March 25, 2019

Hello! First off, wow! I'm so thankful and so surprised by the reaction to the last chapter, and sat down straight away to write up the next several chapters.

So, as I mentioned before, I'm going to try to work in pieces of the show that could drive this AU forward, and I'm going to alter or ignore the things that don't. So I am going to try and work in new characters if they show up, for example. (Yes, get hyped if you're up to date with the show. You know who I mean!) Thus, I'm changing my plans a little to add a new subplot, and am pretty excited about it. Hope you enjoy!

The guests had almost all left by the time Sam managed to feel like he could take a break. Steven had been stressed out all night, which meant Sam was as well. There was a lot he still didn't know about Steven's time away, and though he wasn't going to push anything, it was killing him that he didn't understand all of the things that were hurting his husband. They didn't feel close anymore, and considering the divorce papers that Steven swore later on didn't mean anything, Sam wasn't sure what to think. It scared him, mostly.

But as he left the kitchen, thanking Anders over his shoulder, he heard it. Across from where Sam came to a stop in what was usually the dining room, and on the other side of the living area, he saw Steven seated at the piano, playing a soft tune. Sitting beside him, their masks off, Fallon hummed along. Each of her notes was clearly supposed to represent a word from whatever they were playing. Sam didn't recognize it, but he approached anyway, pulling up a chair nearby.

Steven kept playing but Fallon turned her head to look at Sam, smiling a little sadly. They were both glad he was back, but it didn't feel like they really had him back. Not any way besides physically. They were happy to give him the time he needed, though. Of course they were.

A call of Fallon's name had them all looking behind them and towards the rapid footsteps bounding down the stairs, then into the room. Kirby was there, looking anxious. "I need your help," she claimed.

"Are you okay?" Steven asked, shifting on the piano bench to face his other half-sister a little more fully. As Kirby looked at Fallon, and as Fallon stood up to help her, Steven almost felt happy with their strange family dynamic. The two women were sort of getting along now, which was a mercy regardless of why it had happened.

"It's- girl stuff," Kirby told them, scrunching up her face dramatically. Sam held his hands up in distaste and a quick laugh escaped before she grabbed Fallon's arm. "Sorry. Have a good time, uh, playing or whatever."

Kirby started leading Fallon away, but once they were out of sight, Fallon pulled her hand back and frowned at her. "Unnecessary," she chided, shaking her hand as though Kirby's grip had been painful or unpleasant.

"It's important. You need to get changed so we can go," Kirby explained as she led Fallon upstairs and towards her bedroom.

"Go?"

Confused, Kirby tilted her head. "I got the location, I think. She's been there for over an hour, now."

Fallon almost had to laugh at how eager Kirby was, but a bit of the amusement also came from how much danger they would be in if they actually went to the location in question right away. "Well, we can tell him we found something, but we shouldn't go until we think she might be elsewhere, right? If she has some kind of... guard, or team, then that's far too risky."

"So when are we doing this?"

"I don't think we should, until we know what the location entails or at least until we have some sort of protection."

They stopped outside Fallon's door, but Kirby's confusion only seemed to grow. "What kind of protection?" Her voice dropped a little. "Like, a gun? We have those downstairs."

"Well, if anyone knows how to handle one of those, it's probably just me. And I already have one. So that's covered. But we should check the place out, at least." Fallon crossed her arms, thinking it over. "If someone saw us, or if she has cameras, she'd know it's me after tonight. Who could we get to go stake the place out?"

"... My dad would probably do it," Kirby pointed out. "If he knows it's to protect the family, he'd do it."

"What would I do?"

The two women turned, only half surprised to see Anders coming down the hallway towards them, removing a pair of cleaning gloves as he walked.

The next day, Fallon and Kirby went to lunch at a cafe on the Northeast end of downtown Atlanta, treating it like a casual brunch between two friends. But unlike a usual brunch, Fallon wasn't sipping away at mimosas or half-sarcastically contemplating taking a selfie before ruining her lipstick. Instead, both of them were eyeing their phones on and off, unusually quiet even for the two of them.

As soon as a call or text came in from Anders, they would know what they were up against.

Kirby was getting a little bored and impatient, though, so she leaned back in her chair, eyeing Fallon curiously. "So, are you going to tell me what happened after I left you two outside last night, or no?"

The sharp gaze that landed on Kirby was, admittedly, intimidating.

"I guess that's a no," she muttered, frowning. "I'm just trying to be a friend, Fallon."

The brunette sighed, surprising Kirby further when she nodded. "Yeah, I know. But, honestly, I'm not sure what happened." When her friend sat forward, Fallon lifted her eyes skyward and tried to figure out how to explain. "He was... nice, for starters."

"Of course he was! It's Liam."

"I'm aware, thanks. But I don't like how well he can read me."

Kirby shook her head. "Yes you do. It isn't the same, but think about me and Sam. We get each other, and for a while, I didn't have that at all. I made sure I wouldn't. And now you've got someone who wants to know you better than anyone, even if you're not expecting him to."

"Except when he did finally get to know me," Fallon countered, "he decided I was too much, just like everybody else."

