Banshee Song

Book One

Chapter Seventeen

Bo and Hope slowly turned to see Shawn and Belle behind them, shock reflected on their young faces.

"Wh-what?" Shawn said in disbelief. Slowly his brain caught up with his ears. "Did you say that John is J.T.'s father? Dad, please tell me I misheard you. You are J.T.'s father!"

Belle just stood there in numbed shock, eyes transfixed on the scene before her. Surely she had misunderstood.

Bo looked on his son sadly. He hadn't wanted the truth to come out, not like this anyway. "I am his father, in the ways that count."

"What the HELL does that mean?!" Shawn cried angrily. He waited with baited breath for his father to reassure him, to deny what he had said earlier. Shawn looked at both of his parents, saw the looks on their faces. He felt rocks settle in his gut.

Bo tried to explain. "Ever since your mom told me she was pregnant, I knew that I wasn't the father. Your mom and I hadn't been together at that time. John…"

Shawn laughed mirthlessly and ran his fingers through his hair. "No, I can't be hearing this. You're telling me that John, John Black, Belle's father is my little brother's father? That Belle and I share a brother now?" Shawn was hit by sudden wave of revulsion. He looked at Belle and found the same emotion reflected in her wide blue eyes.

Belle looked at Shawn and found herself backing away, out of the room. This was too much. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wouldn't believe it until she'd talked to her father. She noiselessly ran out of the Brady home toward her parents' penthouse.

Shawn wanted to stop Belle, comfort her. But he didn't. Instead, he turned to face his mother. "How could this happen?" he asked coldly.

Bo answered in Hope's defense. He moved to stand by his wife and clasped her hand in his. He knew that their family would need to be strong, united, if they were to survive. He explained to Shawn the special circumstances behind J.T.'s conception, Stefano's involvement, and their reasons for keeping it secret.

"Yes, we should have told you, a long time ago." Bo told him. Hope looked at her husband in wonder. He squeezed her hand in return. "But I hope that you will consider what I've told you. This doesn't change how I feel about your brother one bit. He's still my son. And this doesn't have to change your relationship with Belle, either."

Shawn kept his eyes on the floor, on the sofa, anywhere but on his parents. He just couldn't look at them yet. He was still trying to understand that his little brother was now someone else's son. And that someone else was John Black.

"I…I gotta get some air." And he turned and left the house.



Marlena gingerly held the ice pack to her husband's bruised face. She winced sympathetically at his dark swollen eye. "We're going to have to tell the kids, John."

He shook his head. "No. Not until we've talked with Bo and Hope. They may not want Shawn to know."

"Too late for that." They heard the kitchen door slam shut and looked to see Belle standing there, tears streaming from her eyes.

John immediately reached out for his little girl. "Belle, what's wrong?"

Belle looked at her father's bruised face and her features crumpled. "Oh God. It's true. You're J.T.'s father." She whimpered as fresh tears poured from her eyes. "How can this be happening?" she looked at her father for explanation, her lips trembling.

John closed his eyes and sighed deeply. His nightmare was coming true. He steeled himself for the coming confrontation. He turned to face his little girl. "Yes, sweetie. I'm afraid it's true. J.T. is my son."

"Noooo" Belle moaned, feeling her life begin to fall apart. "How… you and Hope Brady? My boyfriend's mother?! God, no." she choked out through her sobs.

John felt his heart break at the anguish on his little girl's face. He reached out to comfort her, but she just pushed him away. Through the tears in her eyes, he could see the anger that she was feeling for him. He saw the pain, sadness and disgust reflected on her face. "Belle…"

"Don't." she interrupted as she backed away from him. She looked at her mom for support. "You've known too, huh. Both of you have known all this time." She backed away from her parents. "I can't. I can't." she said simply. She couldn't stand the sight of them. As she felt her heart shatter into pieces, she thought of the one person who could help her. "I can't be around you right now. I'm going to Brady's." she said and left the penthouse, leaving her parents to wonder how they were going to fix their family.



"Mmmmm. Hey, I taste… onions and…mushrooms." Chloe remarked dreamily after breaking her kiss with Brady.

