Surprise!

Read on, you deserved a long one for you patient waiting.

Enjoy. I don't own anything.


Rydel let out a quiet groan and cuddled closer to Ellington as her alarm went off. She let out a sigh and then picked up her phone as Ellington rubbed his eyes to check the time.

"It's way too early." She yawned.

"Why? What time is it?" He asked her.

"Time for us to go back to sleep," She muttered back as she silenced the alarm. She had just closed her eyes and was getting comfortable again when there was a knock on her door. She let out a frustrated noise and huffed, "what?"

"Mom says to get up, Granny will be here soon." Riker told her.

She fell back again and let out another frustrated noise.

"What's wrong?" Ellington asked her as she fell back on the bed again.

"Your grandmother isn't the only grandmother on earth who hates me," She told him, looking right at him. "My grandmother hates me too."

"What? Why?" He asked, rubbing his eyes again as he yawned.

"Nobody knows," She bit her bottom lip gently and looked at him. He looked back at her, "she's just been that way my entire life."

"But she's cool with the guys?" He asked her.

She nodded, "she's great with them. I just… I don't understand it."

There was another knock on the door.

"I'm up, Riker! Go away!" She yelled at him.

"It's not Riker, it's Rocky," Rocky said, "stop sucking Ellington's face and get your ass up."

"I'm going to kill you, Rocky." She paused, "and we weren't even doing anything! Just talking!"

"Yeah, talking my ass." Rocky sarcastically laughed as he walked away.

Rydel just shook her head, "alright, well, time to get up." She leaned over and quickly kissed Ellington and then gout out of the bed.


"You two are so dumb," Rydel said as she walked into the kitchen, running her fingers through her hair. She nodded her head at Rocky and Riker when Ryland looked at her offended, but then smiled.

"That's the truth though," He agreed with her, walking passed her to set the table.

"What? Hey…" Rocky said as Rydel just laughed.

The front door then opened and Rydel's eyes widened slightly and her expression changed. Rocky just looked at her.

"You okay?"

She nodded, "just fine." She saw Ellington walk into the kitchen and walked over to him, taking her hand in his. He squeezed it reassuringly as her mother and grandmother walked in.

"Granny!" Riker was the first to say something and hugged her, she smiled and hugged him back as she went to hug Rocky and Ryland next.

"Where's Ross?" She asked.

"Oh he moved out a few months ago," Rocky said as he hugged her.

"Will he be coming?"

Stormie nodded, "he should be here any minute."

"Excellent." Rydel then watched as her grandmother turned to her. Her expression immediately darkened and Rydel squeezed Ellington's hand.

"Hi, Granny," She said.

And to Ellington's surprise, she just turned around and then walked over to Riker. He looked at Rydel, only to notice that she was expressionless. Though he saw a tear in her eye.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take her into the other room," He told Stormie who just nodded.

"I'll go with you," She said and waved at Rocky to let him know. Together, they both walked outside with Rydel, who as soon as the door closed, turned around and stared right at her mother.

"Why does she hate me so much? What did I do to deserve that?" She demanded.

"It's not just you," Stormie told her.

"Oh its not? She sure looked happy to see Riker, Rocky, Ryland and Ross, who isn't even here yet!" She looked down for a moment, and then looked up, "you know what, if she's going to be that way, then there's absolutely no reason for me to be here. I'll just go to Ellington's or to see Savannah or someone."

"No, no, Rydel, don't leave." Stormie took her daughter's hand in hers. "Just stay here, okay? She'll warm up to you."

Rydel looked at Ellington.

"I'm not picking sides here, but I think you should do what you want to do."

"Which is leave." Rydel said.

"Stay." Stormie told her and Rydel could see the look in her eyes, she was practically begging her.

"I'm not speaking to her." Rydel said.

"Fair enough." Stormie answered back.

Rydel nodded, "okay, then let's go inside and get this over with."

"Thank you." Stormie whispered and all Rydel did was nod back, her hand taking Ellington's once more, she led the way back inside.


"So your grandmother, she doesn't know I'm… you know, with child?" Laura asked Ross as they pulled up to the front of his mother's house.

Ross shook his head. "She's going to find out today."

"What would her reaction be to the news?" She asked him.

He shrugged, "looks like we're going to find out together."


Ross walked into the dining room, his eye immediately catching Rydel's. He gave her a nod and she nodded back, a small smile on her face.

'I'm all good.' She mouthed to him.

He gave her the thumbs up and then went to sit down, Laura taking the seat beside him.

"What, no hug for your grandmother?" Ross looked up and just shrugged.

"You didn't hug Rydel, why should I hug you?" He asked her.

His grandmother looked hurt, but he brushed it off. It was tensely silent for a few moments, before she spoke.

"I don't-" She began.

"Like her, I know, but the question is, why?" Ross demanded. He had only been seated for twenty seconds and was already pissed off. "What has she done to you other than come into this world? Why are you such a bitch to her?"

"Ross!" Riker slammed his hand on the table, but Ross just shook his head, his hand going up.

"Answer my question." He demanded.

There was a tense pause and Rocky watched as his grandmother exchanged a look with his mother, who just shook her head, almost pleadingly at her not to say whatever it was she was about to say.

"You know something we all don't," Rocky said, gaining the attention of everyone else. "You suck at the poker face thing."

"Well, aren't you observant, good for you, Rocky." His grandmother responded back.

"Mom?" Ross said, gaining the attention of his mother, "what's going on?"

"Clearly, it's about me, so just say it," Rydel snapped, "I'm tired of the secrets, what is it?"

"Young lady, you will not have that tone with me," Her grandmother snapped back.

