So sorry for the lateness. College has been extremely busy. I have finals next week. Hopefully I can get back on schedule and write more soon. I've kind of had writer's block on my stories and I've lost my muse since Scorching has been grounded off for a month. sigh. anywho, without any more delays, the next chapter.

With the car parked, they headed into the airport, maneuvering their way through the throng of people. They neared the terminals just as people began to pour out. It didn't take long for her to spot her dad and the knots in her stomach doubled. She warily followed after her grandparents, who were each giving her dad a hug. She finally stepped up and his eyes landed on her, their darkness making her quiver.

"Hello dear," he said with a tone that let her know she was in trouble.

"Hi dad," Erin said quietly as she gave him a hug. He crushed her against him and Erin held back a gasp from his bruising hold. When her ribs felt ready to give, he let her go. She quietly sucked in lungs full of air as her dad discarded her and began to talk to her grandparents. Her grandpa's touch startled her and she could see the worry glittering in his eyes.

"Erin, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well come on, you know your grandma hates airports," he said teasingly as he wrapped an arm around her.

The back seat of the car seemed to have shrunk in the time that it had been parked. As Erin got in, she could feel her dad's presence so close it almost suffocated her.

"Are you sure you don't want the front Art?" Rose asked as she sat down in the passenger seat.

"Yes, I'm going to sit back here with Erin," he replied giving Erin a chilling smile. Erin gulped and readjusted herself, trying to sit as far away as possible.

Her grandpa began to drive and she stared out the window, refusing to look at her dad. She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt the hand on her leg, right above her knee. Art let out a slight chuckle at her jump and continued on his conversation with Tom and Rose. His grip tightened and her leg began to protest under the pressure, his nails digging into the denim. Erin bit back the yelp of pain and closed her eyes as she concentrated.

An abrupt break slammed both of them forward and her dad released her as he used his hands to brace himself. A string of curses flowed out of Tom's mouth at the car that had cut in front of them. Erin could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she rubbed the spot her dad had been gripping. Looking out the front, she could see the yellow sports car that cut in front of them speed off. She sent out a silent thank you to them and watched as it disappeared down the highway.

July popped into the kitchen next door to find Jesse alone. She looked around for Amy but didn't see her.

"Hey Jess."

"Oh, hey JJ. What's up?" he asked as he picked up his PB&J and took a bite.

"Nothing much. Where's Amy? 'Cuz you know, you two are like attached at the hip."

"She went shopping with Mia. Something about a big sale, but I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention once she said shopping," he answered with a smirk that July returned before she grew serious.

"Jess, think you could help me out?" July asked as she chewed on her lip.

"Sure, whatcha need?"

"I need you to help me find some info on some people."

"On who exactly?" Jesse asked.

"On my family. You guys all know about me being adopted. Well, I went through my parents stuff and found out some things and I want to see what I can find on them," she answered truthfully and stared into Jesse's eyes, hoping he'd see how much she needed to do this.

"Alright, come on." July followed after him. His room was the same at it was before and she gingerly sat down on the chair next to the one Jesse sat down in. She waited until Jesse had flipped the computer on and turned to look at her.

"Where to start?" she mumbled to herself. "Try Caroline Gilroy." She watched as Jesse turned back to the computer and started typing. She waited as patiently as she could but time to seem to be dragging on.

"Alright," Jesse's voice startled her and she quickly looked at the screen. "Here's what we got. Caroline Gilroy. I got a marriage certificate to Arthur Gilroy. I also have a…" he trailed off, not sure how to tell her.

"What Jesse?"

"It's a death certificate. It's dated 3 years ago," he said quietly. July could feel the tears push at her eyes and the frustration that welled up in her.

"It was my aunt. Is there anything else?" she forced herself to ask.

"Uh… her name is on two birth certificates to… Kyle and Erin Gilroy. They'd be your cousins. I can look them up if you want to?" he asked trying to cheer her up.

