DISCLAIMER: Don't own the TMNT's or Rahab, Devon, Seth, Gaele, or Riahna. This includes any and all fan characters belonging to Wendy A Peabody. I only own Rachel and Jessie and anyone else you, the reader, may not recognize. :0)
A/N: This story was the very first thing I wrote after reading WA Peabody's Descendent Series. I actually have two versions; this one and another. This was the first version and is Raph centric. It is similar in parts to what Yosutebito Daughter became, but I think it has more action all total. Nevertheless, Gabriella will not make an appearance and neither will she be mentioned in any form within this story. In truth, my second version of this tale introduced her, but as a sub-character – which eventually gave me the idea for YD. The rest, as far as that is concerned, is history. Additionally, that version is Don centric, so for those of you who absolutely have to have your Don-fix, I would be open to sending you what I have written so far regarding it.
Again, you will probably recognize some similarities between this and YD, but I assure you that the majority of this story will have a different plot all the way around. Even the view from the backyard is different! The story is shorter in length to YD as well, so long as I don't get too creative revamping it! LOL
Anyway, enjoy and comment if you care to. However, there's no rule that you have to. I just wanted to give a different take on this wonderful universe of Wendy's - and that's all there is to it! Enjoy.
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PROLOGUE:
Truth. What is it about truth that scares us? We seem to want it on a basic level, yet the very essence of truth fills us with dread. Why is that? Is it because truth reveals too much about us? We try to be everything we're not and yet, deep down inside, we know it's only a lie. Maybe we fear truth because it seems to know where we are whether we hide from it or not. It comes without warning, despite years of denial. One minute you're walking along, content in the little world you've made for yourself and, in the next, that world comes crashing down. The neat little wall of 'pretend' falls away, exposing the real you to the rest of the world. You can evade it for a while, even trick yourself into thinking it doesn't exist, but give it enough time and it will hunt you to exhaustion. You can change its name, move it around, make it into something it's not, but the reality of what truth is will be persistent until it finds you. It remains what it is – the truth.
In the end, our souls scream out for the truth. Like a vine gasping for water and sun, our spirits seek that which will reveal to us who we really are. We may resist it, fear it, run from it, and even hide from it. Yet when truth catches up and wraps its comforting embrace around us, the poison of deceit that once fed our delusions drains away. It is at first painful and at times terrifying. What we thought would kill or maim us for revealing so much becomes like a balm for our tortured soul. Genuine truth does not fear. Its very nature is to illuminate our very being and to enhance our very life.
The truth will always find you out - and from there set you free!
CHAPTER 1 - THE PARTY
"Is this not the most perfect day?" Jess exclaimed exuberantly to no one in particular. Her smile was a broad as the day was long, her excitement building with each passing second.
She was sitting in the front passenger seat as her mom drove up the long and winding private road. It was Saturday and, for May, it was unseasonably warm. The day was perfect for going to the beach, or to a pool party - which was where Jessie Sullivan was currently heading. With her car in the shop for the umpteenth time, she had to rely on her mom's driving to get her places. She hated being chauffeured around and would have normally just borrowed the car. However, Jess's mom, Rachel, had a prior appointment with some students at her dojo in town. Consequently, she planned on just dropping her daughter off at the host house and then head back down the hill to her meeting.
"Well, considering the rainy weather we've been having, I'd have to agree with you, Jessie!" Rachel replied with a smile.
"Please, Mom, its Jess! If ya start calling me Jessie, Dev won't know who I am!" the girl chided seriously.
"Oh, I don't think Dev would have any trouble not knowing who you are, JESS!" the mom chuckled. "I think he likes you!" She looked at her daughter and smiled.
"Hey, don't go gettin' any ideas, okay? We're just friends, work associates." The daughter replied testily, looking away to gaze at the grove of trees as the car rolled along.
"You've known each other along time, my dear, and he seems to invite you over whenever there's a good enough reason to do so." Rachel teased as she returned her attention back to the road in front of her.