"Just tell me what you're hiding!" Rydel yelled at her, "I don't give a shit about the tone I'm using! You hate me anyways so what fucking difference does it make?" She was getting so worked up, she had stood up. Ellington had to gently grab her hand and pull her down, so that she could calm down.

"Why do you do that?" Her grandmother asked.

"He's my boyfriend." Rydel responded.

"You have a boyfriend?"

"What?" Rydel shook her head in disbelief, "you don't think I deserve to be happy with somebody?"

"I just don't think you're good enough for anyone to love you," Her grandmother responded back and Rydel felt her eyes fill with tears. Her grandmother had been mean to her in the past, but this was a whole other level of mean and she realized that she wasn't going to be able to take it anymore if it kept going the way it was.

Rydel stood up, tugging on Ellington's sleeve. "I'm done. Fuck you." She said and with that, turned to walk out of the room.

"I will not be disrespected!" Her grandmother yelled at her.

"You're the one who's disrespecting me! In front of everyone!" Rydel yelled back at her. "You have such a secret you're keeping from us for whatever dumb reason, so-"

"I will not be disrespected," Her grandmother cut her off, her tone cold.

"No, please don't-" Stormie begged, but the older woman ignored her.

"By an illegitimate child."

"What?" Ross, Rocky, Ryland, Rydel and Riker said at the same time. "Who?" They all looked at each other.

Their grandmother kept her stare on Rydel, never once breaking it. "Your sister." She said.

"You're such a liar." Rydel snapped at her, "go to hell." And with that, she walked out of the room, Ross stood up and did the same, but not before shaking his head at his grandmother and saying what was on his mind.

"You've hurt her and have been pretty fucked up in the past, but that, that was a whole other level of messed up," He said. "Instead of being angry at her all the damn time, why don't you take a moment to look at yourself in the mirror and ask if it's worth it to hurt her the way you have been."

"Ross, let's go," Laura whispered and he nodded. Without another word, they both left the room, Rocky, Riker and Ryland soon following after them.

"Wait, you three, don't go."

"Sorry," Rocky held his hands up, "we're on Rydel's side."

And with that, they left, leaving behind a very distraught grandmother and a very confused mother behind them.


Rydel paced back and forth in her bedroom, her mind racing with a million thoughts. She really wondered if what her grandmother had said was true. What if she was an illegitimate child? It made sense, she didn't look anything like her father, or much like her brothers at all. Other than the blonde hair that she shared with her mother, Riker and Ross, there really wasn't much similarities in between them.

"What if she's right?" She finally spoke, looking at Ellington, she sat down. "What if she isn't lying?"

Ellington didn't know what to say. He had no idea. But he knew he had to say something to comfort her, so he took her hand in his and held it.

"Then you'll just have to find out the truth." He said and she bit her lip, nodding her head, she lay her head on his shoulder.


"Why is mom making us do this? I can't believe it." Rocky muttered as he moved some items from one box to another. "This is like, torture."

Rydel rolled her eyes, "the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can move on with our lives." She said, picking up a shirt and then throwing it to the pile she had mentally marked 'to give away'.

"I'm surprised you're helping us out, after what happened yesterday and all," Rocky said.

Rydel shrugged, "it's not like we were just told to do this today. Mom's been telling us for weeks to get it done, remember?" It was the next day and they were going through old concert outfits and other things that needed to be given away. Though she was still upset about what had happened the day before, Rydel knew that if she kept dwelling on it, she wouldn't get anything done and finding out the truth, was what mattered the most to her at that moment than anything else.

"Where's Riker? And Ross?" Rocky whined, "aren't they apart of this process too?"

"Yes," Rydel responded, "but Ross is dealing with his fiancé and his unborn baby and Riker is getting us lunch."

"Ellington?"

"On his way." She responded as she threw another shirt into the give away pile.

"Ryland?"

"Right here," A third voice was added into the conversation and they both turned to see Ryland was right behind them.

"See?" Rydel said to Rocky, who just shook his head. "Now shut up so we can get this over with."

"You do realize we're cleaning the entire garage right?" Rocky asked.

"We've got stuff stockpiled and we need to get rid of them," Rydel pointed out.

"Most of it's your shit!" Rocky argued back, "you're the girl, all I see here are skirts, bracelets, more jewelry and stuff that pretty much says 'Rydel's Concert Outfits'."

"Okay, Moody Rocky, yelling at Rydel isn't going to solve anything," Ryland said, "we've got shit here too, come on, let's just get this over with."

Rocky nodded and returned to looking for a box with his name on it, while Rydel turned to Ryland and mouthed 'thank you' to him. He just gave her the thumbs up back and then started cleaning out one of the boxes in front of him. Though, both siblings were wondering what was up Rocky's ass and why he was acting the way he was. It normally wasn't like him to act that way. It was more Ross or Riker's jobs as Rocky was the least moody sibling of all of them.

They worked in silence for about twenty minutes, when Ryland opened up another box and picked up a folder. He turned it over, his eyes widening once he read the front of it.

"What the hell?" He said, gaining the attention of his older siblings.

"What?" Rydel asked him, turning to look at him.

Ryland didn't answer, instead he opened up the folder, and saw papers, many of them he didn't understand, all with his sister's name on it.

"Ryland?" Rocky asked, walking over to him, he leaned over his shoulder. Silent, Ryland closed the folder and Rocky's eyes widened as he read what was on the front.

'Adoption Papers' in big, bold letters.

'Rydel', Ryland mouthed to Rocky tilting his head towards their sister who was looking at them, very confused.

