Authors Note: I own nothing. No ownership rights to Beverly Hills 90210.


Chapter Eleven

The weekend passes and it's horrible not seeing her but after Friday I needed to give her time. I spend the weekend at the Bel Age, I told her I would be there if she needed me, she never did. Dad said not to take that as anything more than her needing to think.

Iris arrived on Saturday afternoon. We went to dinner the three of us, Jack was on his best behaviour but I could see her discomfort. He encouraged me to tell her everything over dinner and so I did. When he asks about breaking the Trust she is torn. She understands Jim's place in this is the issue, is delicate because of Brenda but she is hesitant to turn over the Trust to me and by default Jack. She advises that she'll need time to consider this, as I walk her to her room I ask her to remember Jim has a lot of power here. I don't want him to be my enemy I don't want him to find out what I did while he's being dragged over the coal's for his threat. She understands but says one day, one day she wants to hold him accountable. I said I imagine Brenda will want the same thing.

On Sunday she goes to visit Brenda. I don't know what she says but when I see her for coffee and tea that afternoon in the hotel lobby she tells me she just got back. That they went for a walk and discussed the summer, Kelly, me, and Jack. She wanted her take on all this.

On Monday I wait by the car for her again. She walks past me but gives me a weak smile. It's a lot the whole thing between us is a lot. I know forgiveness for this is going to take time, but Friday was a start. Not a start at rebuilding but a start at clearing the space for it. Well that is if she was convinced by my father that there is a point, that my mother… well she loves us together I can only hope she tried as well.

Steve isn't speaking to me, Silver is hesitant, Donna's glare has lessened but she still doesn't know what she she should be doing. Brandon is avoiding me. Kelly is still pushing for forgiveness with the sledgehammer in your face approach, and now appears angry that Bren after so many day's isn't backing down. Andrea is still asking questions, and I'm still keeping my eyes firmly on my girl.

On Tuesday I see Mrs T. Jack and Bren both want me to have the option of College. Jack wants a McKay to earn it, it's about him but it's also him wanting something better for me- I can appreciate that. She talks through it all with me. She gives me a game plan, a transfer to AP English, improvement targets in all my grades, and information on Colleges with courses I may be interested in applying to. I sit under Bren's and my tree at lunch and go through each pamphlet until a familiar shadow covers me making me smile.

"That doesn't look like a book."

I look up, "no it's about a place I could go to read more of them, talk about them, and write papers on them."

"Four years of reading books, you may have read them all by then. Might have to write your own at that point."

"Maybe I'd probably need to go on a few adventures though to do that- have some good stories to share."

"Reading books from Autumn to Spring, and then three months of summer for adventures. That might start the ball rolling."

"Summer adventures, like Europe, Africa, Asia?"

"I hear South America is lovely too."

"That's four summers of trips."

"And four year's of school."

"I'd get homesick without my home though-"

"For college or the trips?"

"For any day that ends in y."

"Which Colleges are you looking at?" I hold out the pamphlets, she moves two of them. "They are good schools but I've never understood a school that doesn't favour the Performing Arts. Isn't it the birthplace of creativity and new idea's?"

"It's also cold at that one and the other rains too much." I hope my returned subtly indicates I'm not keen on another cold city on her list.

"I should go. Everyone is staring."

"It will die down soon." She gives me an unbelievable look, "well I hope. My Dad told me he has a surprise for me after school would you come with me?"

"I'm taking a self defence class with Donna and Mum, a woman was attacked and well it's made Mum concerned." She must see my worry, "I can't be driven everywhere or be around someone every second, and I'd like to see the world too so it's a good skill to have."

"Yeah it's important but know your travel partner will also keep his home, you safe."

"I'm not there yet." I nod.

"Can I call you to see how it goes or maybe we could go for dinner after it and you can show me your moves?"

"Not tonight."

It wasn't a no. "Maybe tomorrow then."

The boat was incredible and Dad was thrilled to be on it. He showed Christine and I through it all. He was so excited. I was curious about how he got it but he said people owe him for taking the fall and not giving names. People with deep pockets. He asked for a dinner that night and if Brenda could come, I told him she couldn't but maybe tomorrow night and then went through our interaction today. He was thrilled I was seeing how I could have college on my terms whilst also having my adventures. The fact that Bren was open to involving herself even subtly in the process meant that she was not ruling us going together.

On Wednesday when she walked towards the school after getting out of the car I walked up next to her, much to Brandon's annoyance. "It was a boat. The surprise was a boat." She looks and me and her brow creases obviously thinking how so I respond, "I don't know the same way I guess he got the Bel Age." Brandon seeing us engaging even a one sided verbal conversation and her not saying no, just shakes his head and walks away.

