment than a person.

Ian turned over and almost falls off the stuffed chair. The bandages on his wrists and forearms were nothing compared to what Stanford had done to his mother. Getting up and earning his father's alerted sharp gaze back at him he says quickly. "It's just me. How is she?" His father mumbles no change. "I'm going to go see the little girl." His father says he is coming with. "You don't have to." His father surprised him by saying he wanted to because no matter how the baby came about, she was the only purely innocent one in all of this. All this time Ian figured that his father would hate the child because it wasn't his. He then thought of why he'd think that. After he turned 18, Stanford raved about Ian needing to get out of their house and how he really couldn't stand looking at him because of how much he looked like his dad. What confused him was when he ran away Stanford made him come back. His dad called it a power move. He talked more to his farther in the last day or so than they had spoken ever. Today his father was going to the compound they had kept Stanford Ryan there without so much as questioning him. Ian hated his fear that the justice system would let that monster out into the world again. His father had said once the proceedings was over his hands would be tied if the agency didn't put him behind bars Stanford would walk. That scared him for two reasons because he'd seen the restraint it took his father not to carry through and blow Stanford away in the living room when, he'd attempted to stop Ian from going to his dad when he was called. Ian had stood watching his dad standing with his gun trained on Stanford the red dot on his chest and that icy detached stare in his eyes. Ian knew in that moment that if Stanford had of taken another step towards him, that his dad would have shot him. The other reason was, that even though Ian had stunned Strafford by elbowing him in the forehead in their fight enough to get away he worried if there would be a next time. If so, next time Stanford would not forget the defensive move and be ready for it. Ian had needed that surprise tactic to get away. Without it, he couldn't win in a fight with Stanford. He'd hadn't won that fight, he'd ran, and Stanford had hurt his mom more, which was why they were fighting in the first place. His dad recaptures his attention pulling him out of his thoughts, they walk out of his mom's room and down the hall. The little girl was so tiny, if they would have been able to hold her, she would have fit in one of his hands. Ian had never in his life seen a person that small. The only babies he'd seen were his twin cousins. Ian watched his dad, as he watched the baby inside the incubator. The spell is soon broken by the buzzing on his dad's phone. Back was the detached look and tone as his dad gave orders to part of his team and informed them that he would be at the compound soon.

Over on the out skirts of Grandville South Sophie, JC, and Luke heads towards the Sheldon Estate. Luke was driving he'd insisted that he wasn't hiring a service the rest of this week. Sophie was learning to pick her battles when it came to how head strong her husband could be. He had at the very least got more sleep since she had returned from her travels. He no longer lumbered around the house looking tired and wired. One thing she would not give up on was talking to Luke about making amends with his father. Both men were stubborn she got that. At times she and Chase had their moments, but they had not gone this long without talking things through. It was going on a full week and a half and Luke was being difficult. She'd finally threw in the fact that him avoiding his dad was upsetting his mother. Sophie knew it was truth but also knew that Ella's feelings was one of Luke's vulnerable points. It was a shit move, but it worked they were on their way to dinner to hopefully get the two Sheldon men to speaking. Ella had called her this afternoon after inviting Luke over and having him graciously decline again for the 4th time.

After a nice meal and JC getting all the attention for most of the night. After finishing their dessert Ella suggested that she and Sophie go see if they could get JC to sleep. Sophie says, "Yeah if we can get him to sleep, he'll sleep through the night." They enter the den and Sophie takes JC and starts feeding him what should be his last bottle for the night. "Hey, there my greedy little man." As JC drinks his bottle, Sophie felt Ella watching her and looks up. Ella comments on how she can't wait to be able to hold her own grandchild and ask Sophie how she has been doing. "I've been tired, but ok." They both listen to the guys out in the dining room. When their voices carry over their normal tone of voice.

Luke and his dad at first enjoy their dessert, a tiramisu that Sophie made earlier in the day. Lucas puts his fork down and looks at his son. It was apparent that the ladies had gone in the den to give them a chance to speak. For most of the night their conversation and attention were geared towards Sophie's nephew and talk of scheduling tests to see what the progress and the sex of his grandchild would be. Luke and he speaks at the same time. Luke sits back and waves his hand for him to speak. "I'm glad you've come tonight. I'd wanted to further discuss what we spoke about. As for my decision to leave the country, it was born purely of fear someone pointed out that I could never make the island as safe as I wished without further imprisoning your mother and myself and even that would not guarantee anything but depressing both of us. Your wish for us to remain until your child is born. At the time Luke I just wanted out of here, off this piece of land, it had nothing to do with you son. It seemed that you didn't understand and that was not a correct assumption. From your own ordeal I think we both were reaction driven more than logic-based action. I had just found you in your office hold up like a hermit and it reminded me so much of myself years ago. Hearing what was done to you just further made me want to run. I'm not going to stand here and tell you all is well and that I no longer fearfully glance in my rearview, but I have moved back in to driving my own car. It's been rough and when I sat back and watched what I was doing to your mother I couldn't in good conscience keep up a dialogue that would continue to upset her. She has always backed me on most anything that I wanted to do no matter how insane it seemed. Watching her and listening to her come undone was hard. I never wished to upset you either, it surly wasn't my intent. I do hope that we can move pass this in an amicable way."