"What is going on?" Rydel asked, she got up and before Ryland or Rocky could hide the folder, she picked it up. "Adoption papers? What-who's adopted?" She looked up at her brothers, who just shrugged and looked down, then she opened the folder and saw that her name was at the very top. "Oh my god, our grandmother was right." She sad, "she wasn't lying." This was it, she thought, this was what held the truth about her past.

"Hey, guys, ready to eat?" Riker's voice joined the tense silence in the room. Rydel just looked up at him and he saw the look in her eyes. He looked at Rocky, "did you tell her?"

Rocky quickly shook his head, "it's something else."

"What do you mean it's something else?" Riker asked.

"Wait, what are you two talking about?" Ryland asked and Riker and Rocky exchanged a look realizing that Ryland had no idea about their father getting out of jail.

Rydel, however, over whatever it was that her brothers were trying to hide or figure out, just stormed passed them and into the house. She found her mother sitting at the kitchen table and before she could say a word, she angrily slammed the folder on the table.

"What-" Stormie began, but Rydel cut her off.

"You tell me," She said.


Stormie looked up at her daughter, in shock.

"What the hell is this?" She demanded, "why is my name at the top of the first paper?"

Her mother opened her mouth to speak, but Rydel held her hand up before she could. She saw Ross and Ellington walk in, which had caught both of their attention, before she just shook her head.

"You know what? I'm too shocked and angry to give a shit about your answer. Don't worry about it. You've kept it this long, shouldn't be such a big deal to keep it to yourself even longer." With that, she turned and walked out of the kitchen, while Ross just walked in further, putting his car keyes into his pocket.

"What was that about?" He asked, but Stormie didn't answer him. "Mom?"

Stormie stayed silent, but her eyes went to the folder in front of her. Ross silently got the message and picked it up.

"Adoption papers? Who's adopt-" He cut himself off when he read the next page, he looked up at his mother, "Rydel is adopted?"

"Half-adopted," She responded and Ross just looked at her confused. Ellington did the same. "Your father adopted her."

"What?" Ellington shook his head, "that doesn't make any sense, she's been Mark's daughter for years."

Stormie nodded.

Rocky, Riker and Ryland all came into the kitchen at that moment, so she just decided to address them as well.

"Sit, guys, there's something I need to tell all of you." She told them.

"Does it have to do with what we found about Rydel?" Ryland asked. Stormie nodded.

"I'm not sitting down," Ross said, "just talk."

Riker looked at him, "why are you giving mom so much attitude?"

"Just talk." Ross told her, "and tell us what the hell is going on."

"Okay, so when Riker was around a year old, your father, he became distant. He and I would constantly fight and things were just, they were very bad." She began. "The fighting got worse and worse and then, I found out he had been cheating on me."

"Wait, he cheated on you before Serena?" Ross asked.

Stormie nodded, "it's not the first time, that's why I've just become numb to it." No one said anything, so she continued. "I was young then, so of course, I acted on impulse and when he was out one night, I went out as well…" She trailed off. "I got very, very drunk and had a one night stand with a guy I met that night." She paused, taking a deep breath and then continued, "I found out I was pregnant two months later. Since I hadn't done anything like that with your father, he knew right away that the baby wasn't his. Strangely enough, he didn't get upset about it, he just acted calm and said that he would raise the baby as his own, that he would adopt it and we would never tell the baby otherwise that he wasn't their father." She paused again, "well after Rydel grew older and was three years old, we started to see that she didn't look anything like Riker or Rocky, in fact, she looked like she wasn't even related to you and it was starting to become obvious."

"So, what, you told people she was dad's daughter?" Ross asked her.

Stormie nodded, "nobody knew she wasn't. She just didn't look like him at all, so when he would go out with her and either Rocky, Riker, Ross, Ryland or all of you, we would just say that she looked more like me, which was true. She did. Nobody questioned it so it wasn't such a big deal.. until my mother found out. Then it became a big deal."

"What happened?" Rocky asked.

"Well, it came out one night. It was Christmas and you guys, you were really young, probably young enough you won't remember this, but your father, he had gotten very drunk and he had blurted out that Rydel wasn't really his daughter. He had let my mother know he had adopted her and that I had a baby out of wedlock. She had basically disowned me, but for you guys," She pointed at her sons, "she decided to stick around."

"That's why she's so mean to Rydel," Rocky said, "she never gave her anything and whenever she saw us, she hugged us, but not her."

"Yeah, Rydel said she got so used to it, she just ignored it." Ryland nodded. "I remember her telling me that once."

Ellington looked at Stormie, "so why hide it from her?"

Stormie shook her head, "Mark didn't want her knowing the truth."

"But after the secret came out that he had been abusing her, why wouldn't he just fess up then?" Riker asked. "Now that we know they aren't biologically related-"

"It's what, less disgusting?" Ross cut him off. "He raised her as his daughter, biologically related or not, it's still wrong."

"I wasn't going to say that," Riker told him. "I just want to know why none of us knew."

"Because by the time we would have told you, she was already your sister, it didn't even matter." Stormie told him. She looked through the folder and pulled out a certificate. "This is Rydel's birth certificate," She handed it to Ross.

"It doesn't say dad's name, it says someone else's name." Ross said. "Andrew Greene."

Stormie nodded, "that's her father."


Rydel was so angry, she couldn't sit still. She was walking back and forth, angry and confused. She didn't know how to process the yet, another secret, that had come out about her family. She had thought at one point, they were all so close, nothing could break them. Well, that was clearly a lie.

Knowing that everyone was probably downstairs talking about her, she decided to sneak out the window. Grabbing her leather jacket, she quickly jumped out of the window, and pulled her keys from her jacket. She then got into the car and started it, speeding away, before anyone could come out and see what she was up to.