"Hey, half the work staff from work is going to be there, too, so I guess if your theory is right, he's interested in George and Daryl and Steven and Jason…" the girl, laughed, and began to count off the names of every guy she could think of that would be there.
"All right, all right, I get the message. You're just FRIENDS!" the woman shook her head in amusement. She then looked over at her daughter and winked, "Still, you're the only girl in that group who was included on the list – so that says something!" Rachel grinned mischievously.
"Only because I don't suck up to him. Dev hates that. The other girls are always trying to get somewhere with him, but I don't. We're just friends which means I can tell him exactly how it is!" Jess declared smugly.
"Exactly, like an old married couple!" she laughed out loud, quite pleased with herself for her wry remark.
"Mom, so help me, you embarrass me in front of him and I'll move out, I swear I will!" Jess threatened as she turned threatening eyes towards her mother.
"Well, I know of one person who would gladly take you in!" Rachel just couldn't help herself. She then told her daughter, "Don't worry, Jess, I won't do anything to embarrass you! My poor baby!"
Jess smiled and only shook her head in exasperation, "Really, Mother, you're such a tease!" She then went back to watching the landscape roll by as they made their way up the long private road. She smiled thinking about the day ahead. Devon Angelo always had a pool party the first weekend that was warm enough for swimming. He was definitely a warm weather connoisseur and a party animal! Jess thought about their friendship with how long they had known each other. By her memory, they had been friends since tenth grade, only about five years. They never really dated as couples often do, but kept their friendship more plutonic in nature, keeping romance from taking root. It wasn't that either of them weren't attracted to the other, it was more due to their working relationship. Both had to agree that 'being involved' and yet working at the studio together would not have been a bright idea. Where they were already good friends, they decided to leave it at that.
So far, that arrangement was working rather well.
As Rachel guided the car up the long drive, Jess continued to take in the scenery. Dev lived in probably the most sought after bit of real estate south of Carmel. The Ventana Reserve had been county land for ages until fourteen years prior. It was then that Dev's stepfather, Mike, brokered some sizable bit of property from Pacific Lumber and the Land Trust for himself, paying the Reserve committee a sizeable sum for it. Clear-cutting a small percentage of the redwood forest, Mike built himself an estate home tucked deep inside the reserve and safe from prying eyes. A decade later, Mike's brother, Don, bought up roughly thirty percent of that land trust, building a house for himself that was still currently in the throes of development.
As she thought about Dev's uncle, Jess thought about the family in general. In all, there were four males of that generation. Mike was the stepfather and an uncle, no less, having married Dev's mother, Rahab, after she divorced the father, who just happened to be Mike's brother as well. Dev tried to explain the various relationships in his family and, to be honest, it only confused the poor girl.
"Good grief, Dev, your family's a walking talking soap opera!" she had teased him one time. He had to laugh in reply, since it was the truth.
"Yeah, but what can I do, it's the way it is!" he had chuckled at the time.
As she thought about the various members of his family and one in particular, she sobered up just a little while riding along in the car.
Jess had met Don Tello only a couple of times in the past five years that she had known the family. He had given her the creeps, however, with his quiet demeanor and his way of looking right through Jess whenever he did speak to her. It was certain that he wasn't on her list of favorites. The guy was just too weird for her tastes!
Jess knew that there was one more uncle and she had only seen him once at the house. Leo, like Don, had this way about him that suggested he could discern people quite easily. One more oddity to add to the uniqueness of Devon's brood, she thought. Still, she never allowed herself to get too close to either of them, content to be the quiet human whenever they were around the house when she was.
Then there was one more, the fourth member of that particular generation, who was Dev's father, Raphael. Jess had never met him. Dev told her that he was a no-show parent who wandered up and down the California coast. He had a simple dig in San Francisco whenever he was in town, which wasn't often. He once used to work for Don that much Jess knew. However, from what Dev had told her, Don's personal sabbatical ten years earlier ended that work relationship. From what Dev had shared, his dad occasionally played with a band, working a sax along the wharf south side of the big city at various bars. Other than that, the boy didn't know diddly about what his father was doing or where he was at any given time. If anything, Dev pretty much could care less one way or the other. To Jess, he seemed a bit melancholy about it and it concerned her a great deal. Still, he never shared much with her about his father, keeping whatever personal problems regarding Raphael to himself.