Luke says "Dad I agree that both of us were driven by sheer reactionary impulses. I at the time thought that with everything that was going on that you are leaving was something that I thought of doing so many times after returning that night, but I thought that if I could combat the impulse of flight surely you could. It wasn't fair of me to shut you out when you were putting into motion my own desires for flight. No, I didn't want you to leave still don't, but I went about it entirely the wrong way. As for moving passed this, absolutely. I am sorry for pushing you away." His father says that he understood Luke's impulse to protect himself from the abandonment he must have felt. "Get out of my head." Luke says pointing at his temple and then back at his father, but his tone was one filled with mirth not anger. Changing the topic to one more comfortable for both, Luke says, "We've ordered a tech to come to the house. I'm not Sophie's obstetrician, but her doctor agreed to do most of the prenatal care at Ivey Mansion. The last year has really cemented our decision to keep people involved in this journey to a minimum. We are even discussing whether to have a birthing room set up at the house." They talk and his father gives him lots of pros but a few cons as well. They end their talk when Sophie comes back out of the den and says her ears were burning accusing them of talking about her. "Of course, we were dear." Luke says as he recounts what they'd discussed about possibly keeping all baby care within Ivey Mansion. Ella joins them, soon all are speaking and having a much better time than the tense dinner where everyone focused on JC and not on the two stubborn men in the room. At the close of the visit Luke insisted on carrying JC while Sophie and their parents walked to the car. Luke puts JC in the car and fastened him in, when he stands back up his mother hugs him and whispers her thanks for them coming. "Thanks for having us." He then shakes hands with his dad, and they head back to the house. As they are turning in, Luke looks over at Sophie and says, "Thanks for keeping on me to go and hash that out with dad. It turns out, that we both weren't listening to each other and let fear and impulse guide our dialogue." They head inside and get JC in his crib and head to bed Luke wrapped around Sophie and almost immediately was asleep. Sophie texted Ella and told her they made it home, Ella texted back thanking her and wishing them both a goodnight. Sophie then followed her husband into slumber.

The next morning Candy was up cooking breakfast Bradley had a late start this morning. The site wasn't far from their Dallas home. Her phone rings, and she rushes to grab it. This was the first time Joshua had called her she'd saved the number to his room phone in her phone with no real hope that'd he call. Especially with him nor Angel talking to Bradley right now. Thinking of her mate seemed to make him appear since seconds after the thought Bradley walks into the room hears Joshua's music and walks back out of the room. She answered before Joshua's call went to voice mail while looking at Bradley's retreating back as he headed down to the gym in their basement. Holding back a sigh she answers, "Hey bro, how are you?" Never the one to make a lot of small talk Joshua says he's better asked how she and The Davenport was doing, "I'm ok I got a message from Vash that Larry is back at the club starting tonight. I don't know why Larry didn't call me, but he at least called one of us. Though he is a little apprehensive about returning. Vash said he'd do part of the shift with Larry just to make sure he is really up to managing an entire shift again." Joshua says that Larry's reaction is understandable because it was going to take him some time to get back to himself there as well. "Yeah, I get that." The image of blood in Joshua's office and then finding out what really happened made it hard for her to enter the management lounge after not being there for a few days. Joshua then surprised her by asking about Bradley. Words caught in her throat how to answer this without brushing either their feelings off. Going with the angle that she would not step into the lion's mouth at all she answered in a generic way by saying, "Um, he's ok." Joshua says good and moves away from the topic by asking her about a delivery person. "Oh, the old guy with the trucking business yeah he hasn't delivered personally in a while, but we get our local brews and things of that nature via Knight and Day Trucking. We've also started using them to ship our The Davenport Frozen Hot Wings to the stores, that product is selling great by the way." Joshua says really. Candy looks at her latest invoice and reads off, "Yeah we sold three crates worth yesterday. The fact that you and Chase came up with that sauce recipe while arguing about who's sauce was hottest is insane, but it worked." He asked would she host an owner's meeting later. "Sure, I'm going in to do the schedules today anyway." He says great he would be able to log in through the laptop Sophie brought up to him. "Great." They soon end the call. Candy goes in search of Bradley and hears him working out. She walks down in their home gym to see him lifting weights. He stops when he sees her and asked what Joshua wanted. "Hmm, I not really sure why you ran down here but he called asking how we and the club were doing." Bradley corrects her and says Josh more than likely asked how she was doing. "No, he asked about you it surprised me too ok." Bradley asked her what she said. "I said you were fine, I mean I really don't want to get in the middle of anything or upset him. I was just as surprised that he called as you were." She asked why Bradley vanished from the room like that. He says in case she went to a video call he didn't need Joshua hanging up on her if he saw him. Sighing Candy says "Bradley, Joshua knows where I live, and with whom I live. It would not be that big a shock for him to think you were around, please don't do this to yourself. Breakfast is ready by the way let's get some food in you. I don't need you falling off any equipment because I didn't feed you."

