Confessions Lead to Strange Bedfellows Chapter 19: New Beginnings Part VIII, a guiding light fanfic

Title: Confessions Lead to Strange Bedfellows

Author: Kimberly21570

Fandoms: Guiding Light / All My Children

Pairings: Olivia and Natalia / Lena and Bianca

Disclaimer: The characters Olivia and Emma Spencer, Natalia and Rafe Rivera, Ashlee Wolfe, Josh Lewis, Phillip Spaulding, Daisy Cooper, and Gus/Nicky Aitoro are owned by CBS/TeleNext and Proctor & Gamble. The original characters Nastassia Rivera/Ana Mackenzie, Kait Mackenzie, and their daughters, Antonio and Kaleigh Rivera and their children, Dante Rivera and Taylor Delaney-Rivera and their daughters, Chelsea and Madison, Sierra Rivera, and Christiana Rivera and her husband, Brennan are the property of this author, and any resemblance to fictional characters, or real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

No copyright infringement intended with regard to Guiding Light, CBS/TeleNext, Proctor & Gamble, or any other entity. The dialogue, settings, and story content in these scenes are original. Written for fun, not profit. All other standard disclaimers apply.

This update has not been proofread. Thus, all errors are my own.

Rating: This section of Chapter 19 is rated G.

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to my dear friend, WickedWanda926! May you be blessed with many more years of life company of those you love.

Kimmie

xoxo

Confessions Lead to Strange Bedfellows

"Sometimes life takes unexpected turns. Sometimes we hide the very core of our existence because we fear the judgment of others. Sometimes the universe shifts and we are provided with a brief moment to begin anew. These moments allow us to become fearless and let our perfectly created souls shine."

― Cori Garrison, New Beginnings

Chapter 19.8 – New Beginnings:

Saturday, May 15, 2010… Kait and Ana Mackenzie's Cottage, The North Shore, Highland Park, Illinois—1:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time

When Natalia's mother and Abuela arrived, she allowed herself to be engulfed in a wordless swath of hugs, kisses, and tears the moment they made their way through the front door. Time stood still as they lingered there, clinging to one another until their legs nearly buckled beneath them. And when Ana finally managed to usher them into the family room, the women flanked Natalia on each side, never letting go of their grip on her as they settled on the sofa, where they held her more tightly than they ever had when she was a child, making promises that they would never be parted from her again.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Natalia's heart overflowed with more joy than she ever thought it could contain as she studied their beautiful faces. Though weathered by the hardships of life and the passage of time, these women, their dark, sparkling eyes and radiant smiles so much like her own, were familiar to her, and she took them in, drowning in them before burying her face first against her mother's shoulder, and then against her Abuela's ample bosom, reveling in the feeling of being held by them again. A lifetime had passed, and yet still, she felt like a child again, and being in their arms felt and smelled like home.

Olivia sat in the chair nearby, her own face shiny with tears as she watched Natalia being smothered in all of the love she had deserved to feel from them all these years. A part of her still harbored a touch of anger toward them for Natalia's pain. That was human nature, she reasoned. But mostly she simply felt joy that Natalia had been given the opportunity to reunite them and know their love again. Knowing Natalia's story, never would she have imagined it possible. Then again, this was Natalia, and she was known for pulling off miracles—Olivia's own transformation was proof positive of that.

And then they were chattering, all three of them at once in flurried fusion of Spanish and English that almost sounded like a language all its own, as they asked questions and shared answers about all of the things they had missed in the twenty years that had passed—sometimes with the slow, meandering trickle of a winding countryside creek, sometimes with the soft, gentle flow of a babbling brook, and still others as swiftly as the resolute rush of a raging river.

When Rafe heard the commotion of others joining in on the conversation as the house filled with the unique vibration of the Rivera clan, he made his way in from the veranda, traveling toward the unfamiliar cacophony. The most noise Rafe was accustomed to hearing was the sound of Emma playing with Maury, or Jacob and Dylan. They were loud sometimes, for sure, especially when they played video games, or out in the back yard barreling toward the treehouse or the pond, but his sister and her friends had nothing on this crew!

