Mrs. Rhett Butler- I finished writing this fic and I managed to round up all of my characters. By the end of this story everyone will have a cameo, unless of course I completely forgot a character or two, which is quite possible.I'm glad you like how Alex reads Lyle. Try as I might I just can't make Lyle extremely evil, Although I do have my moments where I myself am ready to kill him. Besides it's not Lyle's fault he's evil it's the Centre's.

LJP- I can tell you now the whole Lyle thing won't be resolved for a while. In fact it won't be resolved until the epilogue. But it's only six chapters away. I finished writing Monday night. In about three weeks maybe less depending on how I feel, this story will be done. I'm kinda depressed about the fact that I'm done with this fic.

Pretender Fanatic- I have the best reviewers. Don't, don't like Jake. Yes he was being a bit of an ass. And yes he deserved what was coming to him. But he was just doing what he thought was right. Besides I wanted for Alex to hit someone, and well Jake seemed like a good person for the job.

Morgan- Thank you. And here is the next chapter

CHAPTER 54

SECRETS REVEALED

January 29, 2004

6:43am

Charlottesville, Virginia

Russell Family Home

The next morning Alex and Jake avoided one another. The tension was high between the two of them yet none of the other children wanted to get involved with it. There was no doubt in any of their minds that Alex had given Jake the nasty shiner. The other children were slightly afraid to approach Alex out of fear that she might hit one of them. Nor did the children want to approach Jake, not wanting for him to take his foul mood out on them.

Aaron and Andros actually found the whole situation quite funny, as did Rachael. They three of them knew what had transpired the night before between Alex and Jake and they knew that Jake had gone too far.

Needless to say Aaron, Andros, and Rachael were the only three who found the situation humorous. When Ethan came downstairs and caught sight of his son's eye he immediately when into hysterics.

"Jake, what happened?" Ethan asked inspecting his son's face.

"I went to get a glass of water last night and tripped over one of Pete and Adam's toys. In the process I ended up giving my self a black eye." Jake told his father not ready to admit that his little cousin decked him.

"Right." Ethan said not believing Jake for a minute. "Well let's get some ice on it." Ethan ushered his son over to the refrigerator.

A short while later Morgan and Jarod came down stairs with the twins. Morgan caught one sight of Jake's eye and looked directly at her daughter.

"Alexandra."

"Yes, Momma?" Alex said sweetly looking up from her frosted flakes as her brothers snorted into their bowls of cereal.

"You're grounded." Morgan told her sternly.

"Jake deserved it Aunt Morgan." Rachael said defending her cousin

"Then disregard my last statement. But no more beating up your cousins."

"Yes, Momma." Alex replied, not trying to hide the fact the she hit Jake.

Ethan glared at his niece. "You hit my son."

"Actually Uncle Ethan, I think Alex decked your son." Will said entering the kitchen and walking to the pantry to retrieve a box of pop tarts. "Not that Jake didn't deserve it. He was being a bit of an ass last night."

"You've got nice form, Alex." Alley said walking in behind her brother.

"You hit my son!" Ethan screached, in shock that no one else seemed to be bothered by the fact that Alex had hit Jake.

"Let it go, Daddy." Rachael said patting her father on the arm and getting up form the table. Jake followed his sister no longer able to stand the smirks form the other children.

Feeling crowded people began to clear out of the kitchen until only Alex and Jeremiah were left.

"Alex, what's going on between you and Jake?" Jeremiah asked.

"Nothing, we just had a disagreement last night that's all." Alex said unable to meet Jeremiah's eyes.

"You're a really bad liar, you know that." Jeremiah said smiling. Alex looked up at him, grinning herself.

"I'm only a bad liar when you borrow my empathy to tell if I'm lying." She replied. Jeremiah chuckled.

"What's the point of having powers and not using them?" He asked. "Hey remind me never to get on your bad side. I don't want to get decked like Jake."

"I'd never hurt you." Alex said suddenly serious.

"Hey, I know that." Jeremiah said squeezing her hand. At that moment Sam and Jen walked in.

"Jerry, your father and I need to talk to you. Your brother and sister are already upstairs waiting."

Jeremiah stood you and walked over to the sink, placing his dirty bowl in it. On his way back to the door he paused next to Alex. Taking her hand he whispered into her ear. "I'm not mad at you. I understand. You see, I didn't want to tell either." He said as once again squeezed her hand and then ran off after his parents.

Alex sat stunned, realizing Jeremiah had know all along that Lyle was his biological father, yet never told Greg or Melissa.