Mia had finally done what not many people could do, she had convinced Logan to take a day off. When he wasn't on one of his work sites, he was driving his cousin Kevin that had just got out of the hospital around. Logan felt somehow responsible for Kevin being shot. He said all the right things to his family, but Mia could see it in his eyes every time he looked at Kevin. Logan and Kevin had not been on good terms before Kevin got shot in the head outside this very house. When her mate wasn't playing driver for his for now wheelchair-bound cousin out of guilt, he was adding on to houses, buildings, pulling 20 hours shifts, or finding things to do to keep his friend Bradley in a good mood after some family drama hit. Mia had asked what the drama was, and Logan had shut down on her telling her that he didn't want to taint her view of anyone involved that she may know or come to know. Mia had seen where the band leader Joshua, Bradley's younger brother had been kidnapped recently but he'd been rescued so she didn't think it had to do with that part of Bradley's family. She'd stopped asking for fear that she would piss Logan off. As calm and chill as he could be, she'd seen him angry and didn't want that directed her way ever again. In the past month or so Ethan had started home school and loved it. Glenny was also taking classes through a Pre-K computer program that was for his age and skill level. She hated that Ethan was struggling and had spoken to Ethan's online teacher about testing him for a learning disability. He could read all the words in the booklets assigned to him, but when you asked what he read he could not answer, or he'd say he didn't know. Seeing him flinch as if she or Logan were going to hit him, both broke her heart and pissed her off. It broke her heart because his reaction was a learned response of his past pain that he had endured from the people that took him. This angered her and Logan because they both had witnessed how out of hand an abusive parental figure could get. Logan spent lots of time helping Ethan. One night when Logan came back to bed after getting Ethan calmed down from a night terror, Mia said it was like Logan had all the answers when dealing with Ethan. Logan revealed more about his married life and the fact that sadly he knew what to watch for because of his experience with finding out about Glenny getting hurt by Megan, Logan's deceased wife. Mia stood in the doorway just silently watching Logan go between Ethan and Glenny, helping them with their school work. They were working on spelling words, Ethan spelled the word animal wrong and flinched when Logan reached to hit the backspace button. Logan gave Ethan a hint and a trick to remember how to spell the words and Ethan was back to his goofy self. They made up songs for each word and by the end Ethan had spelled almost all 20 words correctly.

Bach in New York on the federal compound nicknamed the complex, Harold and his son Ian exit his truck and head inside. One of the executive secretary officers that ran the front office buzzed Harold in. She stopped Ian and asked him to relieve himself of any weapons and prepare to be searched. As Harold put his gun in his locker and locked it, He watched Ginny O'Leary search Ian. His son was also relieved of his phone and a necklace that Harold had not seen in ages. When Ginny went to put them in a bin for articles that they would send away instead of return, Harold walks over and emptied the bin in a plastic bag. "I'll take those." Ginny looked at him for a breath of a minute before saying yes commander. Harold then put the bag in his locker. Ian walks alongside him towards his office. This was the first time since Ian was about five that he'd come to work with him. Ian asked why his necklace was an issue. "What set the scanner off, was the compacted ash inside. You'll get it back, if I were you, I just wouldn't try to come here without me, or you would not have it returned. I had no idea that you still carried it." The locket was a 22 Karat white gold two chambered heart that had an engraved image of Harold on one side and an engraved image of Natalie on the other side. When both halves open the complete message written on the outer side could be read that simply said "Family". Under both halves was a chamber that held ashes from Harold's parents on his side, and ashes from Nat's mother on her side. Harold had it made while he was away on a mission overseas. He remembered all to clearly, giving the locket to his son, upon Ian's completion of middle school. Ian reveals that he never took it off for fear of losing it. "I understand son. I thought you were more concerned about losing your phone there for a minute."

Not knowing if his father was serious Ian says "A phone is replaceable, I was just glad I didn't have to lose the locket. No offense dad, coming here without you isn't on my to-do list." His dad says none taken. His dad gets a text message and then tells him to stay put in the office then he was gone. Ian sits in his dad's office chair it had been a long time since he'd been in this building, he turns on the screen off to the right of the door and watched what must have been a feed of the building. His dad was if not top agent in this place he knew that his dad was high ranking. Felling voyeuristic as he watched the agents and officers walking in and out of buildings on eight screens, he switches channels and nearly dropped the remote he'd stumbled on to the access of the integration room. Stanford Ryan had to know where the camera was because he looked right at Ian, or so it seemed. The door opened and his dad walked in. Ian wanted to turn the channel but another part of him would not allow him to hit the button. His dad started in that detached tone as he asked Stanford Ryan questions that would no doubt be a part of the trial if this went to one. Ian had forgot just how calm and detached his father could appear. He referred to his wife Ian's mother as Natalie Jean Sean, or the hardest for Ian to hear after seeing his mother was when his dad referred to her as simply the victim. Stanford tried to rattle his dad but unless you knew Harold Sean you would never pick up on the barely noticeable tick in his jaw.

Over at the hospital, Joy is released and Bobby is pushing her in a wheelchair down to Joshua's room. Joy had wanted to visit him since she regained her memories. Bobby would not let her out of her room even when she was cleared to walk. As they roll into the closed-off hallway and wait for Joshua to let them in Joy looks up at her mate and says, "After we leave here, I'm getting out of this chair." Bobby says fine he'd carry her. "Robert that is not funny." He asks who was being funny. Joy groans putting her hand to her forehead.