Nevertheless, living with his mom and step-dad in a house located in the Big Sur preserve, Devon certainly had the place for large social gatherings. Aside from the huge pool and ample patio area, a deep valley fell away from the back of the property, affording an expansive view of the lower hills that ran for miles. On a clear day, the ocean was easily discernable just west from that spot, a good five miles from the hub of the estate.
Just before they arrived at the house, Jess reminisced, "Hey, Mom, remember the first time you met an Angelo?"
Rachel remembered, looking over at her daughter, "Oh, how could I forget; it sort of knocked the wind out of me when I first saw him." She remembered too well, actually. Looking back at the road in front of her, she recalled that it was like a slap in the face, the memories it conjured up from her past. Just thinking about it brought back the anxiety she had felt when Seth walked into the youth Bible study that first time.
"Yeah, you just stared!" laughed Jess." I had to nudge you to bring you out of your shock." she giggled.
"Well, that was six years ago. I have to admit, I was quite embarrassed when you caught me staring, though." she laughed and then said, "I'm pretty used to him and his parents now." She mused as she drove the car up the road that lead to the house.
Rachel thought about that day when Seth arrived at the youth group. She and Jess had just moved into the community about 6 months earlier. They started attending the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church where Rachel soon eased her way into co-leading the youth Bible study. She had overheard before Seth's arrival that the Angelo's were a bit 'different' from everyone else. Though they didn't attend the church, the small communities of Carmel and Big Sur knew them well. There were even some comments flying around about the family being a bit reptilian in nature. She had interpreted that to mean that maybe they were cold-hearted, or some other negative attribute. It was shortly after that when Seth walked into her study and clarified the true meaning of what she had been told. Never had Rachel been so shocked as she was that day.
She remembered the many questions that Seth presented to the church elders. They were so profound it had the leaders scrambling to find the answers to his inquiries. In the end, the boy soaked up the word so fast and was so eager to take his newfound faith back to his family, that he offended his father deeply after criticizing his eastern beliefs. Grounded from attending church after that, he eventually asked Mike for forgiveness, which – according to Seth – impressed him greatly. He released Seth of his punishment, even taking in a few studies with him out of curiosity. It became a small victory for the boy where he was so eager to share the word. Still, he became an oddity in his own family, just because of his faith.
"Yeah, if it weren't for Seth joining the youth group, I never would have had the courage to make friends with Devon; he sort of paved the way for that one!" Jess recalled happily. "Never would have gotten that job at the studio, either!"
Rachel thought about that and suddenly realized she wasn't paying attention to the road. The path suddenly turned to the left some as it meandered through the stand of trees. She almost missed the bend in the road.
"Whoa...that was fun!" Jess laughed as she felt the car lurch a bit, "Are you in a hurry or something?" she asked her mom.
"I- ah - want to make sure to get to the dojo early to warm up." Rachel replied. Actually, she was thinking about the first time she had to drive Jess to work and then pick her up. Dropping her off wasn't so bad, but...
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Rachel had waited in the parking lot for almost a half hour past the time Jess was supposed to be off work. At the time, she didn't want to walk into the studio just to see where her daughter was, but finally, she didn't have much of a choice. It had been hot out and her AC in the car hadn't been working very well. She finally relented and went inside the waiting room, telling the receptionist why she was there. Rachel had waved away any offer of having her daughter paged, explaining the heat outside and her lack of air conditioning in the car was why she came in. Soon, the receptionist offered Rachel a cool glass of ice tea, which she gratefully accepted. Not too long after that, Mike Angelo came into the room and introduced himself to Rachel - who had all she could do to accept his handshake.
"Hey, Mrs. Sullivan, how you doin'?" he had said, extending his hand out to her. As Mike smiled, Rachel prayed that he wouldn't notice how his presence had unnerved her. Certainly, it wasn't because of his appearance; after all, his stepson was in her Bible study. It was because of something else entirely.
