Hi, so here is another chapter and I hope that you enjoy this. Don't worry Jack and the rest of them will make an appearance soon enough.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine just the characters of Isabella and the Patterson family.

Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.

Drifting Back

Chapter 6-Echoes Of The Past

The dust settles as the ghosts of the past finally come home to rest. And nobody on Patterson Mountain is ever the same again.

For a moment he breathed in and he breathed out. Maud stared at him her head tilted to the side silently watching as Theo stared at her. And then suddenly the world righted itself and he could breathe again. It might have been like being under water but he could breathe again and when he looked at her he could see differences. Maud had been shorter than this girl who was tall and willowy. Her dark hair was a shade or two darker than Maud's chocolate brown locks—Theo who had spent three long weeks with his face buried in those strands of hair knew the difference intimately. Her expression was one of terrified fascination and suddenly he knew…he fucking knew…who was staring back at him.

This was Isabella Ismay.

And this was no fucking whore of Bruce Ismay's either. This had to be the girl the newspapers were reporting and this had to be…

"Daddy?"

That was John who was watching him. His wife's hand was on his chest and his own Pa was gripping his shoulder so tightly he knew it would ache in the morning but he still couldn't…he couldn't…he couldn't…

He couldn't form the fucking words to describe what was in front of him because he had always took Bruce Ismay at his word but now…

And so he said the only word that mattered.

"No"

It was flat and heavy and it hung there. The girl let out a sigh and that half smile as if she had truly been expecting this and she was almost amused rather than sad and if looks alone hadn't been enough to prove it then that did all on it's own.

This was Maud's daughter.

Which meant that…

"This is yours I believe?" she said and the accent alone was enough to floor him because…how many times before and afterwards had he laid awake trying to preserve that accent in his brain so he would never forget it.

And then he saw what she was holding out. It was like watching a scene from a motion picture a lifetime ago. Romeo and Juliet. Theo and Maud. The two of them reading it together, acting it out together, curled in bed in each others arms sated and happy believing that they could conquer the world together. There had been a baby in between them, a healthy little human that he had read passages too and whose little kicks he wanted to feel under his palm.

A baby he had been told was dead. A baby that he had never got to see and a baby who was now standing in front of him a grown ass woman watching him with those same, hauntingly familiar dark eyes.

"Fuck" was all that he could say and then…

"No"

Because the universe just had to be playing some kind of cruel trick on him wasn't it? Because all of this had been buried, pretty damn deep and now it was coming out and this girl was looking at him with those horror filled dark eyes and he couldn't…

He couldn't…

He couldn't breathe.

"I'm…you know who I am, I'm Maud's daughter, I'm your daughter and…"

"No"

It was forced out of him like the howl of some wounded animal and he pushed past her, pushed past his Pa and his comforting hand and his wife and his confused children and all but ran out of sight, round the back of the house and for the second time in his life he ran away even though he had promised himself after the first there would not be a second.

Olivia's first response was to say something very unladylike.

In her head she could.

Maud-fucking-Ismay.

Christ would she ever be rid of the woman?

The second she had those thoughts she immediately chastised herself for being unchristian. After all it was not the fault of the girl looking at the mess her husband had escaped from with wide eyes was it not? Clearly this…Isabella Ismay had, had no real idea what she was walking into. It was written all over the face the shock turning to heartbreak turning to anger and then back to heartbreak all over again. The man next to her was watching where her husband had vanished with his lip curled in disgust and Olivia knew that Teddy didn't deserve it.

It was not like she hadn't known.

In truth since the words Isabella Ismay and niece had been thrown around casually by her son that morning there had been a part of her that had wondered if…maybe…maybe it had been his actual niece. But the other part of her had not wanted to disturb the great deal of love and affection in her and Teddy's marriage and life together. She had always loved him, a great deal more than he had loved her but now she felt like they were on equal footings. The ghost lovechild of his ghost love turning up on such a wonderful spring day was not what she needed.

But then again she couldn't leave the girl on the doorstep watching after her father with a wide-eyed expression. She couldn't leave her children watching her all of them desperate for questions and she was not leaving that young man smoking next to her prized rose bushes!

"Isabella?"

The girl started like a whip had gone off and stared at her. There was a deep seated kind of pain in her eyes that Olivia had seen more than once in her fathers—oh that was going to take some getting used to.

"Yes?"

"My name is Olivia Patterson, this is my home. Do you want to come inside?"

She shot the man next to her a look. He offered her a shrug.

"Your choice darling" was all he said softly and she paused at the accents, this girl was English, the boy was Irish.

