by iluvaqt@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: As per chapter one.
QT's Notes: Deb and Prue Halliwell-Trudeau (wow, long name :D ), and
Natty, your feedback is important to me. I hope you all enjoy the last chapter
of this story.
Chapter 21: Truth and Lies
"Rachel!" Seeing his daughter unharmed, Robert Berrisford rushed to her. Throwing his arms around her, he hugged her tight. He clung to her as if his life depended on her.
Rachel was glad to see her uncle and she warmly returned his embrace. Upon
noticing her grandfather, over her uncle's shoulder, she quickly let go and
ran into his waiting arms.
Admiral Mitchell, kissed his granddaughter's hair and her forehead. He framed
her face with his aging hands. They were once so strong and sure, and now wavered
with unchecked emotion and weariness. Over the head of his granddaughter, he
saw his son in-law, heartache clearly evident on his face. A tear slipped down
his cheek and the Admiral felt for the other man. If only Rachel knew the truth.
He and Margaret had gone along with Robert's plan at the time, thinking that
it was for the best. Rachel didn't remember anything. The bomb blast, two and
a half years ago had left her with amnesia. Since, Robert had to go into witness
protection, they all agreed it would work for the best that Rachel assume another
identity and stay with them. Considering what had just happened, the Admiral
knew that Robert needed Rachel to know the truth. He couldn't possibly keep
pretending his daughter belonged to someone else.
Alec and Tash were sitting together on the edge of the wharf. They both had
just one blanket between them. Huddled together, they waited for their coffee.
One of the FBI agents had kindly offered to get them some, and Tash was only
too happy to accept. She could do with a caffeine buzz right now.
"Where is she?"
Hearing her brother's voice, she spotted him the moment he appeared from the
crowd. Tash dropped the blanket and launched at him, hugging him tight before
he could say another word.
"One more stunt like that and I swear I'llYou're freezing."
Jones rubbed her arms. She was wearing his shirt, and not much else. "Don't
tell me?" Jones shouldered out of his suit jacket and wrapped it around
his sister.
The jacket Jones gave her fell to her knees, and she could still feel the warmth
of his body inside it. His pants had come loose after her escape from the helicopter
wreck, and his shirt was in no shape to ever be worn again. On arm was missing
and there were grease and blood stains on it. Tash grinned up at him. "I'm
sorry. I promise I'll buy you a new set."
Jones couldn't help smiling back. "Forget it. I'm just glad you're alright."
Catching sight of Alec, he walked over to the other man, Tash still tucked firmly
under his arm. "I don't know whether to congratulate you or fire you."
Knowing what he was deliberating over, Alec could only smirk. Trying to hide
the sparkle in his eyes, he looked at Tash before meeting Jones' gaze. It had
turned out to be a very expensive and dangerous rescue mission. Things could
have turned out very different. He could have lost both Tash and Rachel tonight.
He shuddered at the thought. "I'll work off the losses you've incurred.
Security was my responsibility and I let them slip by me"
"It wasn't your fault. They had an inside man. We found the mole that got
them blueprints of the hotel. He kept them updated on our security, and he even
got them the tickets to the fundraiser. He's probably wishing he never heard
of them by now."
Rachel excused herself from her grandfather, still wondering where her father
was. She hadn't gotten a chance to thank her rescuers yet. And what seemed even
stranger to her was that neither had anyone else in her family. Finding them
near the water and away from the bustle of activity, she smiled at them both.
"Natasha, Alec, I want to thank you for finding me tonight. I don't think
I'd be here right now, if you hadn't. My grandfather's guys wouldn't have gotten
her in time."
Jones gave her a perplexed look. "Actually, it was Mr Berrisford that
called the Feds in." Wheels started turning in his head and suddenly two
things made sense. "I thought"
Tash squeezed his arm and sent him a silencing look. "I need to have a
word with the Admiral. We'll be right back." Turning, she discreetly dragged
Jones with her. When they were out of earshot, she told him what she assumed
he had figured out. "Yes, Robert Berrisford is her father, and she doesn't
know that yet."
