Summary: Someone unexpected gathers everyone together to get everything out in the open
Notes: I have been writing this for a year…Wow! Thank you to everyone who has chosen to take this ride with me.
This chapter is longer than others. It is acting as sort of a recap to this point. Plus, I had a request of a review of some of my original characters.
Much of the storylines mentioned in this chapter are based heavily on Glee canon. The narrative also makes no attempt to mask my opinion/disdain of certain canon characters and their actions, both as they relate to canon and this story (primarily Kurt). Please see previous chapters for disclaimers.
One of the primary characters in this chapter speaks with a heavy US southern accent and words are spelled phonetically.
Warning: Mentions of hate crime and belief of a character's death
Warning: Despite the title there will be no spanking in this chapter (not even the fun Seblaine kind). However, there will be more than one slap to the face.
Sunday Morning 8AM
The rooftop patio was Blaine's favorite part of the family's New York apartment. Sun, rain, snow, hot, cold…none of that mattered. One night when he was 12 he fell asleep up there and got pneumonia when the temperature drop of 40 degrees failed to wake him. After that his dad brought in a dozen more portable heaters and had a storage closet for blankets built. He also installed a security system and didn't give Blaine his own passcode until just last year.
It's not like he went up there to hide. Ok, maybe he did…but he also wanted to write a little. It would have been rude to play his guitar, or worse the piano, that early. That early as in when he woke up at 6AM.
Hey, he was going to be a college student soon. Wasn't he supposed to learn how to survive on 4 hours of sleep?
"You want some company?"
Any other person on the planet and the answer would have been Hell No! "Bas, what are you doing here? And if you tell me that coffee has at least a double shot of espresso I will love you forever."
Sebastian handed him the coffee and then climbed under the blanket with Blaine. Even though it had been unseasonably warm, there was a slight nip in the air "It has a triple shot so I guess that means we're stuck with each other and…"
Blaine was so focused on the coffee that he missed the bag Sebastian was holding. "Cronuts! Oh my god (pause for bite followed by moan)…so good. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Sebastian kissed the top of Blaine's head before retrieving his own pastry "Rough morning?"
"Actually, I have made a major dent in a new song I'm writing."
"That's great but you know that's not what I was talking about. I saw Tommy before I came up."
"Brody. After a 45 minute discussion it was agreed to that he will be referred to as Tommy for anything that happened prior to his disappearance but now he is Brody."
"Are you going to be able to do that? I mean you have called him Brody but it's usually when you are talking him and Rachel."
"We all know how bad I am when going back and forth between Uncle Rob and Al Motta. It will probably be a fucking disaster but what part of this whole thing hasn't been. Can we please talk about anything else? I want to live in denial for a little while longer. Wow, I've been saying that a lot lately."
"I think I can help with that." Sebastian reached into the bag and pulled out a gift "Happy 6 month anniversary."
"But we've only been boyfriends 5 months" Blaine was confused but figured out what Sebastian meant when he unwrapped the framed picture of them with the rest of the Warblers right after Blaine had surprised them with his return to Dalton.
"But as of today, you have officially been Blaine Anderson, Warbler Co-captainfor 6 months. Everyone was so happy, B. Jeff and Nick joked about how when we turned and saw you, you were straightening your tie just like you did when you sang Bills, Bills, Bills. They knew right then You were back, not the fake Blaine Warbler that had been part of the New Directions."
"Not quite, but I was pretty sure I could get there." Blaine ran his fingers across the glass. They really were happy that day. "You have your arm around Trent's shoulders. You guys were that close even back then?"
"We weren't besties yet but this was the moment I knew that we would be. Did I ever tell you what happened between the two of us the night of your fight with Hunter?"
"No, I just know you kicked him off the Warblers to protect him from whatever Hunter had planned."
Flashback
"Sebastian, you have to let Blaine do this" Trent told him in the way that only he could.
Tears came to Sebastian's eyes as he practically begged to be let go "Trent, I can't see him fall to the ground like that again. I can't hear him scream out like that again. I ran away last time. I won't do that again. You have to let me stop him."
"You're not running away" Trent assured him as his tears had finally begun to fall "You're letting him do what he needs to do. Sebastian, we've all known that you have been in love with Blaine since the moment you saw him and it broke you when Slushie-gate happened. This is his way of bringing you back to us. You have to trust him and you have to trust us that we would never let Blaine be hurt like that again."
