Chapter 20

"Hi, Mom."

Brooklynn had decided to call her daughter to check in, especially after receiving an interesting phone call from Trish regarding Seth. "Hi, sweetheart! How's it going?! The house isn't burned down, is it?" Brooklynn didn't sound worried at all, too busy enjoying a cocktail on the beach with her husband. "Daddy says hi and he loves you!"

Claira chuckled softly, glad to hear the happiness in her mother's voice and leaned back against the couch. Trish had called her, without telling her she'd contacted her mother and informed her what was going on with Seth. She encouraged her to ask her parents about letting him come along for the Spring Break trip and admitted to talking to Seth's mother about the boy.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. It's about Spring Break. I know we're going to D.C. and Tennessee, and I'm fine with it, but…I was wondering if we could bring someone else with us."

"Like who?"

"Seth. He's going to be REALLY bored because his Mom isn't doing anything with him this year and…I don't want to be away from him for an entire week." Claira decided honesty was the best policy. "Please, Mom? We'll be on our best behavior and this could be a chance for you guys to get to know him better."

Brooklynn wasn't expecting this and looked at Mark, wondering how he would feel about this. "Ask your father." Then she passed the phone over to him. "It's Claira and she has something she wants to ask you."

Mark listened to his daughter and snorted. "Not happening. We haven't seen some of these people in years, lil darlin' and adding an extra person at the last minute ain't happening."

Damn right it wasn't. Inviting a boyfriend… what the hell was wrong with Them and Their wife? They encouraged their daughter to be a slut? Of course, he had been the same way too, but that was neither here nor there.

"Daddy…" Claira had been expecting that. "Please, don't say that. Can't you at least think about it? Talk it over with Mom?"

"Do I have too?"

"Pleeeeaassseeeeee…. you can't see it, but my eyes are really, really big and my lower lip is trembling."

He could imagine it in his head though and began laughing. "Your Mom and I will talk about it okay? No promises."

"Thanks, Daddy!"

When Mark handed the phone back to her, Brooklynn promised to call her back either tonight or tomorrow, both exchanging love before hanging up. "Is it really so bad she wants to bring her boyfriend along for the trip? He could keep her company because you know she's going to be bored otherwise. Trish made a good point when she called me earlier and the poor thing has nothing going on for Spring Break. His mother is…struggling with depression, I guess. I think we should bring him with us and get to know him a little better since Claira obviously cares for him." That had been another good point since they didn't spend a great deal of time with Seth. This could show them exactly what kind of human being he was and what his intentions with their daughter were.

"Darlin', I said no." Mark said flatly, glancing over at her and cocked an eyebrow when he realized Brooklynn actually wanted to take Seth with them. "Look, I'm not saying he's a bad kid because he's not, but he's a boy and…" Boys and girls, not happening, not his girl. When she asked if that was his only objection, he already knew he had lost this battle. "…yes." You fucking pussy. "But only if I can have a heart to heart with him first, and also… how are we supposed to hide all the freaky shit around him?" Mark did perk however, he could sick Steve on Seth and he'd know if the kid was up to anything questionable.

"You do realize our daughter is 16, right? What were you like at that age? I'm sure you fooled around and had fun with girls." Brooklynn smirked, folding her arms in front of her chest at his grumble and arched a slow brow. "Knowing them, they probably have already had sex and you have to accept that." She wasn't 100% sure Claira wasn't a virgin anymore, but wouldn't put money on it either. "Claira is a smart girl, she knows what she's doing, and you've already had the sit-down chat with Seth. There's no reason for you to interrogate him all over again like the first, second and third time. If it's no, it's no, but you're the one who's telling Claira…and Trish." Hell, she wouldn't be surprised if Trish and Steve took Seth along, if they didn't agree to this.

"Why the hell would I have to tell Trish anything?" Mark asked curiously, wondering where she came into play in their parenting decisions. He listened as Brooklynn explained to him what she had heard from Trish and groaned. "Your call. I already know how it plays out when women buddy up."

They became man-eating bitches and the men became whipped pussies. That's what happened. Not that HE was going to let his idiot other half hear that thought.