Rachel had noticed his happy-go-lucky expression, but she also noticed it change ever so slightly. There was a glint of subtle recognition in his eyes as he sized her up, almost as if he knew her from somewhere but couldn't quite place her. Rachel's reply was pleasant, yet she did not try to extend the greeting into a conversation. "I'm fine, thank you." Was all she had said to him.
Mike then explained, "Jess'll be here in a moment! Guess it's pretty hot out, huh?" he had commented, leaning against the receptionist's desk and noticed the glass of iced tea the woman was holding
All Rachel could say was, "Yep! Sure is!" She fought for composure as Mike explained that he had given Jess one more thing to do and that she was almost done. He then excused himself to speak with the receptionist, who had been filing papers. In the meantime, Rachel had then gone over to one of the chairs where there was a table next to it filled with magazines. Sitting down, she noticed soon after that the girl behind the counter had left the room, returning shortly and resuming what she was doing at the file cabinet. Mike remained where he was, casually looking over some papers the receptionist had given to him.
If Mike challenged Rachel's composure, the next person that came into the waiting room had nearly undone her completely. Leonardo, Mike's other brother, was evidently visiting. He had been down to the studio for some reason, she never learned why. She did learn from Seth, however, that he normally lived in Japan and Nepal, but would return to the States to visit the Angelo's home from time to time.
When Leo noticed her, he just stared. After a moment, he looked away and took up a bit of quiet dialog between himself and Mike. They spoke so softly that Rachel was unable to hear anything, not that she was trying. The two of them soon moved to one side of the room and into a hallway, Leo looking back once at Rachel to smile pleasantly. Rachel tried very hard to drink her ice tea in a not so hurried fashion while the two brothers visited. However, it was obvious to her that she was the topic of their conversation. Just the look that Leo had given to her and the sudden shift of interest in the room had told the woman as much. She half expected him to confront her in some way.
As if in the nick of time, though, Jess had finally come into the reception room, apologizing to her for taking so long. Returning the now empty glass to the receptionist, Rachel thanked the girl for the drink and then left the studio with her daughter.
She remembered very well what happened next when she and Jess were pulling out of the parking lot in the car. Rachel was driving her SUV towards the exit when she suddenly noticed Leo appearing at the glass door of the building. Though she kept her eyes straight ahead, she knew he was watching them leave. Rachel had felt from that point on that he had been suspicious of her – and it gave her the creeps. That had been the only time she had ever seen him, and for that she was quite glad!
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Breaking her recollection, she noticed they had arrived at the house. Rachel parked the car in the Angelo's guest carport, but kept the car idle.
"Mom, why don't you come in?" Jess asked.
Rachel replied with a wry smile, "Well, this is a pool party for Devon and his friends, not the parents of his friend! There will be plenty of people and I'm sure that Rahab will be quite overwhelmed as it is with all the humans milling about. I don't want to add to her stress! Plus, I have those students to work with." Though the experience at the music studio was over two years ago, it left a feeling of discomfort with Rachel whenever she would visit Rahab. She was very good at acting as if nothing was amiss, but inside the woman was always a jumble of nerves. Though she never saw Leo again, after that, on occasion Rachel did meet one of the other two brothers. She always made sure that her stays were short whenever he was in town. Fortunately, that didn't happen too often!
"Oh, Mom, you know Rahab likes you, ever since you helped her out with Riahna. Why don't you just come in to say hello!" Jess said. "Rahab may be offended if you don't at least stop in to have a cup of coffee!" she pleaded.
Early on in Jess and Dev's friendship, Rachel had learned about Riahna's autism. She had intervened on one occasion when she was dropping her daughter off for one of Dev's famous pool parties. Some argument between Riahna and her mother had ensued before Rachel had arrived, but by the time she did, the youngest Angelo had stormed out of the house in a huff. From her own brother's affliction with the same disability, the woman knew that distraction was the surest way to dissuade an angry outburst like what Riahna was exhibiting. Grabbing up an iris from one of the flowerbeds out front, Rachel used the plant to calm the girl down. Fortunately, she knew that Riahna loved flowers and soon the girl forgot about her rage. Now that she had Riahna fixated on the iris, Rachel was able to steer the girl back to the house and to her parents. From that moment on, the Angelo's had welcomed her in as a good friend. Considering her past, though, it seemed like an oxymoron at best. If only they knew who she truly was, she was sure Mike would have ordered her never to come back!