Jones gave her a puzzled look before rolling his eyes. "I don't want to
know." He was happy enough knowing Rachel was safe. He had his own interesting
family tree to live with. He wasn't about to go trying to figure out how the
Berrisford's and Mitchell's worked.
Alec looked up at Rachel. She wasn't standing that far from him. Her hazel
eyes had warmed to a deep green, with the grey flicks making them all the more
enticing to look into. She smiled at him and reached out to touch his hand,
which was just visible above the blanket where he held the wrap closed.
"I know this will sound really weird, but when you kissed me"
She blushed. "I felt like It felt like we'd kissed before."
When Alec didn't say anything, she felt even sillier. And she flustered over
her next words, embarrassed. "It's stupid, I know. It wasn't even a kiss,
really"
"It's not stupid," Alec said quietly, reaching for her hand. "We
knew each other a long time ago, Rachel. A time when I was young and careless.
I didn't know who I really was. You gave me meaning, and I betrayed you. You
and your father. I tried to make things right but at the time, I hurt you. I'm
just glad I got the chance to do things right this time. I know you don't remember
now, but some day you will. When you do, I need you to know that you're special
to me. And I would rather die, than hurt you again." In her eyes, he could
see her confusion. He knew it was inevitable. She would remember someday. He
wanted her to know, he needed her to know the truth behind his actions. He loved
her too much for her to think that he didn't care. To let her continue thinking
that he'd used her.
A confrontation with her father, earlier, had dug up feelings of self doubt
he thought he'd long since buried.
"You" Berrisford clenched his fist and held back the fury that
burned beneath his skin. Before he could start his verbal attack, someone stopped
him. He knew that physically he wouldn't stand a chance against the man. But
there would be no stopping a verbal attack. He'd warned him once to stay way
from Rachel, obviously it hadn't been enough.
"Sir, this man saved Rachel's life." Agent Malone, looked from one
man to the other. They both knew each other, that much was obvious. But why
was Robert Berrisford being so hostile towards him, when it was evident that
the other man felt no animosity. If anything he looked sympathetic.
"You have every right to be angry. They took everything from you. But don't go thinking you can blame me this time. I had nothing to do with this. And if you don't realize it by now, maybe I should make it clear to you. Whether you accept it or not, I've always loved Rachel. I never meant to hurt her. And I will never hurt her again." He left Berrisford before the man had a chance to throw anything in his face. He had a knack for doing that. He knew how to dredge up every failure you knew about yourself and rub it in your face. He knew how to make you feel guilty over it, eat yourself up over it. Drown yourself in it. He wouldn't let the other man use him as an excuse any more. If he felt like he'd lost Rachel now, he only had himself to blame.
Something Rachel said brought him out of his reflection, and he looked at her
in surprise.
"Simon?" Rachel said, as if remembering a name that seemed familiar,
but not quite knowing if it belonged in a dream or her past. Seeing the recognition
flicker in his eyes, she knew she was onto something. "We knew each other
you were?" A pain ripped across her brow, and her vision got blurry. All
of a sudden, she felt off balance and everything started floating away from
her. Faces, lots of faces were hovering above her and someone was saying her
name over and over.
"Rachel?" Alec caught her as she fell, and as he crouched on the
ground holding her, a medic and both her father and the Admiral appeared.
"What happened?" her father demanded.
"I don't know. Maybe she has a concussion. She hit the water pretty hard."
Surrendering her to the FBI medics, Alec could only watch and pray she would
be okay.
"She's coming around," one of the medics said.
They checked her eyes and took her blood pressure again. "Rachel, can
you hear me?"
The other medic held Rachel's hand and squeezed it. "Can you squeeze my
hand?"
Rachel nodded weakly and squeezed back. "I feel dizzy," she whispered.
"You're going to be fine, you have a slight concussion. Rest for a bit.
Just keep talking, okay." The medic smiled and climbed out. She looked
at Berrisford. "We'll be here for a while. You're welcome to stay with
her."
Rachel looked at her grandfather, a tear running down her cheek. "Where's
my dad?"
The Admiral's heart broke. She'd been so composed up until now. So brave. He
put a hand on Berrisford's shoulder. "You have to tell her now, or I will."