She quickly drove as fast as she could to her destination and got out, the door slamming hard behind her. She knew it was wrong to do what she was about to do, but like Ross, she acted on impulse. She stormed into the building and went to the front of the desk, where she saw her cop friend, who's name she still didn't know.

"You're here for Mark Lynch, right?"

She nodded.

"Okay, well, wait here." She nodded again and he left, only to come back and motion for her to go with him. She was led into an empty room, the door closing behind her. Then, she sat down and just waited. Luckily, she was waiting for only a few short minutes. As she watched Mark sit down, she just smirked. The cop then closed the door and he looked right at her.

"Are you alone this time?"

"Nobody knows I'm here. In fact, they're probably frantically looking for me as we speak." She responded back.

"Why are you here?"

"I found out some interesting news while cleaning out the garage with Rocky, Riker, and Ryland." She responded back.

"Oh?" Mark leaned back. She could see he was very interested in what she had to say.

"Why didn't you or mom tell me the truth from the beginning? Not that it makes anything you did less creepier, but why was it such a big secret?" She demanded.

"Why was what a secret?"

"Don't play dumb with me, just tell me the truth," Rydel demanded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You adopted me," Rydel told him. "Why?"

"Because you didn't have a father, yours left you. He wanted nothing to do with you." Mark easily answered.

Though that hurt, Rydel tried not to let it show. "Why?"

Mark shrugged, "I don't know, ask your mother that, I don't have all the answers. Maybe he figured out your mother was still married to me at the time, I don't know."

"Wait, what? How is that possible? She-she cheated on you?" Rydel asked him.

Mark nodded, "well, the correct term is had an affair, but yes, she did."

"What? And don't even start, you're the last person to make judgments about this," Rydel held her hand up, as Mark had opened his mouth to speak. "Then, who is my father?"

"Legally, me. Biologically, I don't know, ask your mother." Mark answered back.

"When did you adopt me?"

"When you were two years old."

"Why wait two years?" Rydel demanded. "I didn't have a father, technically for two years?"

"It was a long process." Mark responded back, "But I was so in love with your mother then that I didn't care."

"What changed?" Rydel demanded, "why did you cheat on her?"

"Because I knew it was over and she knew it was over too. I couldn't let it go and she just didn't care."

"Bullshit," Rydel snapped.

Mark took a moment to just look at her, "Why did you come here, Rydel?" He asked after a few seconds of silence. "What would you have gotten out of this visit, exactly?"

"I wanted answers, but so far, I haven't gotten any. So, yeah, this was a waste of time." Rydel stood up. She turned and without another word, walked out of the door, passed the guard and into the bright California sunshine, feeling even worse than she felt before.

She thought for a moment and looked down. She quickly pulled out her phone and made a quick phone call.


"Charlie!" Laura squealed when Ross opened the door and walked in, her little brother behind him. She hugged him tight. "I'm so excited you're here!"

Ross and Charlie laughed as Laura let him go.

"I'm happy to be here too, sis." He said, moving his suitcase to the side and then going to sit down on the couch. "What's new? It was a long five hour flight." He said, causing Laura to giggle a bit.

"Not much, well, with me." She said. "Though, Riley's kicking, but that's old news."

"How bout you?"

Ross shrugged, "not much, just, you know, life."

"How's the family?"

"They could be a lot better," Ross told him, honestly. "But don't worry, you're good to go for tonight, Ryland's got the other bed all made up for you already."

"Alright, awesome." Charlie smiled.

"So, what do you want to do while you're here?" Laura asked as Ross' phone rang and he excused himself to go answer it.

"Well, no offense, but there's not much you can do," Charlie pointed out. "What do you want to do?"

Laura smiled, "don't worry, I've got a few ideas in mind. You'll like them though, promise."

Before Charlie could respond, Ross came back into the room, he looked up from his phone, worried.

"Ross? What's wrong?" Laura asked him.

"That was Ellington, he said something's wrong with Rydel, she came home and was pale, giggling and then all of the sudden angry and told everyone to and I quote what he said, leave her the fuck alone." Ross shook his head, "I have to go over there."

"Yeah, go. We'll meet you there later," Laura told him and softly kissed him as he rushed out. She turned to her little brother, "so, what do you want to do now?"


Ross quickly opened the door to his mother's house, making sure to softly close it behind him, before rushing into the living room, where he found everyone was. Rydel was in the middle with her head in her hands as Riker interrogated her.

"Where have you been?" He demanded.

"Where's Ross?" She asked back. "I want to see Ross!"

"He's right there," Ellington softly told her, pointing to the right and she looked up. Immediately, she rushed to him and hugged him tight.

"Hey, Rydel, what's going on?" He asked her, gently.

She pulled away and he saw the tears in her eyes and the red puffiness and pale skin.

"What happened to you?" He asked her quietly.

"She's not saying anything to us," Riker told him, sounding annoyed. "Maybe you can get it out of her."

"Doubt it," Ross answered as he gently walked Rydel over to the couch. "But I'll try." He nodded for everyone to leave. Rocky, Ryland and Riker did, but Ellington hung back. "you cool?"

He nodded, "let me know what happens."

"Of course," Ross responded and with that, Ellington went to join Rocky, Riker and Ryland in the kitchen. Ross focused his attention on his sister. "So, you gonna tell me what's going on?"

"Only because, I know you won't judge me," She told him. "You of all people would probably understand."

"Okay, why?"

"Do you remember a few years ago, when you first started filming for the show and you and I snuck off after a concert one night, just to explore and see what the city we were in was about?"

Ross nodded, "yeah, it was somewhere in Chicago, right?"

Rydel nodded, "do you remember the friends we made?"