He smiled to himself as he thought about it. The idea of being part of such a huge, boisterous family. As quickly as the thought occurred to him, he decided that he liked it. And with that, he stepped under the archway into the alcove where the family room was located, stopping in his tracks at the entryway.

Stock still, he stared in disbelief at the two women who sat on either side of his mother. His heart pounded in his chest, a mixture of confusion and wonder reverberating into his stomach, as hot tears slid over his long dark lashes, splashing onto his cheeks.

Concerned, Natalia tilted her head, her brow furrowing. "Rafe?" she said, calling out to him. "What's wrong?"

"I—It's you," he said on a strangled breath, his teary dark eyes darting from one woman to the other and back again. His forehead crinkled, and he looked perplexed, perhaps even a little surprised. "It's both of you…"

"Both of whom, Rafe?" Olivia asked, as she slowly stood from the chair, moving toward her son.

Smiles broke out across the faces of Abuela and Mama Rivera and their dark eyes danced as they looked him over, so proud to finally see what a fine young man Natalia's boy had grown up to be.

Tilting his head, as though that would give him a better angle on them, he stepped cautiously closer. "You used to come visit me when I was little," he said, almost disbelievingly. "Always while Ma was at work, and never at the same time, but… you were both there."

The two older women stared at one another over Natalia's shoulder, their eyes telling stories of secrets kept, even from one another, though neither of them seemed surprised even as a look of astonishment cut across Natalia's face. "It was you," she suddenly seemed to realize, glancing from one woman to the other. "I used to find food in my cupboards. Food that I knew I didn't buy," she recalled. "It was never a lot—just enough to get us by, like someone was trying to sneak it in so I wouldn't notice."

Abuela and Mama Rivera shared a knowing look, as a soft smile played across Natalia's lips. "I always thought it was my neighbors. They swore it wasn't, but… I guess they were telling the truth."

Abuela gently patted Natalia's knee. "Dios provee, Mija," she said with a confident nod.

Natalia's smile widened, and she reached for her grandmother's weathered hand, giving it a light squeezed. "Yes, Abuela," she affirmed, her heart once again surging with unbridled joy. "God always provides."

Saturday, May 15, 2010… Kait and Ana Mackenzie's Cottage, The North Shore, Highland Park, Illinois—5:15 p.m. Central Daylight Time

The afternoon flew by in a cacophonous whirl of interaction and emotion, Olivia, Rafe, and Emma meeting family they had never known, while Natalia reacquainted herself with each of them one by one. She held each of them closely, and they, her. And they cried together, tears of sorrow for the years lost; tears joy for the years to come. And when she came to Dante, she held him just a little more closely than the others, her soul aching for his tender heart and the losses she knew he had taken so personally.

They had always shared a special connection. One not equal to that which she shared with Nastassia, but deep, nonetheless. She had named her daughter after him for a reason, and that gentle, compassionate heart was just the beginning.

It didn't take long for Emma to grow attached to her new cousins, chattering and playing with them as though they had known one another their entire lives. She loved that Lia, Antonia, and Pilar were so close to her age—they had so much in common! And she doted on toddlers Jade and Jazz the way Natalia had envisioned she would with Dantéa. Even Alyssa, Alexa, Samantha, and twins Gabriel and Gael were fun, even though they were a little younger than her. The fact that there were so many of them was a little overwhelming, but she quickly acclimated, and accepted her place within this rowdy close-knit family. And much to Natalia and Olivia's joy, and Rafe's pleasant surprise, he quickly reconnected with his grandmothers, and began forging connections with his newfound aunts, uncles, and especially his Uncle Tony's two teenaged sons, Damián and Mateo, who at seventeen and fifteen were only a few years his junior, and shared his love for fishing and the Cubs with equal fervor.