January 29, 2004

8:28am

Charlottesville, Virginia

Russell Family Home

The three children sat on the bed in their parent's room. Jeremiah sat in between his brother and sister holding Amy, feeding the baby her morning bottle. Greg and Melissa kept exchanging looks over top Jeremiah's head. Once or twice Greg prodded his brother in an attempt to get his attention but Jeremiah ignored his brother. Instead, he kept his head down focusing all of his attention on Amy.

Sam and Jen sat down in front of their children.

"So what going on?" Greg asked.

"You're mother and I recently discovered who your birth father is." Sam said. Once again Greg and Melissa exchanged looks as Jeremiah stared at Amy, trying to block out the sounds that surrounded him. He didn't want to hear what his parents had to say. If they said it then it would be true and that was the last thing Jeremiah wanted. Every night he remembered the day he learned the truth. And every night he wished that he could forget.

He had been walking down the corridor of SL-17 when he suddenly heard the voice of a woman telling him to turn around and run. Yet Jeremiah, being who he was, ignored the voice. He walked further along the corridor until he reached the door to 1719. The voice had grown louder telling him that he did not want to be there. His head pounded and his eyes watered in pain, as he stood rooted in the spot unable to move, due to the intense pain racing through his head. Suddenly the voice stopped and Jeremiah collapsed in relief.

Regaining his composure, he looked up at the keypad to the door. Jeremiah stood up and stared at the keypad long and hard. Finally the voice began to whisper the numbers 5-3-7-7-9 over and over. Jeremiah punched in the numbers and heard the electronic lock release. He pushed open the door and was greeted with the sight of a sleeping woman.

During the time he had spent at the Centre, Jeremiah had heard stories of angels. With once glance of the sleeping woman Jeremiah was convinced that the Centre had managed to capture one of the beautiful creatures.

The woman's long red hair fanned out across her pillow. She was petite and barely looked twenty-five. Never before had Jeremiah seen such a beautiful woman and in his mind he never would.

He walked over to touch her to see if she was real or not. He touched her face and the woman's dazzling green eyes flung open. The woman sat up gasping, her heart pounding. Startled, Jeremiah jumped back. The woman stared at him. As she studied him her expression changed from fear, to compassion, and then back to fear. But the second type of fear was a different type of fear. A fear for his safety, not hers.

"You shouldn't be here, baby." The woman said with a slight Irish accent as she walked over to him. She knelt down to his eye level taking in his appearance. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

"You're more beautiful than I'd thought you'd be." She said gently running her hand down the side of his face. "I never thought I'd get to see any of you again."

"W-who are you?" Jeremiah asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm your mother, baby." She whispered.

"My, my mother. But Mr. Lyle said you were dead."

"Your father lied to you baby." His mother said angrily. "After you your brother and sister were born. Mr. Raines, Cox, and your father took the three of you from me."

"Wait, wait, Mr. Lyle is my father?" Jeremiah said gasping.

"Yes, but he is unaware of this."

"I don't, I can't. This is all to much." Jeremiah said sitting down on his mother's bed. "I don't even know your name. How did the Centre get you? How do you even know who I am? How do you know that Lyle is my father? Why did the take me, Greg and Lissa form you?" Jeremiah asked quickly.

"Slow down baby. I can only answer one question at a time. My name is Alannah. I spent the first five years of my life in an orphanage. My parents –your grandparents- gave me up for adoption. While at the orphanage the Centre tested me. The Centre quickly learned that I'm a psychic. They then brought me here."

"When I was nineteen they artificially inseminated. Nine months later you and your brother and sister came along. While I was pregnant with the three of you I over heard Raines telling Cox that Lyle is your father. As for how I knew who you were, you have my eyes and hair. Did I mention that I was a psychic?" She said smiling. Jeremiah returned her smile as he nodded in response to her question.

"The reason that Raines took the three of you away from me is because they did not want for me to have any say in the rearing of you. Nor did they want for the three of you to have any emotional ties to me. From what I later learned Raines's master plan was to have a group of children who were loyal to themselves as well as the Centre. His goal is to turn your group into skilled assassins as well as pretenders. Around your ninth birthday they will start training you in hand to hand combat, as well as weaponry. When you all reach your teens Raines wishes to sell you all to the highest bidder." Alannah told him. Jeremiah stared at his mother in shock.

"I take it that this is a little to much for you." She said pulling him in to her arms. Jeremiah stiffened for a moment but then quickly relaxed. He breathed in the scent of his mother, committing it to memory.

"You know what I know nothing about you, your brother or sister. Not even your names." Alannah said sadly.

