-Digging Into the Past-

Three days later... Thursday 9:38 a.m.

"He's awake!" Kate shrieked, running out of one of the guest bedrooms in Caleb's enormous house.

Pogue trailed slightly behind his girlfriend looking calm about this new development but smiling at how happy she was at the moment. Reid poked his head out of one of the rooms farther down the hall.

"Say what?"

"What's going on?" Tyler questioned as he exited the bathroom across from the room Reid had his head poking out of.

"Hey, guys, what's everyone shouting about up there?" Caleb called out from the base of the stairs, staring up to where Pogue could be seen near the banister.

Sarah came to stand beside Caleb and followed his gaze upward with matching curiosity.

"Chase is awake," Pogue explained before going with Kate into the guest bedroom he was in.

The fifth Son was getting dressed in his torn and bloodied clothes when the girls and other Sons arrived in the bedroom. He didn't look up when he heard them enter and instead put his green jacket on.

"Going somewhere, Chase?" Caleb asked, a tad more unfriendly than he meant it to come out.

Fully dressed now, he turned his eyes onto the group of six assembled in front of the door he needed to leave from. "Yeah, I'm getting out of here."

"Why? Where are you going?" Kate asked, growing upset. "You've only just healed."

"I came and warned the Sons of Ipswich. I did what I came to do. Now I'll get myself out of your lives. Austin was right about one thing. We're not friends. We never really were. I'm not wanted here so I'll go."

The doorbell rang but Caleb and the others hardly paid it attention.

"So that's it?" Caleb asked. "We save your life and you're just gonna leave without any explanation about why these people wanted to kill you so bad? Heck, they seemed pretty okay with seeing all of us dead."

"You saved my life and I saved all of yours. We're even."

"Even? Are we forgetting when you tried to kill me?! And nearly killed Pogue and Kate on top of it!" Caleb retorted with growing anger.

/

Chase paled considerably at the mention of what he'd done only a little over two months earlier. He especially remembered the student he killed, Christian Baron, when the guy discovered Chase's powers. He had no choice but to kill him because otherwise his entire plan against the Sons would have been ruined at the very beginning. It made him a murderer. He sucked.

The doorbell rang again but it was as though no one even heard it.

"I'm sorry about that," Chase murmured and pushed past the group and out of the bedroom.

He wasn't familiar with the house but fortunately the stairs leading to the foyer and the front door was right next to the room he inhabited the past three days. Kate filled him in on how long he was asleep and what happened while he was unconscious. Pogue had called the police without leaving his name. The group of six, with Chase in tow, hightailed it out of the warehouse to Caleb's home. Later they'd learned someone set fire to the warehouse and it was completely engulfed in flames by the time the cops arrived. The inferno destroyed the building and any evidence that may have been inside. No bodies were found.

The police were calling it a possible case of arson but had no further leads. This was the second incident of arson in two months. The first incident occurred with the burning of the old Putnam barn. In other words, there was no sign of Austin or the smoking man and the police didn't have ideas on what actually happened in the warehouse. The Sons planned to keep it that way.

Chase could hear the others following him down the stairs and Kate was in the lead. "Chase! Chase, wait! Please!"

Although it was difficult because Kate had truly been a good friend to him, he forced himself to ignore her and yanked open the front door to the manor. Chase froze as soon as he did because a young woman his age was standing there with her hand raised to ring the doorbell for a third time. Light brown hair cut just above her shoulders and blue eyes. She was wearing black jeans, a nice red shirt, and a black jean jacket to match her pants. Lowering her hand, she flipped out a small notebook and a pen without looking up.

"Caleb Danvers..?" the girl started and her eyes moved up to look at him. She screeched. "Chase! Chase Collins, as I live and breathe!"

"Trish..? Oomph!" Chase grunted as the girl barreled into him with a great bear hug.

The Sons and girls arrived in the foyer near the door to witness the screech and firm hug. She took in his bloody and torn clothing as she stepped back.

"What happened to you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. It was just a..uh, animal that got injured. I tried to help it and got blood on me and stuff," he muttered his lame excuse.

She didn't seem to believe him one bit but ignored that he was lying and instead chose to give him a solid punch on the arm. "Why did you leave like that?!"