End of Flashback
"It was the first time I had truly trusted someone. He gave that to me and I will never forget it."
"Like Drum and Wes helped me learn to trust people again after my attack. Like you helped me learn to trust my heart again."
Their lips were about to meet when Sebastian pulled back to check a text. "Time to get up, B. Our presence is requested, better make that required in your living area "Bas, what's going on?"
"From what I've been told, we're about to get a (with a southern accent) A good old fashioned ass whippin'."
Blaine froze in his tracks and all coloring instantly drained from his face. "Rosa. She doesn't know about Tommy…Brody. Fuck!"
"Oh, she knows."
Blaine didn't know what to expect when he got downstairs but it was definitely not what he saw. Almost everyone from the night before was there. Artie was also there which was puzzling since he wasn't supposed to come to New York until the next day. But, the most surprising thing was to see Chandler sitting beside Kurt…yeah, that was going to need an explanation, but it could wait. "Hey, Artie. What are you doing here and where are Tina, Amanda, Chester and the other guys."
"The guys headed back to their schools" Beat told him and then Mike added "Tina and Amanda are already on their way to Rhode Island. They wanted extra time to explore the campus before the official tour tomorrow. They're only staying the one day because Amanda has to get back and prepare for Cheerio Nationals." Blaine had forgotten that Amanda was one of the two Cheerios Brittany and Kitty convinced to join the New Directions before Sectionals. He hated to say it, but he just always thought of her as the girl that got to wear his diva outfit during the Diva-Off (He said his outfit because technically he had never returned it).
"And I'm here because my mom and I got a call last night saying if I wanted to fly out early there was a private jet waiting on me" Artie told him. Blaine was confused about what Artie said until his Uncle Robert and Sebastian's dad, Xavier, came out from his dad's office carrying a bunch of legal looking paperwork with pens attached.
Now he was just confused period.
"Boys, have a seat." Xavier motioned toward where Sam and Trent were sitting.
"Ok, listen up everyone" Robert (or would it be Al since he was in lawyer mode?) said as he and Xavier began to hand out the papers. "These are confidentiality agreements. Usually we would tell you to take them to your personal attorney, but there isn't time for that. Each of you have a choice…either sign or leave. It's that simple. You will note that the penalty for breaking the contract is $50,000 and any other consequences deemed appropriate."
All but a few knew that the word consequences represented whatever would be the true penalty. The few that didn't (Mike, Quinn, Mercedes, Chandler, Artie, Nichole, Rachel) knew to go ahead and sign considering how fast the others did. The only other person that didn't understand consequences was Brody, but he was in enough trouble anyway.
The one person the two lawyers had their eyes on was Kurt, but he was actually the first to sign. It didn't appear that anyone would be leaving…some from curiosity and some from stupidity. Ok, if you wanted to be nitpicky, Xavier did take the documents and leave but he was replaced by Rosa. Five foot-nothing, 98 pound, grey-haired 60 year old spitfire who was more than ready to kick ass and take names later.
Oh fuck, were they in trouble.
She stared at each one of them and even the ones that didn't know the formerly Motta's/now Sebastian's sister's housekeeper/cook/nanny/angel from heaven knew enough to keep quiet. "Puddin', can ya go ahead and come on in here, please." Evidently Puddin' was Sam's sister Stacie, who came in from the kitchen dressed in the Cinderella dress, sparkly shoes and tiara she had received for her birthday. She was also carrying baby Izzy who was dressed similarly but without the tiara and her dress was in her signature pink. Izzy looked as if she was afraid of all the people assembled and might cry, but then she saw her favorite person.
"Bas!"
While everyone giggled and Ahhed at the cuteness, Rosa took Izzy from Stacie. "I want ya'll to listen to me good. I came on here to New York to take care of one baby…this lil' pumpkin' right here. I don't have time to be babysittin' a bunch of half grown should have known betters. Am I makin' myself clear?" When she didn't get what she considered a proper answer the first time, Robert shook his head. He knew what those kids were in for having been on the receiving end of Rosa's wrath more than once.
"Did your mommies and daddies not teach you how to show respect and answer a question properly? I'm only gonna ask this one more time. Am…I…makin'…myself…clear?"