The door into the hall buzzes, and Bobby stops before heading into the room and stoops down so he is at eye level with her. She looks at him and is about to say something when he says. "Joy it was hard as fuck watching you get back to where you are now. The fact that your cocksucker of a boss is out on probation, scares the shit out of me, I could have lost you. So please excuse me if I want to do everything I can to keep you safe."

Joy looks away from him and says "Bobby I wasn't saying I'm going to be running off anywhere alone. I do need to walk and the longer you guilt me into staying immobile the longer it is going to take me to get back to full health. Thankfully, I don't need or want you trying to carry me. You think I want you to reinjure yourself trying to play superman? This has been just as hard on me, my boss who is roaming around out there makes me want to run and just never look back. The shit he did to our brother Luke just to get to me is insane. You of all people know that sometimes bad shit happens to good people, but Bobby I survived, yes I'm with child, but I'm not glass, never have been, never will be." As he stands back up to his full height, she didn't miss the wince he tried to hide. They soon enter Joshua's room. Josh asked about her wheel chair with alarm on his face. "I'm released but you know the drill, I can walk not fast right now, but I am able to walk. How are you doing?" Joshua speaks about his own recovery adventures and how Middlebrooks was going to be coming in about two days to see if he was ready to at the very least go home. "Yeah, I hear you. I'm glad you are doing better." Joshua thanks her for getting him rescued, and thanks them both for keeping Angel steady while trying to find him. "she is going be my baby sister or one of them. She just needed to be away but near, coming over to our place gave her that small thing. For hours we had no leads, when they started coming in, I was glad to show her whatever progress I had. Though, I'm not married in to the family yet". Joy says as she takes Bobby's offered hand as he helped her to her feet. "I already think of you guys as my family."

As Joy approaches his bed, he lifts the bed to where it is sitting up. Joshua says, "Same here sis." Joy who usually shook his hand surprised him by hugging him. He hugged her back without a once of hesitation. Once again, his Angel, his good luck charm's side of the family, saved his life. When she drew back her eyes were moist as she revealed that she'd been terrified that she would fail and thanked all the gods and goddesses that he came out of it alive. "Hey, we both did. I am glad that my new niece or nephew made it." After a few more minutes Joy and Bobby soon leaves.

After their visit, Joshua went to physical therapy and did not almost face plant anyone or anything. When he reenters the room the letter that Jackson had written him was never far from his mind, he'd read it many times. Though he was weary of believing any of it the reason behind it and some of what the man said, did ring true. The feeling that everyone you came from was fucking nuts or just plain vile in some way or another was a hard pill to swallow. Environment only went so far and if this guy was who he said he was what the fuck happened in Alex's childhood to create what the world experienced from him? Also, Alex never said if the blood disease was hereditary. If Jackson knew anything that could keep his family safe, he felt he had to at the very least risk a phone call. He'd spoke to Candy and hearing that she'd met Jackson and didn't get any weird vibes from him was a comfort. Add in Vash telling him before the owners meeting ended, that he'd been at The Davenport back when Jackson and one other driver were the entire company and how he'd gave Vash a ride in his truck to a hotel when he was in the middle of his first divorce, did help paint a positive picture of the man. Chase had returned no criminal past under Jackson's name. Joshua had spoken to Angel and just asked her if he should even call the number. She said yes because if he sat and drove himself nuts about it, then even if Jackson wasn't someone to fear his own mind would give him something to fear. She asked did he want her in the room when he made the call. He'd said yes because if this did go south, he didn't want to worry about where she was. Angel soon comes in with JC. Joshua greeted and played with his son and talked with his wife. Angel pointed out that he was stalling. "Noticed, that huh?" She says if he wanted to wait, she was behind any decision he made.

Joshua picked up the phone attached to his bed, pulled out the letter, and dialed Jackson Knight's number. Jackson answered on the first ring. "Hello, my name is Joshua Davenport, I received a letter from you." Hearing someone that sounded so much like Alex in that tone of voice, was a shock that he had not counted on though he probably should have prepared himself for it. Jackson was a little heavier in his ID photo and on the video feed that Chase had shown him from their brief meeting down on the first floor than Alex, but the facial structure was strikingly similar so that should not have come as a surprise about the sound of the man's voice. This call Jackson did most of the talking. At one point, Joshua stopped him. "So, at no time you knew that Alex had a child? If what he said was true, he told you guys both later when he was like 21, I would have been 5 going on 6. I mean I have no clue who is telling the truth."