Catching herself, Fallon held up a hand to cut off the beginnings of Kirby's reaction. She pushed her chair back and reached for her phone.

"Fallon-"

"I need to take a walk."

"In those heels? C'mon, don't go. Just hear me out. Please."

It took a moment of inner conflict, but Fallon tried to play off the way she scooted her chair back in as just adjusting her skirt. "What, then?" She asked.

"Whatever happened at the ski lodge, which – yes, I do take partial credit for," she added quickly at Fallon's frown. "You just have to remember that you're the one that told him no. He wanted you to go with him before that and you chose not to. So can you blame him for defending himself? I've seen you do the same sort of thing quite often."

"He told me he was happy the way he was. With Ashley. And maybe it was a lie or maybe it wasn't, but I promised myself I'd leave him alone. But then he comes over to offer me a job because of Culhane, and he's saying how he needs my help, and then the dancing.." Fallon reached a hand up to rub at her temple, an early headache coming on.

"Back up," Kirby requested, looking just as confused. "Why would he say those things, or dance with you – you should have told me about that, by the way – if he's happy with her."

A moment of silence fell between them, making Kirby wonder if she'd missed something huge or if Fallon and Liam were just both a little too crazy to ever understand. But then Fallon spoke up again, explaining, "He broke up with her after the bar fight."

The redhead flew forward in her seat, amazed and leaning over the table to stare at Fallon. "What?! When did you find out? Girl, why don't you tell me any of the interesting things?!"

"He told me last night. But he didn't want to talk about it."

It took a moment for Fallon to even register the grin that was growing across Kirby's face, but when she did, she was almost ready to leave again. It wasn't like that was exceptionally great news, considering everything else. Then Kirby started laughing. Laughing! Fallon couldn't believe it.

"Oh, Fallon," Kirby said between her chuckles. "He didn't want to talk about it, and then said he needed you, and danced with you. And you're clearly worked up about it. Don't lose hope. Maybe he just wants to move past the drama! I can't blame him. Just continue to be what he needs, alright? It'll be fine."

Kirby looked down, picking up her phone when it buzzed. They both expected it to be information from Anders, but Kirby's face fell instead.

"What?"

"He said there's nothing there. Nobody. Just the tracker."

"She found it," Fallon mused, trying very hard not to go all I-told-you-so on her. "Let Liam know, then."

"Well, Dad said he would've looked longer but he got some weird news from Blake and had to go back to the manor. Sounds important."

Sighing heavily, Fallon gathered her phone, dropped down money for the bill – with almost too much of a tip on top of that – and they set off.

The front door opened, upon Kirby and Fallon's return, to a confusing sight. Nothing seemed to be wrong besides the fact that everyone else – Anders, Blake, Cristal, Steven, Sam and even Alexis – had gathered in the chairs that had been returned to the living room since the night before.

"What's going on?" Kirby asked quietly as they approached, taking Fallon's lack of response as a sign that they were probably better off just heading over to see what the story was.

When they joined the others, Fallon stopped short in shock. They were all facing someone she hadn't been able to see from farther away, with the dividing table and towering plant blocking their view. Kirby looked to Fallon in question, but Fallon had already recovered, casually striding forward to stand opposite the intruder.

"Fallon," Alexis began, her voice almost shaking with nerves and seeming-excitement. "We've found someone who thinks they know what happened to Hank."

"He left," Fallon countered. "I can't blame him." Her disapproving gaze landed heavily on Ada, though she tried to keep back her ire. "Most of us have considered it at some point or another, haven't we?"

Ada's smile was sympathetic, and almost sweet. Fallon hated it. "I understand the confusion, of course. I would never have known your family needed help were it not for a member of your staff."

"Really? Which one?"

Fallon offered a fake smile of her own after asking, annoyed when Blake held up a hand to quiet her. "Enough," he said firmly. "We have proof, now, that Hank has stolen from us. He isn't who we thought he was."

It was impossible to keep from rolling her eyes. "Of course he isn't Adam. Sure, we all wanted to believe he was, or that Adam's even still out there, but we all dove into his story far too quickly." She waved a hand at Ada, though. "Why are we listening to anything this woman has to say? Who are you?"

"I do some PI work, but when I'm not looking into a particular investigation, I prefer to assist with legal, family matters."

"Of course you do."

Ada sat forward a bit, directing her gaze back and forth between Blake and Alexis, trying to make sure she held their attention more than Fallon could. "There is something more, which I'd hoped to tell all of you at once. So this seems like the perfect opportunity. You see, I was actually a guest of one of your party invitees, last night. As I was leaving, a young man stopped our car, claiming he had been turned away despite being a Carrington himself."

Fallon scoffed, dropping into a seat on the couch next to Steven and Sam. But Ada wasn't finished.

"I haven't had much time to look into it just yet, and equally, I was not sure that you would want me to. I could not get him into the party, particularly when a claim like that could be so unfounded-"

"-Thank you," Blake said, nodding as he took Cristal's hand protectively.

Cristal looked down at her lap, agreeing. "We have had a lot going on lately, so it is better to be safe than sorry, it seems."