After a unison chorus of "Yes, Ma'am", Rosa gave a half-satisfied grunt before telling Izzy "Go on and wave bye-bye to your Uncle Sebby. He and his friends are stayin' here and we're goin' have a big-ol' chat." Izzy showed off her new skill of waving before returning to Stacie's arms and going back to the kitchen.
Before Rosa had looked mad. Now she was pissed.
She pointed to Blaine and Brody and told them to "Get your cute lil' asses up here right now!" Despite their fear, they both went to stand before her. She went to Brody first. He knew she was mad but he wanted nothing more than for her to hug him like she did when he was a little boy. That didn't happen.
*SLAP
"How in the hell did you think for one minute that it was ok to let us think you were dead? For almost 4 years!" There were a few audible gasps but no one was about to say anything (although both Chandler and Finn squeezed Kurt's arms as a hint not to do so).
She didn't give Brody the time to answer before she went to Blaine "Did you know where this idiot was for goin' on 8 months and not say anything caus' he asked you not to?"
"Yes, Ma'am" he said softly while anticipating his own slap. Instead, Rosa went back to Brody.
*SLAP
"How could you do somethin' like that to Blainey?" Again, she didn't wait for an answer but did pull him into the hug he had craved since he first saw the woman he considered to be his grandmother. Everyone else waited (awkwardly) while the two had their moment. When it was finished Rosa pulled away and called out for Cam. This time there was a question that could not go unanswered.
"Why is our substitute teacher, Mr. Murphy, here?" Artie asked.
Rosa smiled a sweet-as-honey smile that wasn't fooling anyone. "Artie, Sweetie, patience. Got it?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Artie didn't know what the hell was going on, but was almost…well, honored that he was being included. When Blaine convinced McKinley to excuse students for college/career visits like Dalton did, Artie hadn't been that surprised seeing that both Sue and Emma like him so much. What he couldn't believe was when Blaine's family offered to pay his way and let him stay at their apartment (which, in his opinion, was essentially a mansion on top of the actual apartment building).
He had seen what Blaine had done for his New Directions friends…Sam, Santana, Brittany, Mercedes and even Puck. It was just a little hard to wrap his mind around that he could be one of those people. Although, now that Sugar and Nick had broken up maybe Blaine wouldn't threaten to hurt him if he asked his cousin to prom.
Artie snapped to attention and saw that Mr. Murphy (Cam?) was with Blaine and Brody(?). Sugar had also joined them and was attached to that Brody guy. Blaine didn't look very happy about it.
"Ok" the distinctive sound of Rosa's voice filled the room "Ya'll are goin' hear a story and when it's done, it's done. Anything after that is a nunya…as in nun of ya business. Do ya'll understand?" The chorus of "Yes, Ma'am" was more to her liking this time. "Good." She didn't say anything else but just took Brody and Sugar by the hand and told Robert to follow her. They headed to Sugar's room for what Blaine could only assume was alone time with the newly discovered (for them) Brody.
Blaine looked at Cam for a clue of where they should begin. He had a feeling Rosa was making his former body guard do this with him for a reason. "I think I should start" Blaine told him.
"They're you're friends." Yeah, Cam was still pissed.
Turning back to the crowd, as that was what it was, Blaine tried to figure out the best way to get through this. He decided to start at the beginning.
"Sugar's mom was my Aunt Cory, my mother's sister. I loved her so much. She taught me to play all of the string instruments I can play…violin, bass, mandolin, cello, guitar. Although, I did basically teach myself electric guitar. Anyway, until I was in 9th grade, my family lived in Detroit but Sugar's family lived in Columbus. However, it's only about a 35 minute flight so I spent a lot of weekends, holidays and vacations in Columbus while I worked with Aunt Cory. That's where I met Tommy."
"Who's Tommy?" Quinn asked. She remembered that Blaine had used the name at the Warblers Regionals in the song It's My Life. It was the only name he used that was unrecognizable.
"My brother" Cam told her. He left it at that.
"I barely knew Cam but Tommy, Sugar and I were inseparable even though Tommy was 3 years older than me so 5 years older than Sugar. When I was 14, my Aunt Cory was diagnosed with cancer. I found out less than a week after I came out to my parents. My family moved to be closer to my aunt and let's just say a lot of misunderstandings happened and I wound up at Westerville High. At the same time, I realized I was head-over-heels in puppy love with Tommy. Sorry Bas, my first big gay crush wasn't Santa." When Blaine heard giggling, he didn't have to guess who it was. "Shut up, Thad."