"Uh, who do we have here?" Caleb asked.

Reid noticed the girl at the door as well as the others and flashed her a smile. "Yeah, who is this beautiful gal?"

The girl placed her hands on her hips and glared. "Not interested." She tilted her head toward Caleb. "I'm Trisha Burns, writer for the local newspaper in Haversfield."

"Well, Chase?" she prodded, turning back to him. "Why'd you leave like that? Without a word to anyone and you were gone for months!"

"Trish..." he began but let his voice fade at her words.

"You broke her heart, you know. But I suppose that's what you were always good at. Breaking hearts. She of all people didn't deserve that and you know it."

After a moment of silence, he said, "I did a lot of things I never should have done. But leaving was something I had to do. You couldn't possibly understand and I don't need you to. How did you find me anyway?"

Trisha lowered her notebook and pen before answering. "Doris is worried about you. She hasn't heard anything from you for two months. You have people back home who miss you. Why can't you ever seem to remember that?"

"Look, I gotta get out of here. You got a car? 'Cause I need a ride."

"Yeah, the silver one's mine, but Chase..."

He walked past her out of the house and over to a silver car parked on the driveway. He got into the passenger side of the car and sat there staring straight ahead, waiting for Trisha to drive him away. His old friend gazed toward the car window looking deeply sad while lowering her notebook and pen. He waited and she soon joined him to get him out of there.

/

10:05 a.m. Gordon residence

"So this is where you've been living all this time..."

"Trish, come on, don't start with me," Chase pleaded quietly, staring out the window of the parked car at the two-story house before him.

"I'm not starting anything, Chase. To start something, you have to be willing to participate in the conversation too. Since you're most definitely a man of many secrets, that won't be happening anytime soon, will it?"

He said nothing, choosing to open the car door and step out. Chase could tell she was upset with him but was not interested in getting into a serious conversation with her. When Trisha turned off the engine and got out on her own side, he stared.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean what am I doing? I'm going to see who you've been living with all this time. Besides, I still have a story to uncover in Ipswich, and until I do I'm going to need a place to stay. Maybe I can stay here with you?" When she saw the exasperated look crossing his features, she said, "Just until I find my story. Then I can go back to Haversfield."

He wanted to argue. Tell her he'd left Haversfield to get away from everything, to keep his old friends safe. Chase wanted to explain she needed to stay away from him so she wouldn't get involved in his crap. He hadn't the heart to take the hopeful expression off of her face. They were good friends back in Haversfield and she didn't deserve to get thrown out of this place because he was uncomfortable having her there.

"What story has brought you out here to Ipswich?" he asked, instead of saying what he really thought he should.

Before she could answer, the front door of the yellow house burst open and two kids raced out. They headed straight for him and he hugged Jill and Kiri to him as they each latched onto a leg.

"Where have you been, Chase? It's been days and days!" the six-year-old exclaimed, pure joy at his presence was evident on her face as she grinned up at him.

"We thought you went away and weren't coming back," Jill pouted. "Why did you go away, Chase? Don't you like us anymore?"

"Oh Jill... Girls..." He got down on one knee so he could be on their level. "I didn't mean to make you sad. Of course I wouldn't leave you two. You're much too cute for that."

Kiri giggled, clearly instantly forgiving him. Jill was not so ready to forgive. She gave him as stern a look as she could muster and crossed her arms on her chest.

"Why did you leave?"

Chase thought quickly and stood back up, gesturing to the surprised looking girl standing a few feet away from him and the girls.

"I left to bring someone here. I'd like you to meet Trisha Burns. Trisha is a good friend of mine from where I used to live."

Both of the girls' eyes widened as they shifted their gazes to peer up at Trisha. She smiled at the children and held out a hand for them to shake it.

"You two can just call me Trish, okay?"

Jill smiled widely and attempted shaking the bigger girl's hand as professionally as a nine-year-old could. Kiri copied her sister, taking Trisha's hand too. It was obvious they were readily accepting this new person's arrival at their home. Chase suspected it might have something to do with him being back. He'd won the kids over again and they were welcoming to Trish. That was good. Of course, there was still the girls' parents to convince, and they were at the doorway now. He smiled at the man and woman. Time to lay on the charm.