Robert turned to look at his father in-law. He knew he was right, but he didn't
know where to start. It had been his decision to keep Rachel in the dark. He'd
done it to protect her, now he was the only one hurting her. She thought her
father didn't care. It couldn't be further from the truth. Her father was right
beside her.
Climbing into the van, he took Rachel's hand. "Rachel, I need to tell
you something."
Alec watched from a distance. He could hear what Berrisford was saying and
using his telescoping vision, he could see Rachel's face. At first it was clear
that she was angry, and even though she didn't move to hit him, her fists were
clenched and it looked like she wanted too. Tears streamed down her cheeks and
he knew how much it must pain her to learn that the man she thought was her
loving uncle was actually her father, and that everyone she'd trusted most over
the past few months, had been lying to her. Was everything she'd learned about
herself a lie? If the people she loved, and the ones who supposedly loved her
too hadn't told her the truth, who could she trust?
After a few minutes, Berrisford had stopped talking and Rachel had stopped
crying, but she wasn't looking at him. And from his expression, Berrisford looked
helpless. But he didn't leave her side. He stayed there.
Tash touched Alec's shoulder. He'd been standing there for the past fifteen
minutes. She'd heard parts of what Berrisford had said, and despite his good
intentions, she knew it couldn't be easy for Rachel to hear. If it were her,
she would have got up and left him. She'd probably stew over it and forgive
him later. But it would be a long time later. "She'll be okay. It's tough,
but it's better that she learns the truth from him, than someone else."
Alec didn't say anything. He just turned around and looked down at Tash. She
was still in Jones' jacket. And despite the strength he knew she possessed,
he had this fierce urge to protect her. He hugged her and kissed her forehead.
He always had a way of getting right inside her and turning her inside out.
There were only two men who could have her wearing her heart on her sleeve.
And one of them was doing a pretty good job of it right now. "I can't take
it anymore!" Tash moaned. "I couldn't tell you before, there was just
so much going on and I didn't know what to do"
"What do you mean?" Alec searched her eyes, she looked worried, but
there was something else there too. She was afraid. Of what?
"White kidnapped Max" She didn't get a chance to say anything
else. Alec had dropped his arms and his face had drained of all colour.
"He what?" Alec asked, not believing his own ears.
"I just tried calling Logan, but there's no answer." Tash bit her
lip. He had said he could handle it. But what if something had gone wrong? "He
made me promise to say out of it. I know that's a really lame excuse"
"That arrogant" Alec swore under his breath. "He's got
to be crazy thinking he can go after White alone."
Tash didn't want to say it, but if they had gone to Seattle tonight, Rachel
would have died. Whether she wanted to be there for Max, what's done was done.
She could only pray that Logan had come through. But damn it, why hadn't he
called yet?
Alec fumed as he walked toward Jones' car. He would try calling again on the
car phone. Climbing in the passenger's side, he dialled Logan's number.
"You've called Logan Cale, please leave a message."
"You better have a good reason for not being there. Call me." Alec
hit the end button and sagged into the seat. It was too much. Today had taken
too much out of him. First, seeing Rachel again, then the kidnapping, thinking
he almost lost Tash, Berrisford confronting him, now White? Closing his eyes,
he swallowed the uncomfortable lump that had lodged in his throat. She'd be
fine. Max was a survivor. She was smart, she'd find away to beat this. She always
beat the bad guys. "Girls kick ass." He could almost hear her quip.
There was a knock on the window and he turned on the ignition to lower it.
It was Rachel. "Hey, you shouldn't be up."
She gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm feeling alright."
There were still tear stains on her cheeks and the grey in her eyes was more
prominent than the green now. Alec remembered that when she was sad the grey
become dark like fresh ash. And when she was happy the green in her eyes sparkled
like emeralds.
"I don't care about the past. It seems so nasty and hazy that I'd rather
not remember. I just wanted to ask you not to walk out of my life, Alec."
She paused, considering. Looking at him through the window, she studied his
face. "That is your name, isn't it?"
Alec chuckled, "Yeah, that's my name. Although, it's not my birth designation."