Nari looked around the room because now more people that Thad were giggling "What's so funny? Who's Santa?" Wes leaned over and whispered in his sister's ear "Oh my god, the Gap Attack guy?!" she practically yelled, sending the giggles into full-on laughter.
"Gee, thanks Wesley" Blaine joked. When there was no response, it became apparent that something was bothering Wes. Another thing to add to his list of things to find out. "So, Tommy" he said getting everyone focused back on him. "It took me a couple of weeks but I told Tommy I had feelings for him thinking nothing would come of it since he had recently broken up with his girlfriend. Well, surprise, surprise he had broken up with his girlfriend because he had developed feelings for me similar to my feelings for him." He turned to Jeff, who was going through something similar after Nick's sister Nichole broke up with him. "It was the best thing for both of them. It wasn't fair for Tommy to continue to date her even if he never acted on his feelings for me."
Jeff gave Blaine a nod acknowledging that he understood. Then Blaine went to the one person he was surp…no, flabbergasted he hadn't heard from "Nothing to say about Tommy, Kurt? Or has all the time you've spent with Brittany made you more, what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yes, has your time with Brittany made you more flexible about your views on sexuality?" There was no verbal response, but the panicked faces on those that were at the loft last night said a lot.
Damn it! Blaine internally swore as he had begun to notice that a lot of crap must have gone down after CallBacks that he was unaware of. But wasn't this whole gathering about not trying to solve each other's issues? Were these the types of situations he was to let go of and let others handle them?
"Ok, good. So, Tommy and I talked and decided before we went out and announced our feelings to the world we would try to go on a date. Unfortunately, I happened to be on this whole I want to be a normal kid kick at the time…" Blaine paused because he knew once he said this he could never take it back "…and I invited him to the Sadie Hawkins dance my school was having."
There was an audible gasp and then silence but Blaine was focused on one person…Rachel. He watched as she put the pieces together until "Brody is Tommy, isn't he?"
"Yes"
Awkwardness filled the room as one by one their friends made the Rachel/Brody/Blaine connection. Before any of them could make a comment, Sam jumped up "Ok, Chandler, dude, I don't know you but if you're like everyone else in this room you need to hear this. None of you have the right to judge anyone with what that person had to do for money. None of you have been homeless. None of you have had to skip a meal to make sure your little brother and sister had one. None of you have ever been pulled away from the only true friends you've ever had and watched the guilt on your parents' faces when they told you it had to happen."
"Do you think I'm proud of the fact that I was a teenage stripper? That maybe I joke about it so I don't have to think about what could have happened to me? That I don't get on my knees every night thankful that Finn and Rachel came to Kentucky and pulled me out of there? No, I'm not proud but can any of you say you are proud of everything you've done?"
It was not lost on any of the New Directions that Sam was staring at Finn when he said that last line.
"So, I know most of us heard things that were said after the Rachel/Brody break-up but as Rosa put it all of that is a whole lot of nunya business. It is between Rachel and Brody and if any of you decide to say something you'll have me to deal with and probably his big brother over there. I'm warning you now, Cam is one of the guys who would know where to hide your body."
"This would also be a good time to remind all of you that you chose to stay and signed confidentiality agreements." Blaine's comment was once again focused at Kurt but right then he really didn't care, he was so proud of Sam. The way he had taken charge reminded Blaine of the day the blonde went from friend to family.
Flashback: Day after Fight Club
"Blaine, are you sure you're ok?" Blaine's mom Pam asked as she watched him limp for the 4th time that afternoon.
"I'm just worried about what's going on at Dalton" Blaine told her, not understanding exactly what her question referred to. At least he acted like he didn't. "I hope Mr. Montgomery and the other members of the Board of Governors figure out how Hunter was able to get admitted to Dalton in the first place."
"That's not what I meant…" Pam was interrupted when the doorbell unexpectedly chimed. "Maybe that's someone with some information."
Blaine went to the door, trying not to limp, but it wasn't anyone from Dalton "Sam? What are you doing here?"
"Not the time, Dude" Sam said as he pushed his way in. He was about to say something about the fight the night before but then he noticed Blaine's mom. "Hi, Mrs. Anderson. Nice to see you again."
"Who's at the door?" Blaine's father, Charles asked as he came into the room from his office.