/

12:17 p.m. Haversfield. Former Collins Manor under the ownership of Doris Hannigan and Lionel James

"Caleb, what do you think you'll find here?" his girlfriend questioned.

Yep. He had taken an interest in Chase Collins ever since the guy was discovered to be alive. Surprisingly it was Pogue, the one who seemed to hate Chase the most, who stepped in and answered her.

"Chase is one of the Sons, no matter what he did in the past. That alone is enough to get our attention. So we're going to try to figure out who this guy really is."

"I just wanna find out this guy's deal," Reid put in. "I mean, he pretends to be good but turns out to be an evil bastard, then comes back a couple months later and he's good? That doesn't fit."

Kate placed her hands on her hips and smiled at the four guys. "About time someone listens to what I've been saying all along. Chase is really a good guy. He's as good as the rest of you and that stuff he did... I don't know why he did it either, but I do believe he's acting like the real Chase Collins now."

Sarah frowned at her friend. "How can you be so sure?"

She shrugged. "I just am."

"Well let's go then," Reid piped up. "Don't got all day here."

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

He led the way with Sarah next to him, and approached the large door of the massive estate that was even more grand than Caleb's house. This was the place Chase had grown up and where he'd lived until the day he decided to transfer to the school in Ipswich. Caleb rang the doorbell and a few moments later, the door was opened by an elderly man who stood tall as he regarded the six of them.

"Can I help you?" the man asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"We're here about Chase Collins. Do you know him?"

"The young Mr. Collins doesn't live here anymore," the old man told them. "He moved to Ipswich last I heard from the boy. Why? Is he alright? Did something happen to him?"

A woman's voice came from somewhere inside the house. "Lionel? Who is it?"

The person asking didn't bother to wait for his answer, coming to stand beside him in the open doorway. She was younger than the man by perhaps a decade. She had curly brown hair that was slightly graying pulled back in a bun, a meek sort of attitude about her, and kind eyes.

"Oh, so many. What brings you to this place?"

Caleb recalled hearing the girl that had come to his home. She mentioned the name of a woman who had been wondering about Chase.

"Excuse me, but are you Doris?"

The look on her face told him that he was correct in his assumption and visible hope filled her soft gaze. "Yes, yes I am. How do you know my name? Have you seen Chase? Is he okay? Do you know where he is?"

Caleb was taken aback by the concern these people had for Collins. In fact, he was beginning to feel downright uneasy. First the girl who'd shown up, Trisha, and then these two standing a couple feet away from him looking at him with anxiety evident in their expressions. After what happened between Chase and the Sons of Ipswich, Caleb hadn't thought of the other man as human. The events of late were causing him to remember Chase was a person too, and he had people who cared about him.

He'd apparently gotten lost in his thoughts because Tyler pushed past him and addressed the woman's concerns.

"Someone named Trisha mentioned your name when she was talking to Chase earlier today."

Both people standing in the doorway relaxed.

"Thank God he's alright," Doris breathed.

Tyler ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, he's okay. We're not sure where he went though. Um, how do you know Chase?"

"Oh, pardon me, introductions are in order for friends of Chase. I am the maid of the household, Doris Hannigan, and this is my co-worker and butler of the household, Lionel James. Please, come in, come in," the woman said, appearing ashamed for not thinking of inviting them in sooner.

None of them bothered to correct her on the relationship she presumed they had with Chase, and followed her through the house to the sitting room. They sat down on either sofas or chairs while Doris went off to make them tea. Meanwhile, Lionel sat in a stiff chair by the unused fireplace and eyed each of them in turn. He was looking at them with suspicion again. It disappeared and concern appeared on his face.

"I am not so optimistic as Doris tends to be. What has Mr. Collins done? He didn't hurt anyone, did he?"

Caleb observed Kate and Sarah exchanging glances before Sarah spoke to the butler. "What makes you say that?"