"Designation? So formal." Rachel grinned. "Whatever your friends
call you is fine by me." She stepped back as he got out of the car.
Reaching for her hand, he gently pulled her toward him. "I'm not going
anywhere. You know where to find me." Kissing her hand, he gave her his
winning smile, before walking away.
He could have kissed her, she look like she wouldn't have minded, but that'd
be pushing it. She'd been through a lot tonight, and she needed to remember
more about him. She needed to put his intentions into perspective. Whether she
wanted to recall it or not, the past would come back to her. When her memories
of him returned, he wanted her to have the choice to walk away or give them
another chance. The ball would be in her court. He wouldn't push her. As much
as he hated to do it, he'd leave the chasing to her. It was against his nature
to turn his back on a challenge. But this one was worth waiting for.
Max was looking for the portable handset when she saw the message light flashing
on the answering machine. Not giving it a second thought, she hit the play button.
"You have one new message."
"You better have a good reason for not being there. Call me."
"July 2nd, Friday at 9.45 p.m." Beep. "End of messages. You
have no more messages."
It was Alec. She hit the delete button. She wondered if Logan had already heard
the message. Probably not, or he would have mentioned it. Then again, all things
considered, maybe he wouldn't. He might not admit it, but he had never been
comfortable with Alec. And after learning that Alec had almost been a father
to her baby, she couldn't imagine Logan would want to make friends with the
guy anytime soon. Which brought her thoughts to her next dilemma, could she
tell Alec about the baby?
Pressing the locator button, she heard a noise coming from the lounge room.
Krit walked in carrying a beeping handset in his hand.
"Looking for this?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Krit gave her a grin. "See you at breakfast in a bit?
"Yep." She smiled back at him from where she perched on Logan's desk.
He kissed her on the forehead and then left for the kitchen. He was following
the smell of blueberry pancakes. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she
hadn't eaten in hours.
Dialling Alec's number, she lifted the phone to her ear.
"I promise you, this will be a night to remember," Rachel said huskily
against his ear.
He held her close as they danced. She smelled divine and he could feel her
feminine curves pressed against the firmness of his chest. His muscles bunched
beneath her fingertips, as she drew lazy circles over his back. "I think
I'll go settle the bill."
Making eye contact, her eyes shimmered, unabashed passion mirrored in their
depths. Lowering his head to hers, he lifted his hand to her soft auburn hair.
Their lips were about to meet when
Brrring, brrring. Brrring, brrring.
"Damn." Alec buried his face in the pillow. Who dared interrupt his
vivid and so soon to be extremely satisfying dream? Blindly reaching for the
handset, he mumbled into the phone, "Hello?" He thought if he stayed
semi-dazed, he could return to his pleasant slumber.
"Alec?" Max thought he sounded drunk. But then when he was drunk
he usually said, "What?" if anything coherent at all. "Where
you asleep?"
It was Max and he rolled over. There was no hope of returning to his fantasy
now. Damn it, he cursed inwardly. It had been such a good dream too. "Yeah,
but I'm up now." Suddenly it just registered in his sleep-addled brain.
Max was calling him. It meant she was all right. "You're okay," he
blurted.
"Yeah, I figured you might wanna know. I got your message."
Alec stared at the ceiling. "So Logan came through huh?" he said
more for himself, than to anyone else.
"Yeah, with a little help. Krit and Syl are here." She mentioned
them before she realized that Alec had never met her siblings. "I wish
you and Tash were here to meet them. You and Krit, would get on great, you have
a lot in common."
Alec smiled. He knew what she was probably referring too, their love for life
in the fast line; bikes, girls, matches and easy money. Maybe he'd get a chance
to get to know a couple of her siblings someday. "Tash would have had us
on a plane when we heard, but things kept us busy over here. Seems our old investors
have a never ending string of bad guys they can throw at us."
"At least we can scratch White off that list. He's tied up for good this
time." Max toyed with the loops in the jumper she was wearing. It was Logan's.