"Dad, you remember Sam? He's in the New Directions and was the one that went with me to Dalton to get the Nationals trophy back."
"Of course, Sam." Charles actually didn't remember the boy but his years in the business world had taught him how to pretend like he did. "What had you drive here all the way from Lima?"
"I came to tell Blaine to go back to Dalton."
"What!" the Andersons yelled in unison. Blaine grabbed Sam by the arms and walked him away from his parents. "What are you doing? I gave you my word that I would stay at McKinley."
"And I'm giving your word back and telling you to get your ass to Dalton. Blaine, you have been happier in the past two days being with your Dalton friends again and you know…" Sam leaned in and whispered "Fight Club" before continuing. "No offense, but you have been a sad and whiny lump of misery since your break up with Kurt. It's getting on my nerves. Go back to Dalton."
"It's not that simple." He couldn't say that one of the primary reasons he stayed at McKinley was Sugar. However, Sugar had given her blessing when he had decided to return to Dalton before Sam stopped him. She had even raved about her acting skills when she was able to look surprised as everyone else when Finn told them why Blaine wasn't in Glee that day.
Blaine's parents had stayed out of the conversation as long as they could "Boys, you want to tell us what this is about? I thought you changed your mind about going back to Dalton, Blaine." Charles (and Pam) were hopeful that this Sam could convince Blaine to change his mind yet again.
"Yeah, that was my fault" Sam admitted. "And since Blaine is being all honorable and keeping his word…blah, blah, blah, I brought some incentive to change his mind." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black piece of fabric.
"Is that my NightBird mask?" Blaine asked.
"Sure is. You left it in the truck after we rescued the trophy" Sam said before pulling out a lighter and sparking the flame. "Say you'll go back to Dalton or it goes up in smoke."
Pam and Charles tried to hold back their laughter while Blaine stared at Sam like he had lost his mind. "I do have other masks you know?"
"I thought you might say that." Sam put out the flame and gave the mask to Blaine. Then he pulled out a different piece of fabric.
"Hey! That's my favorite bow-tie. How did you get that?"
"Doesn't matter." Sam lit the flame again giving no sign that he would back down.
"Sweetheart, you should listen to him" Pam told Blaine with the straightest face she could muster. "I think he's serious."
Blaine saw the hope on his parents' faces and then turned to look at the face of the best friend he had had in a long time "Fine, I'll go back to Dalton." With that said he prepared himself to be the center of an Anderson sandwich, but that wasn't what happened…at least not for him. Sam on the other hand…
He was basically smushed as he was wrapped in Blaine's parents' undying love. Right then and there Blaine knew that Sam Evans would forever more be a part of the Anderson family.
End of Flashback
He was ready to go on to the next part of his story when Blaine was stopped by something that he should have seen coming…Kurt lost his fucking mind. "So, we're just supposed to accept what Brody…Tommy…whoever the hell he is did to Rachel? Boo-fucking-whoo, he got beat up so he became a prostitute?! And Blaine, don't think for a second that I didn't hear when that Rosa person said you knew about him for 8 months. He was the one you said you were with. Wasn't he? Well, you know what Blaine? I forgive you."
Rosa must have made her point because instead of everyone jumping in to confront Kurt they turned to Blaine. Most of them questioned his lack or emotion, but the Senior Warblers (who were also the Rules Council of the disbanded Dalton Fight Club) knew exactly what was going on with Blaine. He was in his head, getting ready for a fight. They were fairly sure he wasn't going to actually hit Kurt but…
*SLAP
No one had noticed that Sugar came back. In fact, several people had come running in when they heard Kurt besides Sugar…her father, Sebastian's father, Sam's father, the other members of Cam's protection crew (Daniel, Vincent, Ralphie) and of course, Rosa.
"Ya know boy, I always knew ya was a stupid prick but I didn't know ya was that stupid."
"How dare you…"
*SLAP
This time Ralphie came over and pulled Sugar away from Kurt.