"No, I'm not making this call and I'm not going to gang up on you either. I'm just telling you what Trish told me earlier when she called." Brooklynn swung one leg over his lap to straddle him, her mouth finding his in a searing kiss. "She's our daughter, not just mine and not just yours. If you truly feel it's not a good idea to bring Seth with us, then we won't. I'm not gonna fight you on it." She rested her forehead against his, caressing his bare chest and shoulders, nipping his bottom lip. "We make this decision together and I support whatever your choice is." Claira would simply have to get over her father denying the request. "But I do have a question – why do you think it's a bad idea to bring Seth along when they'll be watched by at least 20 adults, not to mention other kids and teenagers?"

Mark gave her a look. "Darlin', given how long it's been since ALL of us have been together, do you really think anyone is going to pay a stray any extra attention?" No, they wouldn't; they'd all be busy trying to catch up and just enjoy being with people 'like' them. "And… honestly, I'm curious about how it would work. Eventually, he'd notice something is off about us, what then?" Claira would have a broken heart when her boyfriend ran screaming for the hills.

That was a good point. The magic factor was huge since every member of their circle had some kind of power. "Well, what makes you think Claira hasn't told him about her powers? They spend a lot of time together and she claims she loves him…it wouldn't surprise me if she's already spilled the fact she has powers as well as you." That was an unsettling look on Mark's face and Brooklynn sighed softly, sliding her fingers through his wet hair since they'd just taken a dip in the ocean not long ago. "And if they end up staying together, eventually, if she hasn't told him about them now, he'll find out one way or another. I understand your trepidation with the magic, so…why don't we sit down with Seth before we leave, like you wanted, and come clean to him about it? Lay all the cards out on the table, just so he understands what's in store and what to expect? If he runs away screaming, we'll be there to pick up the pieces of Claira, but something tells me he won't."

She really has gotten stupid over the years. People weren't accepting of 'freaks' back then and he very much doubted that had changed. History told him so. Not to mention, from all these memories he had to assimilate and scavenge, Claira wanted to be 'normal'.

She hasn't said a single word to him. "Darlin', Claira has made it very, very clear she wants to be a normal girl." Mark said gently, shaking his head. "She hasn't told him, she'd be too afraid he'd think she was crazy. And we're not telling him either." One, not everything was their secret to tell and two, he made it a habit to keep their gifts secret for safety reasons.

"Well then, the answer is no, and we'll leave it at that. You can tell Claira tomorrow when I call to check in." Brooklynn snuggled against him, burying her face in his neck and had a feeling they were about to go to war with their daughter over this.

Sure enough, the following day, Claira had been the one to call, eager for an answer and Brooklynn immediately handed Mark the phone. This was not her call and if he truly felt it wasn't a good idea not to bring Seth, she supported him. That didn't mean she wouldn't force him to break the news to their daughter, though. Even if she didn't mind Seth coming with them, she understood why Mark was against it and he would have to be the one to tell their daughter no. Mark had no problem telling Claira and he very calmly laid out all the reasons why he was saying it. He was a bit concerned, however, when Claira was very accepting of the situation and frowned when he was off the phone, eyeballing Brooklynn.

"She took that a bit too well…"

"Don't look at me, I have no idea what's going on in her head. Maybe she does agree with you. Maybe…oh wait, hold on." She had taken the phone when he handed it back to her and saw it was Trish on the caller ID, knowing this couldn't be a coincidence. "What did you do, Stratus?"

"Oh please! Like I wouldn't jump in and save the day? I knew Mark was going to be stubborn about this like always, so I decided to help the kid out. He'll be coming as our guest, mine and Steve's. And Steve has read his mind already and, besides some naughty thoughts about Claira, which is normal for a horny teenager, he's perfectly fine and safe."

"Trish…" Brooklynn groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Seth doesn't know any of us have powers and Mark doesn't think it's a good idea to bring him around a bunch of supernatural people…he has a point."