"That would be great Jess." The room was quiet except the tapping of the keyboard.

"Kyle's a year older than you. Says here that he has a residence in Florida. Erin just turned 18 not to long ago. Uh, as far as I can tell she's still living with her dad," he said as he continued to read on.

"Where?"

"Uh, it's on the east coast but it's not going to help much."

"What? Why?" July asked confused.

"According to this article, the house burnt down over a week ago," Jesse said and turned to look at July. Her face was drawn but then it snapped up, hope still shinning in her eyes.

"But there aren't death certificates are there? So they could still be alive?" she asked trying not to get her hopes up too much. Jesse turned back to the computer, hoping he'd be able to tell her some good news.

"It says that Arthur was out of town and they're not sure about Erin thought." He paused, typing and clicking for a bit. "Ah, it was confirmed yesterday that Erin is okay. Apparently she's here."

"What do you mean here? You mean like as in LA here?"

"Yup. Her dad made a statement saying that her grandma called and said Erin was with them." Jess turned back to July and could see the tears welling in her eyes. July sat for a minute and let it all sink in. Her cousins were still alive; she had real family that was still alive. That didn't go to say that Vince and the rest of the team weren't family but to be able to find her real relatives…it would kind of put that last piece of the puzzle together. July wrapped her arms around Jess, hugging him tight.

"Thank you. Thank you," she mumbled over and over again. Jesse patted her back and waited until July let go.

"You're welcome, but we're not done yet. Let's see if I can find those grandparents. Now tell me their names," he instructed turning back to the computer.

"Rosemary and Tom Covington," she answered wiping the last tear from her eye.

"Alright, let's see what I can find," Jess said as his hands flew over the keyboard. "Okay I got an address. Pen, paper…" he mumbled as he looked around his mess. Finally he found them and scribbled down the address. "Here," he said passing her the paper. July took it, staring down at the address.

"Jess," she started looking up at him, "I can't tell you how much this means to me. Thank you." July hugged him again.

"No problem. So now what are you going to do?" he asked. July stared at the piece of paper, her mind racing on what she was going to do. She finally answered him quietly.

"I don't know Jess, I really don't know."

Erin held her tongue in check as he dad continued on about how good things were going. The rest of the ride home went smooth and now they were currently sitting on the outside porch having tea. Her grandmother kept giving her a frown as she replied to her dad in clipped tones and her grandpa just gave her a look like he knew something was up.

"So I told Erin it was perfectly fine if she stayed with us for a while," Tom said and Erin immediately tuned into the conversation. She watched as a muscle in her dad's cheek twitched and knew there'd be words later for her.

"Really. That's wonderful," Arthur replied giving her a smile that made her insides cringe. "But are you sure you want to take her? I wouldn't want to be burdening you," he said, playing the concerned parent down to the 't'.

"Oh it would be no trouble at all. She is my granddaughter after all and we haven't seen her in years. It will be good to have her around for a while," Tom replied, giving Erin's hand a squeeze.

"Yes Art, don't worry about it. I'm sure there's plenty around for her to amuse herself with," Rose cut in.

"Well, if your both sure then I suppose it's fine."

"So, how long do you plan on staying?" Rose asked.

"Till Tuesday. I've got some big business deal to do in New York so I'll be flying out then."

"Wonderful. That leaves us with something to do together tomorrow. Well, if you'll excuse us, Tom and I have a previous arrangement to go to. We shouldn't be long," Rose explained as she got up, pulling Tom with her. "We'd cancel but it such short notice and we wouldn't want to disappoint."

"Don't worry about it Rose. It'll give Erin and me some time to catch up. You two go on along. We'll see you later," he replied. Erin kissed her grandparents' good bye and they left leaving her and her dad alone. Erin immediately got up and scampered inside the house. She could feel her dad come after her and hear him shut the door.

"Good, I'd rather do this inside anyways," she heard him say.

Anyone wanna guess who's car cut in front of Erin? ;)