Jackson's voice broke when he told of how Alex could not have told him or his wife anything when he turned 21 because of what Alex did to his wife. Joshua asked so that left Jackson. "No, for the good part of 30 years I avoided him some out of it fear and most out of it rage for what he did to the only woman I loved and my youngest child." Joshua asked what he did to Alex to get the reaction. Anger flared but Jackson understood why someone that was abused as a child would think along those lines. The courts tried to put the fire off on him for being the parent that would not just let his child drop out of school. "I have the newspaper articles and the courts findings before he got some hot shot lawyer to help him slither from behind bars. I made him go back to school after he announced that he was dropping out at 17. Yes, I yelled at him when I found drugs in his room and that he had dropped out of school, I flushed his drugs. I made him get in the car that Monday morning, and I dropped him off after getting him reenrolled in school. He repaid me by waiting a few days after I left to do a shipment to Dallas and he then burned down my fucking house. So no after he first went into the system, I left Glenview and moved to Grandville in part hiding from someone I had helped bring into the world, because I couldn't stay in Glenview and rebuild my home after losing everyone I cared for, because when Alex did that it proved that I lost him too, as well as his little brother and my wife. Call me a bad dad if you want, but I never told him my new address. When he did track me down at my job, I tried to forgive him, but he proved that his goal was never to regain my forgiveness. I found him nights after our reunion attempting to steal me blind. I made him and his friends leave at gun point, then hired a tighter security firm to protect my business. I wasn't shocked when the police came to my door and informed me that that he was dead, what shocked me is that he had an almost 31-year son. From what I have gathered both from his home and belongings, and the news you are his only offspring." Joshua asked so since he called what else did Jackson want. "I want to get to know you. We both were robbed of knowing each other existed." Joshua says don't do that. With a little heat to his tone. "Do what?" Joshua told him before he got any deeper into this, he needed proof that Jackson was of blood relation to him. "I'm Alex's father and he is yours." Joshua told him how Alex ambushed him with that fact and never got around to taking any tests to disprove the first lies he was told by his own birth mother. "I have nothing to hide so whenever you want to get typed just name the time and place." Joshua does and Jackson looks at his schedule as he says "Ok, I can do that." As he gets off the phone Jackson leans back in his chair and stares at the ceiling. He speaks to his wife's sprit. "Tori please if there is anything you can do to heal that boy's soul please do it. Laying our oldest to rest and finding out there was two more generations that followed that we didn't know about hurts like hell. Without you and Terry I felt alone. For the first time in a long time I find myself thinking about someone outside of myself or the business. His name is Joshua, the records I could get a hold of started after he turned 12. Everything else is blacked out. That leads me to believe that maybe this last stunt done by Alex wasn't his only sin against that boy. Alex lied on us to him I don't know what the point was but there is just so much that I wanted to say tonight. Joshua brought up a good point, if I'm not of blood kin to him was Alex really his father, if not, the entirety if his arranged mob style kidnapping of his of child would have been just plain for cruelty. What hurts the most is that I can't even be one of those normal dads that says my child wouldn't do that, he proved that he could do all kinds of dreadful things for his own self-interest. Jackson crosses himself in prayer then gets up to find where his grandson was sending him. He'd call Joshua Davenport grandson in his head until he was proven wrong by science, and if that happened, it would prove that Alex had ripped even more from him leaving him truly alone. Jackson had written the address down now to find where to report for testing.

Joshua speaks to Angel after getting off the phone. "If he's telling the truth that is something, I wouldn't put pass Alex to lie, he lied about everything else. What is one more person to blame for him being him? If It's total crap the guy has had years to prefect, the lie." Angel says she's no great lie detector either, but something about the way he spoke of his past just didn't seem rehearsed. "You do have a point. It's just every time I think that something is what it sounds like, I get…" Joshua looks down at his son who was staring at him. He changes what he was going to say and continues, "freaking burnt." Angel says not every time and kisses him, she then says this road of thought was going to do nothing but frustrate them both. "Yeah I guess, so new topic." Angel tells him about how the tour was going and how their newest band that she signed was really getting a lot of love. "That is good. Congrats on dad allowing you to sign them solo." As Angel geeked out about Jonathon giving her this big shot at executive production, seeing her this happy worked as it almost always did, he loved to see her happy. Joshua noticed the tension leaving him. Angel was right, sitting here thinking too hard about all the crap they'd been through wasn't healthy. They got through it that was saying something. No, he never wanted to revisit any of that trauma, but what he couldn't do was what Middlebrooks warned of in a session recently, which was locking himself in to dark thought patterns. That was something he had to work on. He was glad Angel was here to help. His words to Joy earlier after seeing her on the verge of tears were words Middlebrooks had reminded him of when he'd go into the morbid part of himself during their recent therapy sessions, she said to remind himself that no matter what, he survived, and it was time to start living damnit. He was getting stronger every day and was able to do more for longer. He really did hope that Middlebrooks released him soon.

Harold and Ian head back to the hospital. Harold looks over as they are stopped at a light and watches his son finger the locket that he returned to him. It was a good thing Harold had the presence of mind to lock his firearm away. The interrogation almost folded because as smug as Stanford was Harold found himself wanting to end the man's life that sat across from him. Keeping his calm had paid off, because Stanford thought he was untouchable enough to answer the questions until he requested counsel when Harold suggested that there was a way to retrieve the video of inside their bedroom. By that time Stanford Ryan had basically told Harold most of the things he needed to know. Harold had managed to keep his composure but at points it was hard for him to remain in his seat. Ian gave away that he'd seen a lot of it. That didn't piss Harold off as much as a security breech should, but if he gave this case to someone else and they fucked it up, he would set their file on fire and they would not even be able to apply to be mall security once he was done with them. Yes, he knew he was extremely too close to this case, but Stanford Ryan had brought this Hell filled blanket upon himself.