They were going to pick up some things from her place later. She wondered what
Alec was thinking right now. Could he read her mind? He often had an uncanny
way of picking her brain. It used to irritate the hell out of her. Who was she
kidding, it still did. His easy silence was driving her crazy. He'd always been
able to get her to crack first. Whether it was because of his incessant babble
or his long lapses of reflection, he had always managed it. "Ah so
you still staying at the cabin?"
"No actually, Tash's brother offered me a job. So looks like I'll be hanging
in Chicago for awhile."
"What's it like up there?"
Alec mused to himself. He could just see her fiddling with something. When she fidgeted, she was either bored or agitated. What had he done this time?
"You'll have to come visit some time."
"Alec" Max started.
"Yeah?"
"It's okay. Never mind. I'm just glad you're okay." Max clasped her
fingers into a fist to stop them from shaking. She decided it was better if
she didn't tell him. Had she had the baby, she would have told him. It would
have been like forcing herself to walk on nails but she would have done it.
But not without making him understand full well that she didn't expect anything
of him, first. This was now, and there was no baby. Silent tears slipped from
the corners of her eyes, and she buried the sob that had started in her chest.
She'd gone very quiet, and Alec began to wonder if she was as okay as she claimed
to be. "Max?"
"I have to go. Tell Tash, I'm fine. I promise I'll call some other time."
Alec didn't think she would. Like her visits, calls from Max were rare. There
was usually a very good reason for her to do so. Either she was forced into
it or it was necessary. This had seemed like a necessary occasion. Hanging up
the phone, he pulled his arms behind his head. He didn't feel like getting up
yet. It was still early. Maybe it still wasn't too late to get back to his dream
Brrring, brrring. Brrring, brrring.
Thinking maybe she forgot something, Alec reached for the phone again. "Yeah?"
"Alec?"
It wasn't Max. It was melodic female voice, but she sounded hesitant. He knew
her voice, and his heart started thumping wildly in his chest. "Rachel?"
He could hear a smile in her voice as she said,"I wanted to know if you
were free today? My grandfather arranged for a flight to Seattle. I'm going
to see the house where I grew up."
Alec didn't know what to say. It wasn't how he imagined their first date to
be. But then again, he hadn't really expected her to call so soon either. "Ah,
well. Yeah. I'm free today."
"Great. Do you want to meet for breakfast? I know this great café,
Maluku. They make the most heavenly coffee."
Coffee was sounding very good right now. He was having a lot of trouble getting
his head around spending an entire day with her. No doubt reliving her past.
It couldn't end well. "Are you sure you want me to go with you? Remember,
I did tell you I wasn't what you would call a great part of your past."
"Alec, I'm asking you to go with me because I know what they did to us.
I remember what you said to me. The last day I ever saw you"
Suddenly he felt like someone was sitting on his chest, trying to crush him.
His heart beat behind his rib cage, thumping painfully. What did she remember?
The way he recalled it, she'd wanted to hurt him. Hurt him the way he knew she
had been.
"You tried to tell me. You tried to help us and I didn't listen. I was
too caught up in my own hurt pride to realize that you where telling me the
truth to protect me."
Alec swallowed. His mouth had suddenly gone very dry. He swallowed again, willing
his throat to work, but nothing. "I loved you. And they"
"I asked my father about why people were still coming after him. He told
me about his company, money he invested in a genetics project. Something so
secret that they'd go to any lengths to make sure nobody knew what they actually
did. He told me everything he'd learned about you." Rachel sat back in
the armchair. She hadn't slept a wink all night, but she was far from tired.
It was as if the two years she'd spent in a coma where finally kicking in. She
tossed her head, her hair falling over her shoulders. A tear escaped the corner
of her eye. She could only imagine what they'd done to him for failing to comply
with their orders. "I know that they gave you no choice. I can't say that
I would have been as strong. You risked your own life to save us."
He still didn't have the power to respond. Everything he'd ever wished for
had come true. She understood and forgave him for his past. When he thought
she'd died from the explosion, he'd thought he could never let himself love
again. It hurt too much. Seeing her again, had brought back a flood of emotion
he thought he'd long since buried. Not even Max had made him feel as deep. Rachel
was so innocent, so trusting and had loved him so readily. She had accepted
him without question. What she was saying now was more than he ever imagined
possible.