He lifted his gaze in the direction Doris had gone to prepare the tea, settling his gaze on her. "Mr. Collins, or rather, the young Mr. Collins you are familiar with, was a very withdrawn child. I can only imagine the pent up hatred that must have grown inside of him all those years. He changed when he was..oh, thirteen, I believe. I'm not certain why. Perhaps he was tired of enduring."

"Enduring? What do you mean?" Sarah questioned.

Lionel had everyone's complete attention but the man didn't get the chance to answer her. Doris came into the room and handed them each a cup of hot tea.

"So. Did I miss anything?" the maid asked innocently.

From the confused and curious looks on their faces, she had her response. Gentle eyes hardened and she glowered at the man seated near the fireplace.

"And just what have you been telling them?"

"Nothing, Doris. I merely expressed curiosity about what Mr. Collins has been doing of late, nothing more."

"You're a terrible liar, Lionel. You still believe he will turn out like those..those..monsters. Don't you? That's what you've been telling these people, haven't you? That Chase has gone and hurt someone, right? He wouldn't! Not my Chase!"

Pogue stood, never the one to like being left in the dark about matters. "Calm down! Now somebody needs to explain to us what's going on."

Doris grew eerily silent and shook her head from side to side. After a long moment she said, "Chase wouldn't hurt anyone. Not even those who deserved it."

"And what if we told you he had?" Tyler asked bluntly.

Caleb winced. He hadn't been planning on doing such a direct approach. He took a breath and waited for the explosion of defensive remarks from Doris. They never came. Instead she gave a deep sigh of resignation and sat down on the sofa with Tyler and Reid, fiddling with her hands in her lap.

"We always knew it was a possibility," she admitted to them. "But someone like Chase would need a reason. And not a reason for himself. He was never one to be selfish. In fact, I thought he should have cared a little more for himself than he did..."

For a few seconds they thought she wasn't going to say anything more. However, she shifted her position on the couch and stared into Tyler's eyes. He squirmed a bit but remained rooted to the spot.

"I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but Chase was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Collins when he was two years old."

"We know he was adopted. And we know he killed his adoptive parents in a supposed car accident when he was eighteen," Tyler pointed out.

Again, Caleb winced at the youngest covenant member's statements. He was usually so quiet and yet here he was directing the interview with the maid and butler to get straight answers.

Doris and Lionel seemed genuinely surprised by Tyler's words and Lionel stared at him. "Murdered them? It was a freak car accident. Lightning struck their vehicle! You can't plan that!"

Tyler looked like he was going to say more and Caleb feared he would spill Chase had powers which could then trace back to them by connection, so he interceded.

"No, I suppose you couldn't. Now, before, you called someone monsters and that you didn't believe Chase turned out to be like them. Who did you mean?"

The butler was reluctant to say and he stood up. "I think you should leave. Mr. Collins's private life is not ours to divulge."

With that he walked away only after he'd herded them all to the front door. Doris lingered by the doorway, however, when they stepped outside. She bit on her bottom lip.

"Chase is alright? He's in good health? Is he trying to be happy?" she asked them.

Caleb found it strange she would ask if Chase was "trying" to be happy, instead of simply asking if he was happy. He glanced over his shoulders at the Sons and the two girls.

"What happened in this house?" he asked, looking at the maid.

He knew they were all wondering the same thing. The way the former servants of the Collins's family had it written in their behavior and the way they seemed to be holding something back whenever they spoke. There was some dark secret in this household.

Doris stared hard at Caleb. "They never wanted him. Never."

Speaking to them in a volume that was barely above a whisper, they had to listen closely to hear.

"They adopted him for their careers, so they would look good to everyone else. Everybody likes a family these days. The only love he ever got was from Lionel and myself and I swear to God, we tried our best to make him feel loved."

Doris was crying now, silent tears tracking down a slightly wrinkled face. "What they did to that boy nearly every, single day... Well, it was enough to make me sick! I couldn't believe how he managed to grow into a decent young man despite all of it. Perhaps because the older he got, the less we would see him around the house. He always was a smart boy."

She tried to rid her face of the tears and looked at them in turn. "If Chase has done something, there's a reason. Please, if you know where he is, look after him for me, would you?"

No one replied. They were confused and having even more questions now. It was Kate who eventually answered the distraught maid.

"We will, Doris. I promise we will."