In fact, it came as such a surprise to him how he had bonded so easily with his uncles that he marveled at it as he leaned against the veranda railing, slowly sipping his iced tea, as he gazed out over the rippling waters just off the shore. The three of them having returned from a walk along the water's edge, the elder Rivera men had taken leave, heading further down shore to corral his young cousins and bring them up to the house for the meal they were to share together. And as he watched them, he reflected on the conversation that had taken place during what he now understood to be a very purpose-driven walk, where the men had made apologies for the past and vowed to forge a new future that included Natalia and her entire family—if only they would allow it.

As the men spoke Rafe found Tony, who was a mountain of a man, to be boisterous, but level-headed and sincere, and Dante to be a gentle soul with a kind smile and a glint in his dark eyes that reminded him very much of his mother when she was up to some sort of mischief.

"We're not looking for absolution, Rafe. We don't deserve it," Tony openly acknowledged, as the three men walked along the North Shore. "We just want a chance to reconnect with your mom and to know you and your sisters."

"That's the truth, Rafe," Dante confirmed. "We've all missed your Ma terribly. And we're sad that we've missed out on you growing up."

"Yeah, we missed out on taking you to Cubs games with your cousins, and giving you terrible advice about girls," Tony said with a grin that drew a soft chuckle from both his brother and Rafe. If only they knew how much terrible advice he had managed to find all on his own!

"He has a point," Dante affirmed, his teasing grin reflecting in his eyes. "Never listen to him about girls."

"Hey, now!" Tony said in mock protest, as he gave his younger brother a hearty slap on the back, earning a yelp, followed quickly by another dimpled grin. "I think I managed all right, convincing Kaleigh to marry me."

"Poor girl didn't know what was good for her," Dante muttered, earning a chuckle from his nephew and an eyeroll from his brother. "But seriously though," he rejoined, his tone turning serious again, "Mama and Abuela, they've been heartbroken all these years without the two of you," he said to Rafe. "We just wanna see that heartbreak healed for everyone."

Eyes downcast, Rafe scuffed the toe of his sneaker in the sand beneath his feet. "Then why didn't any of you ever come after her?" He sounded angry, and maybe even a little sad.

Dante's tender heart ached for his nephew. "I could give you all the reasons," he said, sounding apologetic. "But none of them are excuse enough. We were cowards. All of us. And we were wrong."

"Yeah, man," Tony said gruffly, "if we could go back, we'd do everything differently, even if it meant disobeying Papi."

Rafe shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and sighed. "Yeah, well, you don't get do-overs in life," he said matter-of-factly.

Tony nodded, realizing that Rafe had a point.

Dante simply looked crestfallen.

Though he had prayed for something better—anything, really—he'd known it was a long-shot from the beginning. "We understand, Rafe," he said. "We don't expect you to forgive us, or even acknowledge us really, after everything we did to hurt your mom."

"Yeah, we… we want you and your mom in our lives, but we don't have any expectations of either of you," Tony said. "We just hope you'll have a nice time visiting with us, at least for today."

Rafe focused on his sneakers once again as he mulled over the things they had said. It mattered to him that they hadn't made excuses. They simply took responsibility for the choices they had made, and for the fallout of those choices on not only themselves, but on Natalia and Rafe, as well. Accountability was something that Natalia had taught him when he was young, and reiterated, ad nauseum, during his misspent youth, but that he had only come to fully understand and embrace thanks to Olivia's influence in this life.

With those hard-learned lessons in mind, he began nodding as a slight smile touched the corners of his mouth. "You know, like I said, you… er, we don't get do-overs in life," he reiterated, but his tone was different this time.

Contemplative.

"We don't get to go back and clean up our messes, have them disappear like they never happened. I know that probably better than anyone," he confessed, recalling his stints in both juvie and jail and how deeply he regretted the choices that had landed him in both places. "But… sometimes we get the chance to start again from where we are. Olivia taught me that—and Ma," he recognized.