"Well I'm Jeremiah. I'm your second born, Gregory –or Greg- is the oldest. Melissa, we just call her Lissa for short, is the baby. We look exactly the same, and enjoy confusing Mr. Raines, Lyle and Cox." He said grinning deviously. Alannah smiled at him.

"You're really my mom?" Jeremiah asked partly afraid that she wasn't and partly afraid that she was. He knew that Raines would never allow for he, Greg and Melissa to be with their mother. Yet with her was the only place he wanted to be at that moment. In her arms he felt safer than he had ever felt before. He never wanted for her to let him go.

"Yes I'm really your mother." Alannah said dropping a kiss on top of his head.

"I never had a mom before." Jeremiah said as tears fell from his eyes. The voices had begun to speak to him again. They were telling him to run. Telling him that he had to leave his mother.

"Jeremiah you, your brother, and sister have always had a mother. And I have always loved the three of you. And I always will. Nothing, nothing will ever change that."

"If we get out do you think that we'll be able to be a real family?" Jeremiah asked innocently ignoring the voices wishing that they we're lying. He felt a drop of water fall on his head and knew that his mother was crying. Alannah wiped away her tears and then her son's.

"Listen to me baby, no matter what I'll always be your family." She told him as she kept the tears at bay.

"Something bad is about to happen isn't it?" Jeremiah asked.

"Yes, Baby, it is. But all that matters is that I got to see at least one of my babies again...one last time. I love you. Remember that, and tell Greg and Lissa that I love them too." She said.

"I will." Jeremiah promised. He was once again crying, for he knew now that he would never see his mother again.

"Quickly now, Baby, you must go before he finds you." Alannah said wiping the last of the tears from her son's face and kissing him. Jeremiah nodded his head and pulled out a shard of metal from the waistband of his pants. He set himself to the task of unscrewing the cover to the air vent.

"Come with me." He begged.

"I can't, Baby." Alannah said hugging her son for the last time.

"It's not fair." He murmured into his mother's chest.

"Life never is for people like us. Now you have to go, he's coming. I don't want for him to find you. No more tears, my dear sweet boy. I'll be with you always" Alannah said easing Jeremiah into the air vent.

"I love you, Mommy." Jeremiah said as Alannah replaced the cover. "Always." He added sticking his fingers through the gaps in the vent. Alannah gently kissed his tiny fingers.

"I love you to, baby. Now go." Alannah told her son. She then heard the electric lock unbolt and quickly composed herself. Lyle strolled into her cell.

"Hello, Alannah." Lyle sneered.

"Lyle." Alannah spat. She knew that her end was coming and she was determined to face it bravely. She would not give Lyle the satisfaction of seeing her beg for her life.

"It is my duty to inform you that the Centre feels that you no longer serve a purpose. I find it hard to say that your termination order was signed fifteen minutes ago by no other then me. I'm sorry, Alannah."

"Like hell you are, Lyle." She said calmly.

"Actually, Alannah, I am. You see you're such a fine specimen to waste." Lyle said running a finger along Alannah's cheek. "Maybe if you make it worth my while I could... change the Chairman's mind. It is a pity that you aren't Asian although in your case I'm willing to make a slight exception." He jeered. Alannah spat in his face, and Lyle backhanded her knocking her to the ground. As she fell Alannah caught sight of Jeremiah's horror struck face. Silently Alannah prayed that her son would run before he would witness her end. Yet it was an unanswered prayer.

"Fine then Alannah have it your way." Lyle said. Jeremiah looked on in horror as Lyle pulled out his 9mm and shot Alannah point black. The sight of his mother's brains coating the wall would haunt Jeremiah's dreams for many years to come.

Jeremiah laid curled in a fetal position, trembling and unable to move as Lyle walked out of the cell.

An hour after witnessing his mother's murder, Jeremiah, pale and covered in sweat and dust, managed to make it back to the cell he shared with the other children. The other children were already asleep. He climbed into this bed that was in between Greg and Mike's and immediately fell asleep too.

The next morning the other children awoke to find Jeremiah in a catatonic state of shock. He was admitted to the infirmary, were Jen and the other doctors blamed it on stress. For three days he remained in a state of catatonia. When he finally came out of it he did not correct the doctors on his diagnosis. Nor did he tell his brother and sister that he a witnessed their father murdering their mother. For the next to years it was the only secret he kept from his brother and sister.

At that moment an old cliche was about to come true. The shit was about to hit the fan. As Jeremiah watched his baby sister take a hold of his finger, he decided that it was time to tell the truth.
This chapter was kinda depressing. I truly do like giving my characters some emotional problems. Oh well they'll deal. Do you think I was too hard on Jeremiah, Having him watch his father kill his mother and all? Any way let me know what you think via the little purple button.