Days pass, the final days of June were filled with a scorching heat. Middlebrooks enters Joshua's room and 20 minutes after her exam she released him. As she personally handed him the exodus paperwork, she says "Happy Birthday Joshua." He looked at her for a long minute then said thanks. Middlebrooks looked at her watch it was going on 10 a.m. "I do hope I'm not the first to wish you happy birthday." He says "Nah", Angel and most of their household called earlier. "How did that make you feel?" He shrugged with great care and said it was just another day. Sandra firmed her lips. In these two and a half weeks they'd spoke about lots of things in the therapy sessions that started soon after she was able get Joshua stable enough to speak. "I do have one more present for you." He said nothing as if he were waiting for something not so great. "If you want to talk about it after I give it to you, we can do that." She hands him an envelope. As he takes it, he asks her what it is. "Dr. Sheldon received the results of the blood draw." Joshua stared at the envelope, then put it on the bedside table as he says he'd rather wait until Angel got here if that was ok with her. "That is fine, I'd prefer it actually." He seemed to relax a bit when he called Angel. Sandra excused herself to go do her rounds.

Over at Ivey Mansion, Angel runs around their bedroom excited to hear that their suspicion that Joshua would get discharged today was now truth. As soon as she ends the call with Joshua, she calls Sophie and tells her the awesome news. Sophie tells her that she'd watches JC. "Thanks, sista," As Sophie comes in to the room and picks up JC, she says for Angel to go get her brother. "Will do." Angel says with a huge grin as she contacts Joey by text to let him know where she was going. Joey's team was different, the drivers followed but not close. After making it to the hospital in record time and heading up to Joshua's floor upon entering his room Angel sprang through the door and was at Joshua's bedside hugging him almost instantly. Joshua hugged her back for as long as he could. Angel let go before he dropped his hands to his side as he sat on the side of the bed. After they talk for a while and he tells Angel that he was just glad to be getting out of here. She asks was he ready. He then reached over and grabbed the envelope and told her what it was. Joshua opened the results and read it, then read it again. He then hands it to Angel. As he says that Jackson Knight is his grandfather. Angel asks, "so now what happens?" Joshua says he didn't know he really couldn't get the doubt out of his head until now that Jackson was related to him, so he really had no next move planned. "Either way, everything will be alright. You finally get to come home." She says as she lightly runs her lips over his again. Joshua gets in the wheelchair, and right as he was about to object to her pushing him because of the incline that lead through the hall, she says "Don't start." A male nurse walks in and takes the task from her anyway. Joshua tried but failed in hiding a grin. Down in the garage outside her truck where usually Joshua could sit and pull himself into the truck. He tried to get in the truck on his own the first time, and almost passed out when his still healing midsection protested. That had scared and angered Angel as she told him to let the nurse help him. The nurse helps Joshua up into her truck, that part she admits to herself that she may have had an issue doing alone.

Back at Ivey Mansion, Sophie marched around the house holding JC suggesting things for everyone to do. Amy comes in with the cake and tells Sophie about what Chase said about leaving Joshua alone about his birthday. Sophie says, "This is way different. Joshua is coming home. This is a truly small celebration of that event, and it just happens to be on his birthday." Amy shrugged and placed the birthday cake on the table. Nikki came in with a banner that read "Welcome Home Joshua." Candy requests entry at the front gate. Sophie had to remember to reactivate their pass keys, well at the very least Candy's. She calls down to the gate to tell Frank to let Candy in he says she had a plus one. Sophie looks at the screen rolls her eyes and says, "let him in too." If Bradley started anything tonight of all fucking nights, she'd put him right back out. Janet comes over and asks to hold JC. Sophie hands him over along with his now favorite toy a plush stuffed dog that Bobby had got him for Christmas before he was even born. She briefly wondered what she'd get ger own child this year for Christmas according to her doctor her due date was near her own birthday of the 17th. Rubbing a hand over her little baby bump, she gazes at the activity around her. Candy and Bradley ask if they needed the other portable crib from upstairs for the room down here that Angel and Joshua would be staying in until Joshua could climb the stairs. Not wanting Candy or Bradley upstairs right now with how everything went down about the baby monitor being bugged Sophie sure as hell didn't want them in her and Luke's bedroom. Did she believe that Candy or Bradley would bug a baby monitor, no but it was going to take some time before she trusted anyone that wasn't already staying here upstairs? Deon's sick perverted ass could have just as easily bugged her room. That dark thought sent a chill up her spine. "No, when Luke gets here, he said he'd bring it down." Candy asks is she ok saying she looked a little pale there for a minute. "I'm fine." Sophie moves away from them and heads upstairs. Candy asks did she need any help up there. Sophie turned around to answer and the answer must have been written all over her face, because Candy just as quickly said never mind. Not wanting to be misunderstood and pissed off later Sophie says. "I'd appreciate if you guys didn't come up here at all thanks in advance." Sophie then continues up the stairs to her room.