Ross knew where she was going with what she was saying and didn't like it, "yeah."

"And do you remember what they gave us?" She asked him.

He nodded again, "yeah, because you hurt your knee dancing and you needed it to make the pain go away."

"And you did it because you just wanted a break from your hectic life." Rydel answered. Ross nodded. "Well," She took a deep breath. "You have to promise you won't say anything to anyone…" Ross nodded again. "Our friends, they um, they moved out here and they contacted me a few weeks ago.. I met up with them today and they gave me something." She grabbed her bag that was right next to her and pulled out a baggie.

"Don't tell me that's-" Ross began.

Rydel nodded, "I didn't use it though."

"Good! Throw that shit away!" He grabbed it from her and after hearing footsteps move in near them, quickly put it in his pocket. Rydel stood up at the same time, hiding it from view.

"What's going on?" Riker asked. "I heard Ross yell."

"Nothing!" Rydel and Ross looked at each other.

"It-it was nothing," Rydel assured him.

"We're still in the middle of our talk, can you give us another minute?" Ross asked and Riker nodded, wordlessly leaving the room.

"Be honest with me, Rydel," Ross said as soon as he knew Riker was far enough away. "Did you take any of this?"

"I didn't snort it or inhale it," Rydel told him, honestly.

"Okay, good. So then you're clean?"

Rydel nodded, though she felt bad about it, she wasn't going to out herself to her brother, yet.

"I'm clean, I just, got some shitty news today and wasn't feeling too great about it." She sniffled and then subtly wiped her nose.

Ross nodded, "okay, then why not tell the others that?"

Rydel shrugged, "how would you feel if you just found out you were adopted and that your whole life was a lie?" She asked him as she threw her hands up and sat down.

"Wait, what?" Ross blinked, "what Granny said was true then?"

She nodded, "Rocky, Ryland and I found the papers while cleaning out the garage today," She told him.

"Oh my god, I don't believe that," Ross slowly sat down with her. "I'm-I don't even know what to say."

Rydel shrugged, "I mean, it makes sense, I don't look anything like you or Rocky or Riker or Ryland or even mom. Other than our hair colour similarities, there's not much else we have in common."

"Oh come on, you're like mom's mini me, you look just like her." Ross reminded her.

Rydel shrugged, "apparently that's not good enough for our grandmother." She sniffled again and wiped her nose.

Ross put his arm around her, "no matter what, Rydel, you are apart of this family. Who cares about the fact that you have a different father? You're still my sister and knowing this, doesn't change anything."

Rydel smiled, "thanks, Ross, that means a lot that you said that."

"It's true." He smiled back and leaned his forehead against hers, "just don't forget that okay?"

She nodded and then they hugged, just as Riker came back.

"So," He said as he sat down on the table in front of her, "are you going to tell us where you've been?"

Rydel stared at him for a few seconds, "I went to see Mark."

"Why?"

"Why do you care?" Rydel shot back.

"Because you're scaring me." Riker responded. "I'm your big brother, I have to protect you."

"Well, stop. I don't need protection anymore. I'm a big girl, I can handle things on my own now."

"Sure about that?" Riker asked, his tone tense. Rydel didn't like it at all. She didn't say anything, just kept her expression neutral and Riker sighed, shaking his head, he looked behind him to see Rocky and Ellington had walked in and joined them, Ellington sitting beside Rydel. He shared a look with him and gave him a nod, Rocky nodded back. "Ross, Rydel.. Rocky has something he has to tell you."

"What is it?" Rydel asked.

"Yeah, sounds serious," Ross added.

Rocky sighed, "that's because it is," He sat down beside Riker and stared at his hands for a moment, before looking back up at his brother and sister. "The other day, I got a call from Mark's lawyer."

"And?" Rydel pushed. "What did he say?" Ellington put his hand on top of hers to try and calm her down. It worked, at least for the moment.

"He's being released from jail on parole until the trial." He finally said and both Ross and Rydel stayed silent. "And unless you both testify, he's going to stay out of jail."

"Guys?" Riker asked, after a few moments of silence, but neither Ross or Rydel reacted.

Then, suddenly, Rydel stood up, almost knocking Ellington over.

"Rydel?" Ellington said.

She looked at her boyfriend a moment, before looking back at her brothers, "I want him gone, forever. Out of my life for good. Like he completely disappeared."

"Rydel that's-"

"I want that too." Ross cut him off, his tone the same as Rydel's. Cold, hard and determined. Then without another word, Ross stood up with her and they both walked out of the house together.

"Well," Rocky looked at Riker, "that went well."


"Uno! I win, ha!" Laura grinned at her brother, as the door opened and Ross walked in, Rydel behind him. He looked at Laura a moment and then at his sister, with a tilt of his head. She nodded and then turned to Charlie. "Give me a minute?"

"Sure, I'll just shuffle this and try again. Maybe I'll win this time," He smiled at her, and she laughed, ruffling his hair a bit.

"You just keep telling yourself that buddy." She told him and with that, got up to join Ross and Rydel in the other room. "What's up guys?" She asked as soon as they were far enough away from Charlie.

"We got some really big news today," Ross told her. "Actually two things."

"Okay…" Laura trailed off, waiting for him to come out with it. He looked at Rydel.

"I just found out," Rydel said, "that I am adopted." She looked up at Laura and Laura saw her eyes were filled with tears. "I'm adopted and that douche who touched me, who actually isn't even my father, by the way is being released from jail on parole."

"What?" Laura looked at Ross, who just nodded his head. "How?"

Ross shrugged, "he must have gotten a really good lawyer, I guess."

"So, wait, what you're grandmother said the other day, that was true then?" Laura asked and Rydel nodded.