"So that's why I want you to come with me. Bury old ghosts?"
"We can give it a try." Alec didn't notice the moisture that had
pooled and slipped down his face. Nor did he hear the tremor in his own voice.
All his senses were consumed with was the comforting sound of her voice on the
other end of the line.
"Hey," Logan said as Max tried to sneaked up behind him.
She encircled his waist and on tiptoe, she peeked over his shoulder. "Some
for me?"
Logan tilted his head down and touched her forehead. "Of course. Whipped
cream and fresh fruit or powdered sugar?"
"All three sound so good." She grinned when he touched her nose with
sugar and shooed her away.
"Go sit. I'm almost done."
Syl and Krit were already at the table. It looked like Krit was digging into
his second helping. Sitting beside him, Syl sipped orange juice and regarded
her sister with a raised eyebrow.
"Who was that?"
"Who?" Max took a seat opposite them, and watched her sister incline
her head to Logan's study. "Oh. Alec, a friend. He and ah" She
realized that she'd never told Syl or Krit about Tash either. They had a right
to know about their sister. "You'll never believe this but I found Tash.
Or she found me"
"Really?" Syl's eyes lit up. Before she could question Max further
her, cell phone started vibrating. Sorry, she mouthed to Max. "Hello?"
She should have suspected the caller before she heard his voice. It was from
a restricted number and it was about that time.
"You're late."
"Unlike you, I have a life. We're fine, your man was there. We got in,
we got out. Happy?" Syl rolled her eyes. By now Krit had realized who she
was talking to.
"Obviously, you're not. Need I remind you that I gave you this intel"
"Hah! If you had left Max with thatI'm not going to have this conversation"
"Then don't," Lydecker interjected. "You want to talk. You know
where to find me."
Syl resisted the urge to hurl the phone at the wall. He always got the last
word. And without even trying, she hated that. He was always coolly indifferent
and so damn superior, it drove her crazy. "It was Lydecker." She calmly
placed the phone down and reached for her juice. She drained the glass before
looking across at Max. "Not that I'm not extremely grateful that he found
out what that creep White was up to. I just hate how it makes me feel like I
owe him one. You know?"
Max nodded. "Now I feel like I owe him." They all groaned before
bursting into laughter. "Not that we're ever gonna let him know it."
She smiled at her siblings. "I'm so glad you guys were there."
"No problem, sis." Krit and Syl assured her.
Logan took a seat next to Max, finally getting a chance at breakfast himself.
Reaching under the table, he squeezed her hand. "I'm just glad you're back."
Max returned his easy gaze, her emotions written in her eyes. "Me too."
Hours later, Alec and Rachel stood in the garden looking up at the house. It
was such a grand house, will all its huge windows and balconies. It was a house
that had so many memories, both good and bad.
"Do you remember the night we snuck out for a swim?" Alec asked her. Her fingers were interlocked with his, and when he looked over at her, she smiled at him.
"I don't know. Some things are still a little fuzzy." She tilted her head to one side, regarding him seriously. "Something I do remember though, was that you were always a complete gentleman. So proper. I remember thinking you were odd. You were so different from other boys I knew."
Alec grinned to himself, remembering how much she had managed to disarm him. It was her easy company, her beautiful smile, and her amazingly intoxicating presence. He looked down at the ground. "Sometimes, I wish I wasn't so different."
Rachel squeezed his hand and reached up to turn his chin, so he would meet her eyes. "Don't. I wouldn't want you any other way."
Alec didn't dare tear himself away. He would stay locked in her gentle touch for an eternity if he could. He reached up and covered her hand that was molded against his jaw. Drawing courage from her warmth, he pulled her closer. "If I'm what you want"
"You are," she whispered. She closed the small distance between them and tilted her chin slightly. A breath left her mouth and fanned his chin.
Alec didn't hesitate to kiss her this time. And under the shade of a maple tree, they expressed the love and passion that the lost years had taken from them.
The End
....! Please let me know your final thoughts on In A Broken World: Severed Hope Survives. Thank you for reading.