And then he looked up, meeting first Tony, then Dante square in those eyes that looked so much like his mother's. "So… I don't know," he shrugged, "maybe we can start from here, and just see where things go?"

Two sets of mahogany eyes lit up, and Dante let out a thunderous "whoop!" drawing the attention of the swiftly growing crowd that gathered near the boat slip, as Tony grinned ear to ear. "That sounds amazing, nephew," Dante declared. And before Rafe knew it, he found himself sandwiched between the two strapping men in the most genuine hug he'd ever felt in his life.

Saturday, May 15, 2010… Kait and Ana Mackenzie's Cottage, The North Shore, Highland Park, Illinois—5:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time

"Penny for your thoughts," Ashlee said quietly as she wrapped an arm around Rafe's waist when she found him out on the veranda a few minutes later.

Rafe smiled and draped an arm over her shoulder. "Just thinkin' about my uncles," he replied, realizing how strange that relationship sounded, and yet how very much he liked the idea of it. Yes, Phillip was technically his uncle, but he never really expected to have a close relationship with him—not like the ones he already knew he would build with Tony and Dante. "They seem like pretty cool dudes."

"Yeah, they do," Ashlee agreed, grinning as she watched them wrangling the squealing youngsters, and herding them up the hill. It had taken them nearly twenty minutes to gather them all up, and now the youngest boys raced up the hill as swiftly as their little legs could carry them, with Dante close behind, two of Ana and Kait's girls dangling from him as he trudged toward the veranda, and bringing up the rear, Tony carried a third on his broad shoulders, with Emma and Pilar clinging onto his hand.

"Can you imagine keeping track of all these kids?" Rafe asked, sounding exasperated. "I can barely keep up with Emma most days."

"Looks like they've had a lot of practice," Ashlee pointed out. "I bet you'll get better at it too; especially when you have your own kids."

Shifting uncomfortably, Rafe gave Ashlee a cautionary glance. "I'm not lookin' to get that kinda practice anytime soon."

Amused, Ashlee barked out a laugh. "Relax, Mr. Edgy," she said with a teasing lilt. "I have no doubt that you'll be an amazing dad… someday; but that's nowhere on my radar right now either."

"Thank God," Rafe exhaled, releasing a sigh of relief. He'd learned his lesson with Daisy a few years ago and had no desire to repeat that mistake again.

Ashlee leaned closer against him; the palm of her hand pressed against his chest. "Just so we're clear though," she said, glancing upward, her sparkling blue gaze meeting his own, "when I am ready, I want it to be with you."

The corners of Rafe's mouth tipped into a smile. "I'm glad we're on the same page," he said, pressing a light kiss against her temple as he squeezed her close. Ashlee had come upon him unawares, challenging him in ways he sometimes wished she hadn't in the moment, but later found a sense of gratitude for, and sustaining him with her steadfast support while he was in the midst of figuring things out. She was kind, and funny—even when she didn't really mean to be—and she was beautiful, and smarter than most people gave her credit for, and he loved her more deeply than he ever thought possible. Someday he would tell her that in ways that he hadn't before, but today, as she leaned so effortlessly against his side, his partner, his equal, he knew that words weren't necessary—she already knew where they were headed, and so did he.

A moment later, the chaotic ruckus of the Rivera children surrounded them as everyone crowded onto the veranda, with Dante issuing mandates that everyone wash their hands, as Tony, the family's self-appointed bartender, yelled above the din, querying the flock for drink orders.

Ashlee and Rafe looked at one another with trepidation in their eyes. "Maybe just one," Rafe said warily.

"Or two," Ashlee suggested. "I hated being an only child."

"Definitely not more than two," Rafe declared.

"Most definitely," Ashlee readily agreed.

TBC in Chapter 19.9…