Bobby comes in with Joy, Candy and Bradley says their hellos, they respond and turn their attention away before anything else is said. As Joy walks ahead of Bobby towards the den, she says "I can't believe he showed up here." Bobby says it's not up to them. "If it were." Bobby says but it isn't so please stop. Narrowing her eyes, Joy asks why he was suddenly defending Bradley. "I'm not defending anyone it is just not our call. What will be is if when Joshua and Angel get back if Bradley says something off to them then it will be my pleasure to put him in his fucking place." Chase arrives and asks how far out Joshua and Angel were. Everyone starts heading into the atrium. Cass and Rap shows up

Angel sent a text to Sophie saying she was running in the drug store a few blocks from the house for Joshua's pain med and that he was out in the truck and she then asked could Luke or someone please come out when they did arrive and help Joshua out of the truck.

Sophie: No, we all are just going to let him stay in the truck until he heals enough to get out on his own. Yes, Angel someone will help him out the truck. Do I want to know how you got him in the truck?

Angel explained about Joshua trying to do it himself and how that failed do to his still healing ribs and collarbone. Sophie told her she knew her husband was stubborn.

Angel: I know, and he knows how persistent I can be when something is for his own good. Here is some quick info for you to digest. That man Jackson Knight is Joshua's paternal grandfather.

Sophie: Um you can't drop that and then just leave it there; we will be talking as soon as this party is done. BTW Candy and Bradley are here.

Angel bites her lip as she takes the meds from the pharmacist waves and walks back towards the truck when she agreed to the party at the moment after Joshua said he was coming home tonight a coming home dinner sounded great. She now worried if this was the right move because Nikki had already called it a birthday party.

Jonathan comes in minutes after Sophie tells everyone that Angel was near. "Then that must have been them I passed. They are pulling up now." Sophie speaks about someone helping Joshua out of the truck. Bradley runs around Luke who was heading for the door and says he'd go. Everyone looked back at Candy who just shrugged. Luke walked out behind Bradley, Rapture followed so the look on Luke's face wouldn't melt Bradley's skull from the lasers he was shooting from his eyes.

Angel gets out, walks around the truck, and froze as she stares at Bradley who was doing the fastest powerwalk/run she'd seen him do in ages towards the truck. She seemed to come back to herself when she saw Rapture and Luke on his heels. Bradley wordlessly helps Joshua, Luke grabbed his bag, and Rapture followed them all. They enter the house and everyone in including the Davenport parents says a mixture of welcome home and happy birthday. Angel risked a peek at her husband's face. For a full minute, he just stood there.

Joshua looked around at the expectant faces, then his gaze slides sideways at the apprehensive look on Angel's face. Last year and the years before his birthday were a grim affair that he tried to avoid at every cost. This year surrounded by his loved ones back in his home with the people and in a place that at times during his kidnapping he feared he'd never see again had a way of changing a man's view about any day spent freely living life. "Thanks, guys."

Janet broke the scrutinous quiet that blanketed the room. She asked, "Really, which part do you like?" Nicole tried to put her hand over Janet's mouth before she finished her query, Janet moves her face and continues "the happy birthday or the welcome home?"

Joshua looks at the huge smile on Angel's face then back at everyone. He could have lost all of this, but he didn't he, survived and it was time to start living damnit. With a smirk he says, "Yes, really and to answer the other part both. I'm glad to be back home, and if I'm going to celebrate the day I was born, who better to do it with than the people who love me?" Sophie said finally he got it. Joshua smirked he and Sophie had their moments, but he never had a doubt on whether she loved him. That went for everyone here. They all had history or bonds that connected them, and those bonds were strengthened everyday by love. Luke pulled up his sleeves and says he had steaks to barbeque. They all move out on to the back patio. As Joshua is taking a breather in the kitchen, 20 more feet and he would join the family on the patio, but all this walking was tiring him out. Bradley comes back and asked did he need any help. "Nah, I'm coming." Angel had gone to go grab another play mat for the twins. She walks back into the kitchen and halted when she saw Bradley again. He asked could he speak to them both and even added please. Middlebrooks had taken some of the fury away because she did point out that had Bradley not called, she may have been angry for a darker reason. Though he didn't deliver the message the best it did spark action early as they figured out that something was wrong. She accused Sandra of being on Bradley's side. Sandra said she was not on anyone's side. Sandra asked what the most hurtful part was, was it the fact that he yelled or was it that he accused her of unfaithfulness. Angel had spewed her hurt and confusion. Sandra told her the only way she would find the answers to her confusion was to ask the source and depending on what he said she would at least have her answer and be able to either move forward or make a clean stop. Angel comes out of her inner thought to see two sets of eyes on her. Her lover and brother because Cassandra's words were true, they were siblings. After taking a calming breath Angel says "Sure."

Bradley watches as Angel puts down the huge rubber tube and Joshua sits in the nearest chair. Angel walks over and stands behind him. "Ok Angel I was way out of line that night I am sorry that I scared you, and that I pissed you off. To Joshua, I do remember what you said, and I really was just scared got some misinformation and."