"Yeah well, he'll probably be so busy with Claira, he won't notice what's going on anyway." Trish wouldn't be deterred from this and had heard the same warnings from Steve. "It'll be fine, let the kids have fun while we have fun and celebrate your marriage!"

"Christ…"

Trish fucking Stratus was still kicking around, bossing people, and ruining his life. He waited for Mark to speak up and inform Brooklynn that Trish had overstepped, but Mark seemed… resigned and amused.

You sad, pathetic sack of wasted potential. What exactly was going on in his head today? Probably conflicted feelings about this whole Seth thing and Mark did want to throttle Trish, kind of violently actually. "Why am I not surprised? She doesn't like to let us act like we know what we're doing, does she?"

"Hey, if she and Steve want to take the responsibility for him, that's on them, not on us. You got what you wanted, he's not coming with US, but…Trish found a loophole and there's nothing we can really do about it." Brooklynn shrugged, not caring one way or another and called Claira to give her the news, to which her daughter began screaming with joy.

"OH MY GOD, I LOVE AUNT TRISH! SHE'S SO AMAZING AND SO IS UNCLE STEVE! TELL THEM BOTH THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'M CALLING SETH NOW! LOVE YOU, MOM!"

"Jesus, I think she just blew my eardrum out."

Rolling his eyes, Mark slid his sunglasses back down onto his nose, reached for his tanning oil. He had finally achieved the ability to bake without burning after all these years and slathered himself down, while pretending to not listen to his wife and daughter's phone conversation that was insanely loud. Mark had been overruled and he had a feeling Brooklynn had known it was coming, which would also explain why she had been so chilled about his decision. Women were sneaky.

"She had no idea Trish would do something like that. Hell, I'm shocked Steve agreed to it."

Then again, Steve was a pushover when it came to his brunette/blonde bombshell. That man would move heaven and earth for Trish, some things truly never changed. Mark was overruled, but not by her. She meant what she said and stuck by his side, a little floored Trish had taken the reigns with this situation. If he was mad at her, that was on him, but Brooklynn was innocent and didn't know Trish would take responsibility for Seth. Grabbing the lotion, she lathered herself up as well and laid on her stomach to soak in some much-needed vitamin D. They were leaving in the morning, unfortunately.

Trish had put his ass in a pickle with this one. Steve knew damn well Mark would say no to this asinine idea. When his wife had told him what was going to happen, how this would play out, Steve knew Mark was going to be a little bitchy. Mark didn't get it, though now that he was married, maybe he would. Women just kind of ruled over everyone and everything.

"You know I'm gonna deck him and potentially turn Trish's hair gray for this, right?" Mark asked with a grin, no real malice in his tone.

"Oh, I'm sure they're prepared for any backlash you have planned for them."

Trish and Steve weren't stupid and wouldn't have done this if they hadn't thought it through. Trish could be a little naïve at times, but Steve was smart and…his power had driven Mark crazy a time or two. Mindreading along with the power to plant images in someone's mind was evil, if not used correctly.

"And I bet they don't give a damn either, handsome. You're just not as intimidating as you used to be since you've settled down with me and had Claira."

There were ways around the mental thing, as he had proven time and time again. Keeping Steve out wasn't a problem, he was a Warlock. If an external force was prodding at his mind, Mark felt it and usually retaliated with something guaranteed to screw Steve up and push him out. Last time had been a little thought or three about Trish and Brooklynn doing some very XXX-rated things together. Steve hadn't been amused.

"I can fix that," He teased, reaching out to run his fingers along her bare arm, arching an eyebrow. "I can be evil if the situation calls for it." And this one did.

She smiled back at him, seeing the amusement in his eyes and could tell this didn't bother him nearly as much as he let on. "Good luck with that. Let me know how that works out for you." She winked at him, shades of her own over her eyes and leaned over to softly brush her lips against his. "I don't want to leave tomorrow. It's been so nice here, just the two of us."

Why did their honeymoon have to be so damn short? Even though she missed Claira, a few more days in Mexico wouldn't have killed them. However, at the same time, they had to prepare for their trip to D.C. in a few days, as well as try to get some more of the kitchen done.