Rachel shook her head, "Rahab's been going through a lot lately with Seth, Jess. I don't know the details, but she gets very distant whenever she speaks of him. Just tell her 'Hi' from me, okay? Maybe we'll get together later on in the week over coffee? I really have to get to the studio, though." Rachel explained.
Just then, there was a tap on the driver's side window. The woman startled in her seat and quickly turned around.
It was Mike.
"Hey, You, why're you so jumpy?" he smiled. Then he entreated, "Come on in and say hello to the missus." Mike invited, grinning broadly with a glint in his eye.
"I wish he wouldn't do THAT! What's he trying to do, scare me to death?" Rachel thought to herself irritably.
"Okay, now you have to go in." Jess whispered teasingly to her mom.
Her mom gave a thin smile back at Mike and nodded in acceptance. Then she turned to her daughter, hissing a whispered laugh, "Well, looks like you win!" Jess could only grin victoriously in return.
Soon, both Rachel and Jess were out of the car and making for the front door with Mike leading the way.
"Hello, Rachel." Rahab gushed as she met them at the front door. She embraced the woman in a friendly hug. She touched Jess's arm affectionately as the girl smiled a greeting. She then headed for the patio where the party was taking place.
"Hi, Rahab…" Rachel said, "I'm sorry, but I can't stay long," the woman explained, returning the gesture. "I have some students meeting me at the studio who want extra practice before the comp next week."
"I'm going to get those steaks going! Sure you can't stay, Rachel?" Mike asked as he walked with them towards the kitchen.
"No, no - really, I can't stay long. I'll grab maybe a cup of coffee and chat a bit. But, thanks, though." Rachel replied graciously.
"You sure? Won't take that long." Mike insisted, smiling.
"It's nice of you, but I work better on an empty stomach!" she laughed as they came into the kitchen.
"So, this competition…are you going to be doing anything?" Mike asked as he cocked one eye ridge at her, his grin widening. He then went over to the refrigerator and opened it, retrieving a large plate of meat. Setting it down on the counter, he returned his expression back towards the woman.
Laughing, Rachel replied, "If I didn't, the kids would be disappointed. I might be having one of the other sensei's pair up with me, just to give the kids a thrill. They're so funny…they love to see their senseis go at it!" she shook her head in amusement and tried very hard to compose herself.
"I'm sure they do! Mind if I – ah – come down to watch?" he asked teasingly. Mike leaned in against the counter and caught his wife's baleful glare. He smirked at her and then looked back at their guest.
Rachel's breath hitched for a moment just thinking about that. His being there would not be good at all, nope, not one bit. However, she took a small silent breath and replied, "Ah, it'll be hard to find sitting room. The parents come out in droves to these things and I have limited seating. Otherwise…" she shrugged a little and gave a weak smile to him. "I'd hate for you to have to stand." She laughed a little.
"Don't mind standing," Mike replied eagerly, but then he noticed how uncomfortable she was getting, "However, I'll probably be out of town next weekend anyway, so maybe another time?" He watched Rachel relax just a little then and chuckled a bit to himself. "Yeah, she's nervous all right!" he commented silently. "Well," he announced almost a too loudly, "Need to get these here steaks out on that grill b'fore the natives start rampaging!" he laughed boisterously and took up the plate of meat, quickly heading out of the kitchen and to the patio outside, whistling a little tune as he went.
Rachel could only breathe a sigh of relief watching him go, wondering if he was just teasing her or if maybe he was bating her. Either way, she would make her visit short and, more importantly, make sure that Jess drove herself the next time Devon had a party.
Despite her friendship with Rahab, Mike made her nervous - and for good reasons, too!