"You can go in" he said quietly. "Or we can go and get the fuck out of here—your choice. I just…I'm gonna need a moment Isabella. Cause I need to fucking—I need to breathe some clean warm air forget I'm on that fucking ship"

Olivia gritted her teeth. She had eight children did they have to be so direct with the language? If the girl was going to stay here then that was the first thing that as going to have to go. And her husband better understand that as well. Already she was aware that both Charlie and John were watching him with a little bit of awe in their eyes that she did not like the look off.

"Come inside then—and boy—" she said shooting the boy a look. "If you get smoke near my rose bushes I'll swing for you"

The man eyed her for a second and then nodded. Olivia was pleased to see that he looked rather weary of her. Nice to know that she still had it.

He walked over to the girl and dropped a kiss on her cheek.

"Be there in five minutes" he said and she nodded looking at him as if he was her saviour and Olivia, God help her wondered if Maud Ismay had looked at Teddy like that. It was stupid. She had been married to the man for seventeen years, she loved him, she adored him and she knew that he loved her even though it had taken more time for him than it had for her but she knew that he loved her.

So jealously? She was a woman of over thirty five with eight children. She didn't need to worry about jealously.

And yet here was the little green monster rearing his ugly head.

Isabella Ismay watched her with wild eyes though Olivia got the impression that this was not the worst of what this girl had been through. Call it a mother's instinct but it was all she had. Eventually though she shook back her shoulders her hair flowing over her back and stepped forwards.

"Mama?"

"John…just get the children into the barn, I will explain everything to you in half an hour exactly"

John shot her a long look but she levelled him and Charlie with one of her own.

They did as they were told.

She caught her mother in law's eye who sighed.

"Should be Teddy who tells them" was all she said.

Olivia pretended she didn't hear the man snort behind them.

He could feel his father's presence before he even felt the man's arm on his shoulder.

"Pa…not now…

"John's took the children into the barn, your wife's took your daughter into the house and at some point someone's going to have to tell the story son. It has to be you, your children…all…nine of them have to hear it from you"

Theo wiped his eyes.

"She's…fuck she looks like her mother"

"Yes I suppose she does. But she carries herself like you. Like a Patterson"

God the pride in his father's voice. Clearly it didn't matter to him that a grandchild had juts fallen down from the sky. All that mattered was that she was here.

"I thought she was dead. I thought…Bruce Ismay was so fucking sure Pa…I mean he was so…gleeful."

"Course he was gleeful" his Pa said shaking his head. "The child was alive all along. He knew that. It was all to get you away from him and—"

"Pa what do I do if Maud's alive?"

He was shamed to his soul to think that was the question that was troubling him but he couldn't help but ask it. What would happen if following her daughter, Maud turned up? What did that mean for him?

"I think son" his Pa said finally. "That the chances of that are very slim. Besides…it doesn't matter your married in the eyes of God. You have eight children with your wife. That trumps everything"

Shit.

He scrubbed a hand over his face.

"I just…I just don't get how it could have happened—I—how could she be alive and—and why is she here now and—"

"Cause she didn't know" came a drawling Irish voice behind them and they both turned around. Theo saw the man who had been with his…oh Christ with his daughter—standing there watching him. He couldn't have been much older than she was but there he was watching him with eyes that like…Christ…like his daughter seemed to have seen so much.

"Who are you?" he asked because he was too tired to deal with any more surprises today.

"Name's Tommy Ryan" the Irishman said holding out a cigarette. As much as he wanted one Theo shook his head. Instead the man held out a flask and he took that. The burn of the admittedly very good brandy hit his stomach and made him feel less likely to throw up. His Pa next to him took a swig as well before he passed it back. Theo watched Tommy Ryan for a second longer.

"What do you mean?" he asked because clearly he was going to have to spear this conversation forwards.

"I mean—" Tommy said patiently. "She didn't know you were alive. Bastard told her that you had abandoned her and then died or…something…she doesn't go into the particulars. She told me that she confronted him and he told her the truth. Since then she's been obsessed with finding you"

Theo let that sink in for a second.

So…Bruce Ismay had deceived them both. He had told Theo that his baby was dead and his baby that her father was dead until she had confronted him with the truth.

"Was this…was this on the Titanic?" he asked quietly. The man nodded and Theo realised that the darkness surrounding them was down to that. God he could only imagine, you find out your entire life was a lie and then the ship goes on goes down and—

"Is that how you met?" his father asked suddenly. "Because…and forgive me young man but…you don't seem to act as if you were born to be in first class"

The man...Tommy…snorted.

