I had started writing this chapter right after finishing the last one but things got crazy. Except for adding some small detail most of this was written before the last week's episodes ran so any similarities in the writing is purely a coincidence. Maybe you guys will notice what I am talking about. I noticed it when I was editing.
My husband had the bright idea we would give up internet at home for Lent. I will just say that trying to do anything without internet is difficult. I am hoping to be able to post this chapter soon since it was mostly written last weekend (March 4th)
It doesn't always work out going somewhere with free WiFi especially when I have to take my very hyperactive 8 year old.
Chapter 6
Aaron had always been a planner. He planned everything out after he had made a decision to do something. Every little detail had to be mapped out before he moved forward with his plans. He just had no idea what to plan now.
Basically his whole life was a lie. His adoptive parents bought him from his mother's crazy cousin.
Did that erase all the good they had brought to his life. His new found twin, Jason, didn't believe it did.
When he thought of the events in Jason's life, he should consider himself lucky. His childhood and adulthood had been relatively uneventful. It had been full of happiness and love. Also, his family life had been easy. His wife and his kids were healthy and happy. The kids were easy going. He was proud of all three of them.
He knew Jason was proud of his family as well but they had all went through kidnappings and faked deaths. It was unheard of in his circle of family, friends and work associates.
Not very many of them knew he was adopted. He didn't know how he was going to explain how he gained a brother overnight. He really didn't have to worry to much about that though since they had sold the practice late last year. After the accident they had both been ready to move away and start over somewhere else.
He just didn't think he was ready to pack up his life and family and move to Port Charles anymore. His family still needed a change of scenery but he wasn't sure Port Charles was a fit anymore.
He liked everyone he had met so far but he also knew that many bad and unpredictable events had happened there and were likely to continue happening there. He just didn't think he should risk his family by putting them in the middle of it.
He knew that life was sometimes unpredictable and things happened but it seemed to increase in Port Charles.
He didn't notice at first that the car he had hired to bring him home had turned into the well manicured neighborhood where his family lived. He had been so lost in thoughts of the events of the last couple days.
The kids were out of school for spring break and he hadn't wanted Alex to have to get the three of them out to pick him up from the airport. As the car pulled into the driveway of the two story, four bedroom house he felt like he had been gone longer than just a few days. He almost didn't feel like himself.
He hesitated at the solid wood front door with his suitcase in hand. They should be having lunch by now. He had never had such conflicting feelings before. He had missed his wife and children but he still felt out of place in his own life.
He quietly let himself in and placed his suitcase down in the foyer and made his way to the kitchen. He stood in the door of the kitchen watching his wife and children sitting around the island bar that was in the center of the room eating sandwiches. They were discussing plans to go to the park after lunch.
William suddenly noticed him in the doorway and shouted, "Daddy! Your back! Yea!"
He jumped down from his chair and ran and hugged Aaron. The other two ran after him and threw themselves at their father. The force of the children almost knocked Aaron down. They were all talking at once and he couldn't understand what any of them were saying.
"Now children," Their mother admonished. "Calm down. You will all get a chance to catch up with Daddy. You need to give him some room."
Aaron reached down and picked up their youngest, three year old Gracie, and hugged her tightly. So tightly that she was pulling away from him. He loosened his grip on her and looked at her with a smile. Of the three children Gracie looked the most like Alex. They had the same wavy brown hair and brown eyes. She was probably going to be short like Alex as well.
"I missed all of you too." Aaron told them. He looked down at Rose, their middle child. She was such an even mix of the two of them with wavy brown hair and blue eyes. He reached out and rubbed William on the head and messed up his short blonde hair. William pulled away from him with a laugh that made his blue eyes sparkle.
"Why don't you guys finish your lunch while I unpack."
"Do you want me to make you something to eat." Alex asked with worry in her voice and in her eyes as she looked at her husband. She knew he hadn't told her everything that had happened during his trip but learning he had a twin brother was enough to throw someone for a loop.
"I had something on the plane." He bent down to give her a quick kiss. "I'll be back down after I get my stuff put away."
He gave her a quick hug, "Don't worry about what happened. We will talk about it later. I want to concentrate on you and the kids for now."
She watched him leave the kitchen. She was still worried but she would follow his lead and put it aside until he was ready to talk about what happened.
He didn't do anything different than he had done numerous times after getting back from a medical conference or any other trip. He put his dirty clothes in the hamper, hung any clean clothes in his closet and put his toiletries away. It just all felt different.
He knew he had to get used to his new reality he just wasn't sure where to start.
He made the decision for the rest of the day he was just going to enjoy his wife and children and not think about it until the next day.
He actually waited until the kids were back in school the following week before he discussed anymore of what happened with Alex. He knew he had made the right decision to focus on his family.
They had much to discuss but the past few days grounded him into what was important. He was still a husband and father and wanted to do what was best for his family. The reasons for their wanting to move were still there but they needed to look at other options.