"Rocky, Ryland and I found the papers today while we were cleaning out the garage." Rydel confirmed and then she suddenly remembered something, "oh and I also went to visit Mark, who also confirmed it."

Laura didn't say anything, at least not for a few moments. Then, she hugged Rydel, holding her tight.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered, "I know how you feel, sort of. I mean, I thought my father was dead up until a few months ago… and then as you know, he died, but that feeling of not knowing and then finding out this huge secret, I get that. I know what that's like and I'm sorry you had to go through that." She looked at Ross, "you too."

He nodded.

"But you know, you're not completely alone," Laura told her. "there is someone who can help you the most, I think." She paused, "talk to Charlie, he'll help you and he understands what you're going through."

Rydel nodded, "yeah, okay. I'll talk to him." She said. She looked down, then back up again, "my whole life, it's been nothing but lies, how do I get over that?"

Ross shrugged, "I don't know, but whatever you do, don't shut out Ellington, trust me. You're going to need him now more than ever, okay?"

She nodded, "okay." She said quietly.


"Sup Boo Boo?" Rocky said as he entered the living room where Ellington was sitting with Riker, watching tv.

"Boo Boo?" Ellington raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Rocky nodded, "it's a sidekick name."

Ellington looked at him, "who are you, Yogi Bear?"

"What? I think it's cool." Rocky shrugged.

"Okay, next time you come up with a nickname, you have to consult me. You need work with your sidekick naming skills." Ellington told him and Rocky just waved him off.

"Did you guys hear from Rydel or Ross yet?" Rocky asked as both Ellington and Riker shook their heads. "I've been calling them both, but no answer from either one of them."

"Nope." Riker answered as Ellington said the same.

Rocky sighed, "they hate me, don't they Riker?"

Riker shook his head, tearing his eyes away from the tv to look at his brother, "they don't hate you, trust me. I know what hate looks like and that's not it." He assured him. He sighed and leaned forward, "Rydel's really messed up about all of this, it's scaring me."

"Yeah, it's scaring the shit out of everybody," Rocky said as Ellington just nodded his head. His phone went off with a text and he eagerly picked it up, only to see it was a text from Vanessa. "Hold on, Vanessa's here," He sighed just as his mother walked into the living room. "Sup?" He said as he walked passed her to the front door. He opened it and then hugged Vanessa, who hugged him back. "So, got an ideas?" He asked her.

She broke the hug and looked at him, "ideas for what?"

"To get my sister to stop hating me," He said, his tone sad.

"She doesn't hate you, trust me. And neither does Ross." She added before he could say anything. He just nodded and closed the door behind her, going to join everyone else in the living room.

"I'm glad you guys are here, have you spoken with Rydel or Ross?" Stormie asked and everyone shook their heads.

"I spoke to Laura though," Vanessa said, "she told me they were on their way to bring Charlie here."

Stormie nodded, "alright, good. I have something I need to share with you guys, Rydel, mostly."

"What is it?" Riker asked.

Stormie held up some papers, "she's going to ask questions and these are all I have at the moment." Stormie explained.

"Papers about her father?" Rocky asked and Stormie nodded, just as the front door opened and Ross, Laura, Charlie and Rydel all walked in.

"Oh, good, you're here," Riker said, as Stormie walked over to Rydel.

Rydel kept her stare on her mother cold. Stormie just held the envelope she had out to her. "What is this?"

"They're answers." Stormie responded back.

"That's not going to fix anything," Rydel responded. "You kept my entire life a secret. It's going to be a while before I can trust you again."

"I'm sorry, I really am Rydel, but this, this will give you all the answers you need." She told her and with that, Rydel opened up the envelope and pulled out some papers, one of them being a letter at the very top that was addressed to her.

"You opened this?" Rydel asked, turning the envelope the letter was in, around and saw that it was already torn.

Stormie nodded and the front door opened again. Ryland walked in and looked around, "uh, what's going on?"

"Where have you been?" Riker asked him.

"I was with Brandon, going over some lights for their show coming up, what's up here?" He asked as he looked at the tense faces, though Charlie just looked confused. "Hey, what's up, man?" He asked, giving Charlie a bro hug.

Rydel just walked further into the room and then stood beside Ellington. "Who's Andrew Greene and what does he want with me?" She asked, reading the name of the sender and the address that was stamped.

"You're going to have to sit down for this, Rydel. Trust me." Ellington told her and she did as she said, finally opening the letter at a fast pace. And as she did, a square paper fell out of it. She picked it up, only to turn it around and see that it was a picture, of herself at around two years old with a man she didn't recognize, but had a good feeling as to who it was. She read the letter as everyone waited, silent.

Charlie leaned over to Ryland, "is it always this intense around here?" He asked him.

"Bro, you have no idea," Ryland responded and then rolled his eyes once he felt Ross' hand bump into his arm.

"It's a letter from my father," Rydel finally said, after reading it over again. "He says that he's sorry he couldn't be in my life and that it wasn't his decision or mom's." She looked up at her mother. "I don't understand."

"It's complicated," Stormie responded.

"Then uncomplicate it!" Rydel snapped, "you and Mark kept me from my father for years and I want to know why. Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"Mark, he-he didn't want you to know." Stormie began to explain.

"So what? That gave him the right to touch me? That gave him the right to assault me?" Rydel demanded. "Sure, it's technically not wrong since we're not biologically related but it is! It's so fucked up because he raised me as his daughter and he touched me when I was a child!" She was nearly screaming. "I hate him!"

"I know and you have every right to be upset, but you need to listen," Stormie tried but Rydel shook her head.