Angel takes a breath and then cut off Bradley. "Bradley stop, on one hand, I am glad you called because I was able to tell Sophie who was able to get Chase, Joy, and Bobby on it quickly, and it worked. We got Joshua back. Yes, you could have said it differently, but there really wouldn't have been anything truthfully that you could have said to lighten that blow."

Joshua asks "but?" As he holds out his hand. She moves from behind him and sits next to him holding his hand. Angel was present in the trauma sessions in his hospital room and if they were going to get over this, better to have it all on the table now. Angel closes her eyes and reopens them as she looks at Bradley and says, "But Brad, it's what you wrapped it in. What hurt the most is I trusted that we all had been getting to a better place as a family, then for you a person I held as a brother to think I would ever want to hurt my husband in any way. For you to think that I would set him up to get hurt was just the painful topper. I keep asking myself why that would even remotely be a conclusion that you would draw about me? I told you off because I felt attacked and scared, but I meant every word."

Bradley drove his hands through his hair and leaned against the counter. "I know you meant it. I realized I'd fucked up instantly the minute you stopped speaking right before I realized you'd hung up. The situation scared and pissed me off. I unfairly lashed out at you." Bradley explains how before they found out that Joshua wasn't just having his guards play gatekeeper how he was angry at Joshua. Then that anger split into anger at himself for being mad at Josh and anger at whoever was behind who made his brother fucking vanish. Bradley goes on to explain the feelings of fear welling up inside of him and how calling Logan and asking him to fill in the blanks was what set him off like a misguided rocket. "I know I hurt you and I'm sorry. You said that I meant every word, right then armed with part of the story, yeah, I meant it until you set me straight. I wanted desperately to call you back, but I knew you wouldn't want to hear anything, but I found him. Since I couldn't give you that I didn't call back, but I continued looking for you Joshua I didn't stop until they found you. It wasn't really anything about you Angel that made me think it. It was just you were the only part of this that I could get ahold of and I spewed all the hurt and fear at you that I couldn't spew at who deserved it. You asked me what I wanted from you. I know it may take time, but please forgive me. You are the best thing that ever happened to my brother and our family. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you like you were there for me."

Armed with the truth and Bradley's entire side of the story Angel says, "I'll never be pleased that you hurt me, but I forgive you." Bradley walked towards them with a look of relief on his face. Angel and Joshua both put up a hand. Angel meets Bradley's gaze and says "Don't approach me. I forgive you, but I won't soon forget this, and it's going to take me some time to dare to trust you as I once did. This is it, Bradley, I'm tired of letting people I trust so close to my heart just to for them to shatter me because I'm in their path. I get it your mind was in turmoil but please don't ever do anything like that again."

Joshua adds "Bradley, if you ever disrespect my wife again for any reason you might as well forget where we live. Are we clear?"

Bradley promised himself that he would not become the toxic person his sister feared trusting anymore nor the person that drove his brother to cut him off. Since he'd just froze when they raised their hands he steps back and says. "Crystal clear."

Later that night after their conversation with Bradley, they all headed outside, and Joshua was able to enjoy the rest of his birthday with his loved ones. Sally's mother even called him to wish him a very happy birthday. She was sad that she couldn't be in the states to see him come home, since she was just getting over a cold, and even though his father Chase offered to have her flown in she didn't want to go against her doctor's instructions. The last thing Joshua wanted was for his 86-year-old grandmother to hurt herself trying to travel to see him. "No gram, do as your doctor says please." She smirks at him and says she would if he followed his own advice. "I will" she continues that she didn't want this day to pass without her at the very least calling her grandson and being able to tell him welcome home, and happy birthday, at least on video chat. Joshua smiled at the camera and says thanks to his grandmother in her native language of Spanish, "gracias abuela" She smiled right back and called him her little grandson. Angel walks over with Jonathon-Chase and their grandmother's smile got bigger which didn't even seem possible. She spoke and sang to her great-grandson and they all watched as he happily swung his latest favorite stuffed dog toy and giggled. Later still after cake, everyone was heading either to their room or home. Joshua enters the bedroom that JC, Angel, and he was staying in until he could manage the stairs. Angel soon came in with JC and put him in his portable crib that Luke had brought down. Joshua sat on the edge of the bed as Angel rubbed the medical cream on him. She asked since this room isn't as warm as theirs did, he want her to run up and grab him a shirt? "Nah, I'll be ok." Angel dresses for bed and slides in beside him. They talk and she soon drifts off to sleep. It had been a long day for not only him but her as well. Joshua lays in the quiet thinking, a smirk lights his face as he thinks about the fact that with everything that went down, he still got his wish from last year. Right now, at this moment he was home with his wife and child on his birthday. As the cream did its work to take away the discomfort from all the moving around, he did today, sleep soon claims him as well.

Author's Note: For my readers in the US I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I also hope my Canadian readers had an awesome Canada Day. So, it has been brought to my attention by one of my super awesome readers that my chapters are getting too long. I don't wish to alienate any of my readers new or old so I will be working to shorten the chapters. This chapter was long, but I had a lot of things I wanted to get in, but I promise that I will make the chapters shorter. Also, I am working hard to get the next chapter ready for your reading consumption. Thanks for reading. If you have any comments or questions or even suggestions, or concerns they are welcomed, and I will respond: End Note