She follows her twin with her eyes as he leaves. "He's angry at himself for… well you know what it's been like for us. This is the way he feels he can make it up."

"Is it working?"

"It's nice that he is trying…"

"But it takes time. Speaking of time do you have some for dinner tonight or tomorrow?"

"Not tonight, Jack well they don't know." I nod my head, she's been keeping him quiet it's good to know as we have a meeting this afternoon with her Dad, my parents and me. "Brandon's working tomorrow night and Mum and Dad are at a client dinner so I was thinking of either staying home or going to The Pit. Why what do you have in mind?"

"Ever been on a boat?"

She sasses me, for the first time in ages. "I'm from Minnesota."

"Okay smartass ever been on a boat that is the size of a house?"

"No I haven't been on one of those."

"Well then do you have a dress?"

The meeting goes as well as to be expected. My parents keep Brenda's name out of it, and my mum who is still hesitant to hand over the access to me in fear of Jack accepts it only because Jim can't have the position. When he finds out all of it Kelly, the lying and that I still want a relationship with his daughter, and she may thankfully still be open to one it could be too much of a tempting lever for him to pull on me again. The charge would have no grounds now but there is other controls he has; College he may not be willing to make out the cheque or drag his feet causing me to lose my position if Brenda is going to go there. It wasn't worth the risk.

I pick her up the following night, and she looks incredible. I'm not the only one to think that. Dad makes comment that she is beauty, brains, strength, and sass an incredible combination. Christine and her chat while Dad takes her of a tour of the boat. Over dinner we discuss Mrs T and College. Then surprisingly we somehow move on to fishing with both Brenda and my dad comparing their biggest catches, and then Dad surprises us all over dessert by asking Christine to marry him. It's an almost perfect night until Dad does one last toast about me and the Trust closing paperwork that had officially arrived by courier that afternoon, symbolising the end of Jim's leverage over me.

Bren toasts but she looks over at me picking up my Dad's bitterness. Bren advises a few minutes later that she unfortunately needs to go home. After hugs with both Christine and Jack, the latter is longer than the first and includes a whispered conversation and a kiss on her forehead. He had a respect for her prior to their first meeting, after two year's of hearing about her, but it's blatantly obvious that in the last ten day's it's become deeper, and is now mixed with love and a genuine liking of her. He speaks of her as if he knows she will be forever in my future, it was the only common ground that he and mum found. Bren's place in my life was desired and approved by both of them, and they both thought of her as family.

She's quiet until we get to the car. "Your Dad hate's my dad?"

"No. My dad has a problem with what Jim did and is thankful that it's not an option anymore. It's the only reason Iris didn't put up a bigger fight this week, she agrees that Jim couldn't stay in his position."

"I'm guessing this is what you referred to the other day?"

"Yeah. Are you ready to hear it? That is if you want to know what he said and was willing to do to make me agree to help convince you to go to Paris?"

"For your mum to be willing to risk Jack accessing your funds it must be bad."

"My Dad thinks it made me hit emotional rock bottom, Iris agrees."

"What do you think?"

"I know it made me think that I was bad for you, that it was maybe too hard, and I had been a fool to trust in anyone."

"Even me?"

"Not that night but when you apologised to him by the shuttle and thanked him. I didn't know how much that would hurt to hear. You didn't know what he did but I could see he still had a hold on you, it made me doubt that you'd ever do that again. Choose me over them, choose me over him."

"What did he say?"

I tell her word for word. She's a mix of sadness, disgust and anger. When she starts lashing out at me I'm not surprised. "You went along with that. It was a vial threat, it was about us and you went along with it. You let him come between us. He'd have no grounds Dylan, do you think I'd ever go along with that, give anyone a statement, do you think Brandon would not raise hell along with me? In those twenty months of knowing me of twenty-two months of knowing my brother do you think we would ever ever let anyone do that to you? Why didn't you trust Brandon? Why didn't you trust me… the woman who had just walked away from her home for you, why didn't you trust me to ensure that that threat would never come to life?"

"Bren it was between your Dad and I-"

"No Dylan it wasn't, and if you don't know that by now, if you don't know you aren't that loner anymore that I'm here that I've always been here then I don't know what else I can give to prove that. I don't know what else is left of my heart, body, and self-respect to let you have, to let you access, and to let you destroy before you realise that I was always all in."

"Bren-"

"Take me home."