"Just leave me alone," She said, her tone cold and dark and without another word, or a glance to anybody else, she just stormed out of the living room, the front door slamming hard behind her.


Not even five minutes passed and Rydel was once again, face to face with the last person she wanted to be around.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She demanded.

Mark just smiled, "I got out of jail early, thought I should pay you guys a visit."

"Fuck off." Rydel snapped at him.

Mark looked at the papers in her hand, "I see you found out more information."

"Yeah, and I'm going to find out even more," Rydel told him. "Don't try and stop me."

"I won't." Mark assured her.

"Good." Rydel told him. She walked passed him and then turned around, "oh and just so you know, I hate you. And what I know is that you don't even care! You don't care about anybody but yourself and I want you gone, forever." She stared at him, hard. "If you think they're just going to accept you back in, you're so so wrong."

"Thanks for the warning, but I think I'll take my chances."

"Go to hell." Rydel said and without another word, she turned and walked away.


Rydel had been gone for almost an hour and everyone was freaking out about it.

Though, Ellington was strangely very calm. He looked at Riker, who was typing on the phone and Rocky who was staring off into space. "You know guys, that we are all, connected in the circle of life?"

"Okay, now you're starting to sound like Rocky," Riker said, distractedly.

"Hey, I'm right here," Rocky muttered and that caused everyone to laugh, which helped lighten the mood a bit.

Meanwhile, Ross was across the room, on the phone with Maia.

"We're just worried she'll do something stupid and totally out of character," Ross said, sighing as he sat down beside Laura on the couch.

"She's really not that different from you, is she?" Maia asked.

"No,that's what's so scary and why I need your help," Ross told her.

"Okay, I'll keep a look out for her," Maia assured him. "If she comes by I'll call you right away."

"Thanks so much," Ross told her and with that, hung up the phone. He took a moment to look at Laura, who was worriedly looking back at him. "Want to go home? You look tired."

"No, we should stay and help," She said, assuring him that she was okay.

"Laura, you're pregnant, go home. It's fine, if we get anything, we'll call you okay?" Vanessa assured her. "Right away, I promise."

Laura looked at Ross, "well, I don't want to take him away from anything."

"You won't." Ross assured her. "Let's just go and they'll call us if anything new comes up, okay?"

Laura nodded and with that, they said their goodbyes and walked out of the house. The car ride home was pretty silent, but once they approached the door to their apartment, that's when things got interesting.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ross demanded.

"Funny, someone said that exact same thing to me earlier," Mark said.

"You need to leave," Laura told him. "now."

"Where's Rydel?" Mark asked him.

"She isn't here, it's just me and Laura." Ross told him.

"Well why not?" Mark asked him.

"Because of you, you're the problem," Ross responded back. "This is my apartment." He then realized something, "wait, how did you even get in here? You're banned from ever coming here again."

"You must have gotten a new security guy who didn't know because he just let me right in, was very easy, actually."

"Just leave," Ross told him, "leave or I call the police and you'll go back to jail for violating your parole, which I believe is to stay away from me and from Rydel."

"You two are the problem," Mark said.

"Excuse me?" Ross got in his face and Laura pulled him arm gently to hold him back. "You're the problem!" He yelled at him. "You fucking lied to her, hit me, abused her not only physically and mentally, but also sexually! You deserve to be in jail!"

"No, I don't see it that way." Mark responded back and that's when Ross realized something.

"You're a sociopath, you don't give a shit."

"I wouldn't say that to me."

"You touch me and your ass is back in jail, I have a witness." Ross told him.

"Who, Laura?" Mark laughed, then looked at Laura. "Wow, you really did get pregnant. Hope the kid turns out better than you ever have."

"Okay, that's it. You need to leave. Now," Laura told him, she grabbed the keys from Ross and quickly opened the door, she gently pushed him inside and with that, slammed the door shut in his face. She turned around to see that Ross was pacing back and forth and immediately hugged him tight. "It's okay, he's gone, it's over."

He nodded and she felt him calm down.

Then, he lifted his head up and looked at her. "So I have a surprise for you, that's kinda the whole reason why I wanted to come home."

"Ross? Are you okay?" She asked him. He nodded.

"I'm not having an episode or anything, I'm just not letting him get to me," He explained. "He's going to jail, and he's going to stay there, that's enough for me to know that I don't need to freak out over anything anymore."

Laura nodded, "well, that's good. Really good."

He nodded, "ready for your surprise?" Ross asked her and she smiled, nodding her head, he took her hand and led her to the other room. He opened the door and then switched on a light. Laura gasped.

"You set up Riley's room?"

"Sort of, I just painted it. Well, me, Riker, Rocky, Ellington, Ryland and Rydel did. We did it a few weeks ago while you were out with Vanessa, having your sister day."

She remembered that day and smiled to herself.

"I would have waited for you, but I wasn't sure about the paint fumes and you and Riley so I kinda did it secretly and locked the door so you wouldn't suspect anything."

Laura smiled, "Ross this is the most amazing and sweetest thing, ever. I love it, I love you." She cupped his face in her hands and then kissed him. "It's perfect."

He smiled and wrapped his arm around her, "I'm glad you like it."

She giggled and leaned her head against his shoulder.


Rydel was rubbing her nose as she walked back home, rethinking everything about her life. Her relationship with her mother, her brothers and Ellington. How could she trust him again if all she got were lies? Though, she had only gotten it from her parents and seeing as her brothers and Ellington really had no idea, how could she blame them? She had enough trust issues to begin with seeing as her father sexually abused her for most of her life and made her keep it a secret and all. The fact that she had even let Ellington in as much as she did was a huge surprise, she figured.

Her phone rang again and she saw that it was Ellington, but she ignored it once more. She was almost home anyways.