They really could go anywhere. But he had really wanted to work at General Hospital because of the level of care they provided even if the patient didn't have insurance and couldn't afford to pay. He had really wanted to be a part of that even though there were other hospitals in the country that provided those services but just not the same level he knew he would be able to provide at General Hospital.
He heard Alex getting back from taking the kids to school and knew it was time to tell her about Jason and the Quartermaine's.
She walked into the living room and found him staring at a family photo. It was one that was taken last year before both of their parents had died in the same car wreck.
Their parents had been best friends and they had grown up together for the most part. They had went through various stages of relationships. When they had been children they had been inseparable. Her being a tomboy had helped when he had come up with one scheme or another that usually got the two of them in trouble.
Then when the awkward phase of life happened they had drifted apart for awhile. It had been on both of them. They had lost the comfort zone for a few years.
They didn't reconnect until after he had gotten back from his first year in college. She had been working in the office of his parent's practice. She knew it was their parents way of keeping her out of trouble but she had grown to love it and find a place she could help people.
They had reconnected over their love of helping others.
"What are you thinking about?" Aaron asked her from the couch.
"Our life." She answered him. She didn't realize she had been standing in the doorway for so long. She walked to him and bent down and kissed him in greeting.
"Everything alright with the kids?" He asked her with concern.
"The kids are fine." She reassured him. "But not sure about you though."
He took a deep breath and sighed. He pulled her down beside him and wrapped his arms around her.
"I have just been reflecting on how idealistic our life has been." He confessed as he held her tightly. "Until the accident neither one of us has known loss really. Not like Jason and his family have. Most of what happened to them happened because of some feud that started before either of them had been born."
"I will confess that I have been reading up on them." She admitted sadly. "It is horrible that things that happened so long ago has had such a negative effect on their lives now."
"I have to ask though." She said hesitantly. "Is all the hit man references true? I'm not sure I want someone like that around our kids. I know he has kids of his own now but still."
"Honey, he was never actually a hit man." Aaron told her. "He did go after others that were a threat to his family and the business he and his partner have built up for over twenty years. A majority of the time it was considered self defense."
"Self defense!" She scoffed. "Have you already bonded so much with him that you will believe whatever he tells you."
"I think you need to slow down." Aaron said to her. He was surprised by her reaction to his brother. "Jason and I had a long conversation when he drove me to the airport the day I came home. The ball is in my court if I want them to be a part of our family or not. He is not going to force himself on our family. I am more worried about the Quartermaine's."
"I did some reading up on them as well." Alex admitted, even though he shouldn't be surprised they both enjoyed research and reading about real people and events. "Why are you worried about them? I would think they wouldn't want to take the chance you might want to lay claim to a part of ELQ."
Aaron just looked at her in surprise. Not that he should be. She had always possessed a shrewd business mind. That is why she ran the medical office when they had still owned it.
"As a matter of fact," he told her. "That was brought up as a possibility and how it could have a negative effect on Michael. He is our nephew by the way and the CEO. They are going to look into if I would have a claim and it is up to me if I want to claim it for myself and the kids."
"Is that something your interested in doing?" Alex asked him.
"I don't know yet." He sighed. "I don't have any interest in the business side of things; however, the family did just purchase the hospital. It is something I wouldn't mind being involved with. I didn't bring this up with Monica though."
"We have a lot to discuss before we make any final decisions about were we go from here. We have a couple of month before the kids are out of school plus the summer before we need to really make a final decision about where we go from here."
"I think that this morning we should take advantage of having some alone time while the kids are in school." Aaron said to her suggestively moving his eyebrows up and down.
"I agree, Mr. Davidson." Alex said as she stood up pulling him with her. They raced each other up the stairs to their bedroom.
Several hours later, Aaron was reaching in the top of the closet in their bedroom and pulled down a shoe box. He had placed it there after their parents had died. he hadn't been in a hurry to deal with going through their things.
Alex had handled having both houses packed up with personal belonging put in storage until they were ready to go through it. They had went ahead and sold both of the houses and the contents.
Even though they had both been going through the loss of both sets of parents, Alex had stepped up and handled everything. It was no surprise to him though because she was the stronger one in their relationship. He didn't ever see that changing.
He sat on the bed before pulling the lid off the box. It was an old box that his mother had kept important papers. He had found it in a safe in his father's office. He knew a copy of their will was in there along with other envelopes he hadn't gone through yet.
After finding out the circumstances of his birth and the illegal adoption made him hesitate to go through the papers. He was afraid what else he might find in his parents things.
He sat aside the envelope that contained the will. It contained no surprises. Except for money set up in trust funds for each of the children, the remainder of the estate went to him and Alex. He had already taken over his father's practice when his father retired several years before.
He had found several envelopes with photos of him as a baby and various stages of his childhood. When he got to the bottom of the box he found a small envelope with the name of a local bank on it. He opened the envelope and found a key inside that had to be for a safe deposit box. He didn't want to but knew that a trip to the bank needed to be his next step.