"Yes," Ada said with an empathetic frown. "I did hear about that. I'm very sorry." No one seemed able to reply, so she pushed ahead. "I mainly came to ask if you would like to meet the man I met. He may be wrong, of course, but there is a chance, isn't there? We wouldn't have to do it here," she added, upon glancing over and noticing the general distaste at the idea. "It could just be you two," Ada gestured to Blake and Alexis.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Alexis replied warily, sitting a little further back in her chair like she could sink into it for safety. "Besides, the DNA results were clear. Hank is our son. This man couldn't be Adam."

"It's possible to fake those," Ada pointed out. "But if you don't want to know him, I can tell him to return home to Montana."

"No," Blake replied quickly. "I'll meet him. If he came from that far, he's either crazy or genuine. It's best to find out which one is true before anything has a chance to get out of hand."

Ada stood, handing Blake her business card. "I will get in touch with him and we can arrange a time to meet when it is convenient for you."

Standing in her father's office, her foot tapping away, Fallon and her fury were impossible to miss. But Blake was doing a very good job of ignoring her, even after nearly an hour of her trying to convince him that Ada wasn't trustworthy. There wasn't a lot she could say, though, without telling him what had happened with Max. With the blackmail, with Michael. Even with Jeff. There was too much to cover, and too much at stake – and not just for her. If Blake knew, there would be no end to his frustration, not only with them but with the Van Kirks as well.

Okay, so maybe part of her reluctance had to do with protecting Liam, too. But she was trying to do what she thought she had to, so she definitely felt like she deserved a little credit on that front.

Apparently, however, Blake had reached his boiling point. He stood up behind his desk, slamming his hands on the top of it hard enough to make Fallon jump, her arms uncrossing and falling to her sides. "Enough! I have been through more than enough lately, what with you, Sam and Steven taking time for yourselves in Paris, leaving me to deal with your mother as well as to support Cristal on my own. We need a good turn around here. Even Steven is a mess, still, though at this point I'm not surprised. When this kid turns out to be Adam – or even if he doesn't – I expect you to be completely supportive."

"I'll be the first to break out the champagne, I promise," she drawled.

"You better be."

"Why don't I come with you to meet him?"

"Absolutely not. You will not ruin this for me."

She was almost taken aback. Almost. "I wouldn't-"

"-Drop it, Fallon."

His tone made it clear: he was dismissing her. Fallon, still bristling, stormed out, pulling her phone from her pocket. She very nearly dialed Liam straight away, but then remembered that she'd assured him Kirby would be the one to reach out if something came up. This counted as 'something,' didn't it?

But when she located Kirby and the call was placed, he asked to speak to her anyway. That came after several confused-sounding responses from the redhead, though, so Fallon was cautious as she took the phone to answer it with a nonchalant, "Yes?"

"Maybe this is a good thing in disguise," he said first.

"Excuse me? You think that letting her get close to my father is good? How?"

"If she keeps coming by the house, there will be more opportunities for us to follow her."

Fallon knew he had a point, but, "The tracker didn't work. She found it and left it to throw us off."

"I know," Liam agreed. "But there are only two reasons she'd be doing this. To get someone into the house, on the inside and able to mess with your family further – or to distract us from what's happening at CA. We have to get ahead of her, right?"

"Cover all of our bases," she nodded, even though he couldn't see it. "Fine. But what happens if it comes back that this guy really is Adam? It wouldn't matter how much he did to us, Dad would never believe anything bad of them. He's been through so much-"

"You keep saying that, but I have no idea what you mean."

Fallon sighed, stepping away from Kirby for some semblance of privacy, even though she didn't really have any. "Cristal got pregnant, but her ex thought there was a chance the baby could be his. Only, someone showed up and shot her ex-husband, and Cristal fell off of the horse she was riding at the time. They- they lost the baby. And after losing Adam-"

"He didn't take it well," Liam mused. "I'm sorry to hear that. A shooter, though?"

"Dad said he found out who it was, but didn't want to share. Oddly, I almost didn't even question it after everything else that's happened."

She heard Liam's sigh, one that matched exactly how she felt about it. "Look, I'll talk to the security team at CA to make sure Ada can't get access to the building, but if she comes in with a disguise, there's no guarantees. I'm sure she knows by now that you're across the hall from Michael, so hopefully that would deter her somewhat."

"Why can we never get a leg up on this woman?" Fallon complained, exasperated. Looking over at Kirby, she saw that she wasn't the only frustrated one. Kirby looked like she was practically ready to stand guard outside CA herself, considering the aggression on her face. Fallon still didn't understand Kirby's desire to be so protective, but perhaps finding a family after so long could do that to a person. It was just a shame she'd found the Carringtons instead of a more normal one.

"We'll figure this out, okay?" Liam replied, sounding far more confident than Fallon thought any of them had the right to be. "You always figure out everything else, and you're not alone this time," he assured her. "This time-"

"-We have Jeff," she gasped, turning fully around to face Kirby, eyes wide with her realization.

"What?" Both Liam and Kirby asked.

"Liam, we have to go. Remember Monica's club?" When he confirmed that he did, she felt a grin break out across her face. "Meet us there as soon as you can. We'll head over now."