Her head felt funny and she knew she probably looked like crap, but luckily she had her make-up with her and had thought to put it on before hand so that when she went home, no one would suspect anything was wrong.

She opened the door and immediately, the heads of her brothers, Charlie, mother and Ellington all turned towards her. Riker immediately pulled his phone out and left the room, while everyone else just stared at her.

"Hey, guys?" Ellington finally spoke, "let me talk to her, okay?"

"Why?" Ryland demanded, "she ran away for like two hours to god knows where, shouldn't we interrogate her?"

"I think that's a great idea." Stormie said.

"I think you shouldn't talk," Rydel snapped at her, walking passed her, she began to go upstairs.

"I'm still your mother, you don't get to speak to me like that," Stormie said.

"Yeah, well, you ruined our relationship, so that's on you. Leave me alone," Rydel glared at her and saw her mother's eyes fill with tears. She didn't even react to it.

Riker came back, "Ross is on his way back." He said.

"Why? What's the point, I just want to be alone!" She yelled at them. "Get it?" She looked at her boyfriend, "I just want Ellington with me." She added, aware of the pain she had caused to her family, but she didn't care. She was too upset to care.

"Fine." Stormie said, "Ellington, go ahead." And without another word, she walked away.

Rydel then walked up the stairs and into her room, Ellington soon joining her. She then slammed the door shut and pushed him against it, pressing her lips against his, she kissed him deeply before breaking it off.

"Rydel, what's-"

"I just want to spend time with you, okay?" She said and Ellington nodded. She leaned in to kiss him again, but he shook his head, taking her hand in his, he led her to her bed and then let go, going over to her DVD collection, he picked out a movie and held it up. "You want to watch Big Hero 6?"

He nodded, "we are going to get your mind off of things."

"By watching Disney movies? Who are you, Rocky?" She demanded and he sighed, looking at her.

"You are not in the right state of mind right now, Rydel," He told her. "Not for that. There's too much going on."

"Bullshit, come on, Ellington. Please?" She asked him, her eyebrows raised. "I want you."

"No." He stated firmly, "I'm not doing that. Not now."

She then let out a noise and stood up, her anger getting bigger and bigger as she wiped underneath her nose. This time, not so subtly and Ellington definitely saw it.

"What did you just-" He began, but there was a knock on her door.

"It's Ross!" Ross called through the door.

"Not now, Ross!" She called back and Ellington just shook his head. He opened the door and let Ross in, along with Riker and Rocky.

"Band meeting," Riker said.

"Fuck the band," Rydel snapped. "I didn't want to be in it to begin with."

"Rydel, stop okay? You need to sit and chill." Ross told her. "And tell us where the hell you've been for the past two hours."

"None of your business." She responded back. She wiped under her nose again. Ross just raised his eyebrows.

"Don't tell me-" He began. She didn't answer, just smirked at him. "What the hell! You promised me, Rydel!"

"Promised you what?" Riker asked him.

"Ah ah, I think it's time we tell them," Rydel smiled at Ross. "Our secret."

Ross shook his head, "you do realize this secret, this one we kept for two years, it's going to tear us all apart, you do realize that right?"

She shrugged, "So? What? I'm scared, okay? I'm scared something huge is going to happen and there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"What are you talking about?" Rocky asked.

"Mark's out of jail," Rydel answered, "I saw him."

"Yeah, I saw him too, what's your point?" Ross demanded, "why did that give you the right to do what you did? You just fucked everything up!"

"Ross, what the hell are you talking about?" Ellington demanded.

"You know what?" Rydel stood up, "I'm so, so sick of secrets, for obvious reasons, so I'm just going to tell you what's going on."

"Rydel, don't-" Ross began, but Rydel just shook her head.

"No, they have to know, they have to know what we did." Rydel told him.

"What did you do?" Riker asked.

"Two years ago, while we were on the Loud Tour, after a concert, I think I was upset over something with Ellington and Kelly and Ross was upset because he was fighting with Laura. We decided that we have enough of the squeaky clean life and so, we decided to just go out there and do something crazy and just live like the rockstars we are. So, we took a fan up on the offer of going to a club and partying. We had a lot of fun and even tried some… dun, dun, dun, wait for it, drugs!" She clapped her hands, "yeah, we tried heroine and though it was a one time thing, it felt great."

"Until today," Ross told her.

She shrugged.

"Why would you do that?" He demanded and shook his head. "You are so-"

"Much like you," She shot back. "Impulsive decisions not really thinking about the consequences before they happen? Ruining relationships with everyone?"

"Rydel, stop." Rocky told her. "I get your upset because of the news you found out about today, but you don't need to take it out on Ross or take drugs to deal with it."

Ross just stared at her, "no, you know what, you are right, you are just like me." He told her. "Remember that when you're stuck for days in a hospital room and you can't leave because you're so fucked up." They just stared hard at one another and then Ross held his hands up. "I'm done and out of here." He said and without another word, left.

Ellington just looked at Rydel, "what the hell did you just do?"


Tweet me your thoughts at jessier529 or review!

Sorry its all about Rydel, but big things are happening for Ross and Laura coming up super soon and next chapter's going to be emotional.

For whoever guessed that Rydel was adopted you were right! But my computer had deleted the chapter and I had no way of recovering it so that's why it took so long to write because I was pissed off and stumped for a while.

Next one hopefully won't be too long from now. It'll be shorter or longer, not sure yet, but yeah.

And also, I had this idea (both of the adoption and drugs) planned from the very beginning of Don't Let Go, I just didn't know where it would fit into the story until now. Haha.

Okay, I'll fix any typos later.

Much love! xoxo