"Nah" he said easily as if it almost funny that he was. "Nah, Sir I was born and bread in steerage, she was in First. We…I met some people, she met some people, somewhere along the way our paths met, could say…actually you know what, for me…love at first sight"

And Theo remembered. He remembered looking around that small political meeting room in England and seeing the dark haired girl watching him speak. He remembered that look of burning intensity and how he had, had to look away and then look back again because even though something inside of him was burning he could still remember her. Every second of that time with Maud was engraved on his mind and body and soul and—

"Is she alive? Maud I mean?"

Tommy Ryan looked at him with something very close to pity.

"No" he said finally. "She did die in childbirth or straight after and…I think…maybe she just wasted away and…"

And that was enough. He held up his hand and the boy fell silent instantly. He couldn't hear it, Theo honestly couldn't hear about Maud and that fire within her and how her brother had put it out. He was keeping his breakfast down with incredibly difficulty as it was.

"You were on the Titanic?" his father said into the silence. "Well…you two had a lucky escape then didn't you?"

The man met his father's eyes with eyes that seemed to speak of an experience that nobody (unless you had been there) could understand. Then his eyes snapped back to Theo.

"If you want us gone say it and I'll take her and go" he said finally. "She's not stupid she's been thinking you might react poorly to this…Bruce fucking Ismay telling her how disgusting she is and—"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh. That. Yes. That was something…they had this conversation I don't know I wasn't there for it but when I met up with her the first time she told me she knew she was unlovable, that there was no point trying to even make it work with me because she wouldn't make me happy. Even after we met up after the conversation…she's been told she's an unlovable creature not deserving of happiness for a very long time. Bruce Ismay's way of making sure she pays the price for her existence. She was on her way to marry one of his friends about your age when she met me."

For a second Theo could barely speak. He was so fucking incensed with rage he thought he was going to throw up. Or hit something. Or shoot something.

Bruce Ismay.

Never had he truly understood the concept of hatred until he had heard that name.

The bastard.

This girl, his girl, Maud's girl had been told that she had been an unwanted, unloved burden.

She wasn't.

She hadn't.

Christ Theo would have done anything and everything to raise her. He'd have come home from England with the baby in his arms and yeah sure he would have gutted himself over Maud but he could have raised her. He could have raised his baby and still had Livy and still had his children and it would have been just perfect and now this kid—and Christ he really was a kid wasn't he—was telling him that his baby girl had been given all the material things but none of the real things because Bruce Ismay had hated the fact that his sister had loved and lived and laughed and it had been with him.

He couldn't think past that.

Tommy Ryan threw his cigarette on the floor and stomped on it.

"You want us to go?" he asked critically.

Theo swallowed. He was achingly aware that everything depended on what he said now.

"No" he said finally.

"No?"

Was that surprise in the kids voice?

"No" he said again and this time he dragged his eyes upwards so he was looking the kid centre on.

"No I don't want you to go"

Tommy Ryan looked at him for a long critical moment and Theo was reminded of the day that Maud told him she wanted to go back and see her mother and brother before they left and never came back.

"Alright" he said finally nodding his head. "If that's what you want then…"

"Stay" he croaked out. "Just…just give me a second to tell my children and—"

"You think you can tell them all of this in a second?"

"I think I need…just stay, please. Look If the two of you can wait in the kitchen and I can get my kids and just tell them then…please just…just don't take her away"

Now the look on the kids face was undeniably sympathetic.

"Sure" he said finally. "But I don't take her anywhere. Come on man, you know what I'm dealing with. I try to take her anywhere she doesn't want to go to she'll lop my balls off, paint them gold and give them to your wife for Christmas tree decorations"

Theo tilted back his head and laughed. He couldn't stop himself. It was the trigger that he needed.

"Thank you" was all he said and the man nodded.

There was more to say, more to do and his father muttered about getting Livy as the kid lit up a cigarette again.

Livy took his hand as they opened the barn door. True to form John had gotten the children in there but each and everyone of them had known what was going on. It didn't matter. With eight children gossip was like food. Never lasted long.

"Daddy what—"

"Listen" he said holding up his hand and Charlie fell silent. "I have to tell you all something and I hope your all mature enough to listen to what I have to say to you first"

"Bloody—"

"John"

"Mama! She is isn't she? What she was saying she's right?"

Lord above. When he had envisioned this conversation it was never in the barn with his parents trying to convince his daughter not to flee.

"Listen to me John" was all he said and his son fell silent.

Livy squeezed his hand and Theo squeezed hers back.

"I have a story to tell you all…"

And there you go, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will do my best to bring you the next one sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter-The Patterson children attempt to understand their father's past. Isabella and Tommy have dinner with Isabella's family and it's clear that there is an awkwardness in the air.