"Listen up." Rosa took charge yet again knowing Blaine needed time to calm down. "I'm pleased as punch that Blainey has such good friends. But, as long as all these artsie-fartie school people think he's the guy in that Where's Waldo game and want to put him on that BoobTube every time one of them finds him singin' a song, there can't be any of ya'll's drama out there. If there's a problem that ya can't talk to Blainey 'bout, come to me. I'll be at Sebby's place with Miss Sierra and the Pumpkin'. If that won't work, ya'll go to Cam or Daniel. They'll be with Blainey and Sebby. Vincent will be here too, but I'm thinkin' he's about to be busy. Ya'll got that?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"See? I knew ya'd catch on. Your all good kids, but no matter what ya think, ya'll are still kids." She smiled at the group transforming into the grandmotherly figure Blaine and Sugar described her as and not the mini-dictator they met earlier. "Now, Sebby and Tana, ya'll gotta go meet Miss Sierra at Blainey's godmomma's place. Sammy, go say bye to your family before they head back home. Sugar get your bags. All the rest ya'll, I know ya got lots to do this week so go on and get ready for it. Finn, Rachel, don't go nowhere. Blainey and this idiot are finishin' this."
As much as everyone was dying to stay and watch Blaine and Kurt go at it, they knew better. On the way out, Santana stopped to talk to Chandler. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this. It seemed like a good idea last night."
"No" he sighed "I'm glad you did."
"You're in love with Hummel, aren't you?"
"I thought I was but now...?"
Chandler walked away but Santana didn't go to Sebastian when she saw Artie, Mike and Sam standing together. "What's going on?"
Sam, who was obviously unhappy (more like pissed) spoke for them "Artie got a text from Ryder. Mr. Schue saw the Stress Relief video from last night and has been calling the New Directions saying it proves I'm trying to sabotage our chances so the Warblers can win Nationals. We're meeting up at Mike's hotel in 3 hours."
Santana shook her head in disgust. She had a feeling something like this was going to happen "Give me four and I'll be there."
It took a little over 15 minutes for the exodus to complete. Except there was one straggler who started his good-byes with Rachel "You're much stronger than you think, Ray. You can do this" Sebastian told her.
She immediately fell into him and sighed when he wrapped his arms around her "When you say it I believe it. I know I've given you no reason to believe in me…"
"We'll talk soon. I promise." He had to lean down to kiss the top of her head (damn, was she short!) and the pulled away and walked over to Finn "I know you have no reason to listen to me but let her get it out. No matter how much it hurts to hear what she says."
"I will, man. Thanks."
Sebastian checked on Blaine, who still hadn't said a word and went on to Brody "I'm not going to pretend to know what's going on with you and the alternate universe of your life you have stepped into but I'm trusting you'll take care of Blaine. What you need to know is right now he is in what we call Wolverine mode. After the attack, your brother taught him how to fight and he was really good. He never lost but a few months ago he fucked up his hands."
"Are those the scars on his knuckles?" Brody asked.
He took a deep breath so the first thing he said wasn't How the fuck have you been close enough to B that you've seen his knuckles? Instead Sebastian said "Yes, and he had to make a choice…music or fighting. I have no doubt that Hummel is about to get the verbal beatdown of his life but you can't let Blaine hit him, especially with his Julliard concert 5 days away."
"I promise I won't let him punch Hummel…no matter how much he begs me to let him do it."
Contemplating his own parallel universe where he was willingly leaving Blaine with both Tommy, the guy who professed his love for him only a week ago, and Kurt who had clearly gone off the deep end was too much of a headache. But, he trusted his boyfriend and in this case Wolverine to do what was best for Blaine…and Seblaine.
Sebastian didn't say good-bye to Blaine. He just stood next to him for a moment, staring at Kurt before saying he would call later. Now the only ones that remained were Blaine, Brody, Rachel, Finn and Kurt.
And none of them were leaving until this was settled once and for all.
TBC
Notes:
It was my anniversary chapter. I had to leave it with a cliff hanger. I'll be back in two weeks. *Evil writer laugh (At least I kind of hope you think I'm evil).
The Trent/Sebastian flashback is from Chapter 3 Wolverine. The Blam flashback would have taken place toward the end of the same chapter. I always meant to put the Blam flashback in to explain why the Andersons would do so much for Sam but it had never fit until now.
Even though only a few characters were addressed in the chapter, I felt it best to include "everyone" so that any case of "well so-and-so" not knowing wouldn't be a factor. Plus, those confidentiality statements will come into play.
The majority of characters must accept that the rest of Brody's story is "nunya business" but you will find out eventually.
As always, I would love to here from you. It doesn't matter if you've been with me this whole time or are new to the party. I just appreciate all of you more than you will ever know.