Brady nipped her lightly on her mouth, catching her lower lip softly with his perfectly white teeth. "That's probably because I had onions and mushrooms on my cheeseburger."

The two were reclined on the couch in Brady's loft. They had been watching a movie, but they kept getting…distracted. They had finally turned the TV off so they could focus fully on their…distraction. Chloe lay underneath Brady in the crook of his arm. His fingers roamed in her hair as he kissed her powerfully.

Chloe moaned and shifted beneath him. She wrapped her arms around his lower back and slipped her hands under his shirt. She loved to run her fingers along his powerful muscles. Brady smiled and rewarded Chloe by pulling his black tank over his head. Her eyes widened in desire as she drank in the sight of his naked torso. She ran her fingernails over his tanned chest, lightly flicking his nipples.

He groaned and captured her mouth once more, his tongue dancing with hers. They spent many minutes passionately kissing, each lost in the overwhelming sensations. Brady felt himself quickly losing control of his faculties. He was dangerously close to crossing a line that he had set as a boundary for himself and their physical relationship. But his need for Chloe was so intense, and she was so willing, so passionate beneath him. His reasons for holding back were flying from his mind.

So he was both disappointed and relieved to hear the doorbell ring. It took a few seconds to register through the haze in their minds. Brady reluctantly broke their kiss and disentangled himself from Chloe. She worked to make herself presentable while Brady answered the door.

"Tink!" he said in surprise as she breezed in past him. He immediately noticed her red eyes and tear stained cheeks. "Belle what's wrong?" he asked, as fear hammered at his heart. Had something happed to someone?

Belle looked at him to reply. She took in his shirtless state and then noticed Chloe on the couch fixing her hair. "Oh, Brady, I'm so sorry. I forgot you were on a date. I'll just be leaving." She turned to leave.

"No, wait. Stay. What's wrong, Belle? Is it Shawn? Did he do hurt you?" he asked as he peered into her eyes.

At the mention of Shawn's name, Belle broke down into tears. She knew things for them would never be the same after this night.

Brady wrapped Belle in a strong hug, feeling both angry and protective. He couldn't stand to see Belle hurt, especially over some guy, even if it was Shawn. He motioned to Chloe with his eyes. As she got up to leave he mouthed to her, "I'll call you later tonight." She nodded and left the two siblings alone.

Belle pulled out of Brady's bear hug. "It isn't Shawn." She said through sniffles. "It's Dad. Shawn and I found out… we found out." She bit her lip painfully as tears once again filled her eyes.

Brady gripped her shoulders and looked in her eyes. "What did you find out?"

Belle returned Brady's gaze. Her voice was distant. "We found out that Dad is J.T.'s father. Our father had sex with Shawn's mom." Belle laughed hysterically at the absurdity of the situation. "Shawn and I share a baby brother! Oh my God! I have a baby brother!" She collapsed into a fit of tearful giggles while Brady stood stone-faced.

His mind reeled from shock. His father and Hope Brady? They have a child together? What the hell was going on in their family? They had all worked so hard to come together, to mend the wounds of the past, now to have it all fall apart. {I have a baby brother.}

He pushed aside his own pain and focused on his little sister. Her crazed fit of laughter was quickly dissolving into heartbreaking sobs. He knelt down to where she sat on the floor and again took her in his arms. They held each other for a long time, taking refuge from their pain in their embrace.

Belle felt herself gradually return to normal. She smiled wryly. "Wow. I've been dating my brother's brother."

Brady chuckled, glad to see his resilient sister bounce back. "Hey, what about me? My dad had sex with my cousin's mom. How gross is that?"

Belle laughed. "We are a Springer waiting to happen."

"All we need is a jealous lesbian lover and a trailer park and we're there." He looked down at his little sister seriously. "You okay?"

"No. But I will be. Brady, I can't face them yet. Can I stay here?"

She was exhausted from her draining emotional battle. Brady got her settled into his bed, and then made his bed on the couch downstairs. He quickly fell asleep, forgetting his promise to call Chloe.