Chapter 3

Surprises

The next morning Brian, Mia, and Vince pulled up to Dom and Letty's house. They quietly went inside, not knowing if Dom and Letty were awake yet. They saw a girl asleep on the couch. They didn't realize who it was at first, but when they saw her face Mia and Vince knew exactly who it was. "Lily!"

They screamed so loud that she woke up. "What?"

She looked up and saw Mia and Vince running at her. They both hugged her as hard as they could. "Oh my god! I can't believe you're here!"

"I missed you guys too, but you're hugging me so tight that oxygen is becoming an issue."

"Oh sorry." They let go of her and started asking her a million questions at once. "How are you? Is everything okay? Where have you been? Why are you here?"

She just laughed. When she saw the man standing behind them she was in shock.

Brian couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was really her. She was really there. After 7 years of wishing and hoping she was finally there.

"Brian?"

"Lily?"

Mia and Vince were very confused. "You two know each other?"

"Very well. We're brother and sister. It's been what, 7 years now?"

"About that."

Neither knew what to say. After a few minutes of staring at each other, Brian ran at Lily and hugged her tighter than ever, never wanting to let go. Lily returned the hug even tighter as they both started to cry.

"I'm so sorry Brian."

"It's okay. I understand. I know why you did it."

"I didn't want to, but I..."

"I know. I know."

Now Mia and Vince were really confused. What had she done? Why hadn't they seen each other in 7 years? Vince was about to ask, but Mia stopped him. She knew that they would explain when they were ready to. "So Lil, what are ya doin' here?"

"I'm living in Baja now. I ran into Dom last night. It was really late so he let me stay here, but now I need to go home."

"Can't you stay for a while?"

"I wish I could, but someone's waitin' for me."

"Will you come back for dinner tonight?"

"Sure."

Letty came downstairs and joined the conversation. "Great. The more the merrier. Hey guys."

"Hey Letty."

"Vince, you okay?"

"I'll live. You?"

"I'm doin' pretty good."

Dom came downstairs and put his arms around Letty from behind. "Should we tell 'em now?"

"Why not?"

"Letty's pregnant with twins."

Mia rushed over to them and hugged them tightly. "This is great! I'm gonna be an aunt!"

She took Letty off to the side and Brian went up to Dom. "Congrats man."

"Thanks. So, you stickin' around?"

"Looks like it."

"Good."

Lily went up to Brian. "Can you give me a ride home?"

Dom got worried. "You're leavin' already?"

"I'll be back later for dinner. I have a surprise for you guys."

"A surprise?"

"Yep."

"What is it?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise."

She went outside and waited for Brian. He got his keys and followed her. When they were about to get in the car Jesse and Leon came outside. When Jesse saw that they were leaving he got sad. "Leavin' again?"

"Just goin' home for a little. I'll be back for dinner."

"Oh."

He walked away and went into Dom and Letty's house. Leon could see how much this hurt Lily. "He'll come around. After what happened… It's just hard for him, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. See ya later Leon."

"See ya."

She and Brian got into the car and drove to her apartment. On the way they explained to each other how they met the team. Brian told her about his relationship with Mia, and she told him about her past relationship with Jesse. After many stories, shocks, and surprises they got to Lily's apartment. "Do you want to come up?"

"Sure."

She led him upstairs to her apartment. "This one's mine. You go inside. I have to go see a friend real quick. I'll be right back."

"Alright." He went into her apartment while she went down the hall to see her friend. He looked around. It was a pretty nice place. A little messy, but nice. He went into the living room and saw toys on the floor. "What is Lily doing with children's toys?" He went into one of the bedrooms. There were toys and Dr. Seuss books all over the place, plus a crib in the middle of the room.

Lily came up behind him. "Figured it out yet?"

He turned around to see her holding a little boy in her arms.

"Brian, meet your nephew, Alexander Monroe. Also known as Alex."

"You have a son?"

"I have a son."

"Wait, Monroe? That's... Jesse's last name."

"Ya noticed that huh?"

"Is he..."

"Yeah."

"Does he know that?"

"No. He doesn't even know I had Alex. None of them do."

"Is this the surprise?"

"Yeah."

She took Alex into the living room and put the TV on for him, then led Brian to the kitchen.

"How old is he?"

"Almost a year old."

"Why didn't you tell Jesse?"

"I didn't even know until after I left."

"Why didn't you go back?"

"Because it's not that simple Brian. You don't know what happened. What I did. I was afraid to go back."

"Afraid?"

"Yes, afraid. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"Brian, I don't want to get into this right now."

"You're gonna tell him tonight, aren't you."

She didn't answer.

"Aren't you? Lily you have to tell him. He deserves to know."

"I know. I'm just not sure if I can. He already hates me. I can't just walk up to him and say 'Guess what? I had your son almost a year ago and never told you about it. Surprise.' I mean, how do you think he's gonna react?"

"If ya say it like that, I'm thinkin' really badly."

"This isn't a joke Brian. I don't know what to do."

"I'm sorry. Look, I think you should just tell him. Just flat out say 'Jesse, this is your son.' Don't make it so complicated. Just say it."

"You're right. I should just tell him. He does deserve to know."

He could see how scared she was. He went up to her and hugged her to try to comfort her. "It's gonna be okay."

"I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too."