Akili-chan: When I was thinking about whether or not the aunt and uncle were related the name thing came to me. If they were in denial over what happened then they'd likely rename Reilly. In this version I have them getting his name changed around the same time they went through the process to adopt him. That way the name would have been given when he was about eight and too old to consider that his real name. He wouldn't know why it was so horrible until Kaine told him everything. I feel for Kaine because he just doesn't think he's good enough to be what Reilly needs. Mary Jane doesn't put up with any crap and I love that about her.

...

"He...he didn't say anything."

May stared at the door with dawning horror at what that meant. Because he always had something to say about her actions. Some biting comment, sarcastic joke, anything that would tell her how little common sense he thought she had. Yet Reilly couldn't even tell her off for her actions this time. When her legs gave out under her May didn't fight the pull of gravity. She didn't even feel it when her knees it the floor. Kaine had slipped out the door to track Reilly down and her parents were directing their attention on her. The forthcoming lecture wasn't needed, May knew she had screwed up bad.

"What were you thinking?!" There was hardly ever any harshness in her mothers' voice that had ever been directed at her. This time she deserved it and worse. "You should of came to us the moment the idea of contacting those people entered your head!"

"I know. I'm sorry, I-I never meant for this to happen. I just wanted to talk to them then when they insisted on showing up it snowballed from there."

Absently wiping the tears from her face May glanced up at her parents. Her father was still staring off in the direction Kaine had left from the open door. The sorrow etched on his face gave her the impulse to hug him. This wasn't his fault it was hers.

"I still can't believe you pulled this stunt! That was incredibly selfish of you!"

May gaped at her mother not believing her ears. "S-selfish?! I did this for Reilly-!"

Folding her arms Mary Jane stepped back into the living room her attention focused on her daughter. "Did you really? Okay hotshot then enlighten us. Why did you do this?"

"I wanted Reilly to be happy. He seemed to be with them for awhile-"

"Stop right there May. Did he ever tell you he wanted to see them again?"

Peter finally closed the door and looked over at them. For once he didn't join in on the talk, he wasn't the one who was mad nor was he the one defending May. All he did was stand next to his wife in silent support waiting the storm out. He knew it would pass but at the moment it wasn't his place to interfere in such a personal matter. Not when it hit Mary Jane so close to home.

"He never tells me anything! I was just trying to-"

"Exactly! He. Didn't. Tell. You!" The red head shut her eyes as memories from a life she thought long gone reemerged. Peters' hands on her trembling shoulders served as a reminder of the love and strength he was offering. Squeezing his hand in thanks Mary Jane found the strength she needed to continue. "Reilly wasn't ready to open up, May. He needed his space to decide when he was ready. Not you. This isn't about whether or not he trusts you. It never has been. Do you have any idea what this was like for him?"

May shook her head not bothering to stop the fall of more tears.

"You ambushed him and broke his trust. That's hard to forgive May."

"I didn't mean to-I wanted to be a family."

Mary Jane knelt down besides her daughter brushing the hair out of her face. "I know honey but you need to listen."

...

It was nightfall before Reilly finally stopped running. The Parker residence was far behind him and returning wasn't an option. How could he go back when they knew? It was one of the secrets he had no intention of revealing. Well they knew now and Reilly didn't know how he could face them again. The shame was too much to bear, he didn't want to see the pity in their eyes. He didn't want them to think any less of him. To see him as a victim, a weakling unable to take care of himself.

..Maybe they didn't know?

It was a long shot to hope that they couldn't put the pieces together to figure out he had been physically abused as well as emotionally. Reilly had always been good at deluding himself when it came to family. His mother couldn't possibly be a murderer. Kaine would come back for him. Peter didn't really hate Darkdevil... Over time the positive thinking had worn thin and Reilly was only stuck with the facts he had to accept. This was just another wake up call to inform him that he was meant to be a loner.

Not going back to the Parker household meant the boy was left with few options for a place to stay for the night. Sleeping in alleyways and abandoned buildings weren't out of the question, he'd done it before. Still on the off chance Kaine bothered to look for him Reilly rather not be obvious. Blending into the shadows to keep out of sight came naturally. He used to to go to one place to another. Being able to jump from building to building helped too. It wasn't long before Reilly happened upon a mugging. A welcome distraction for a horrible night.

Pulling up his hoodie Reilly leaped into the fray trying to make it as brief as possible. Lingering too long ran the risk of calling unwanted attention to himself. It felt good to be in action again, to return to the dance of flying fists and kicks. Reilly didn't want to think of anything outside the one sided fight. This was where things were easy, a simple understanding of movement. The would be victim was long gone with his wallet in hand without so much as a thanks. The boy didn't notice for his mind was something else. A gaping void that had yet to be filled since becoming "normal." Matt would have listened to him, the man would have understood and not judged. He would have but Matt was gone and Reilly missed him deeply. Coming to terms with that loss was hard after all their time together.

The mourning process had never been processed simply because Reilly didn't know how to grieve properly. The man was already dead when they first met. Matts' spirit had been with him until recently and his absence felt like a huge gaping wound. Sometimes Reilly thought he'd come back because he was always there for the youth. The truth was: Matt Murdock had simply passed on. The realization made Reillys' eyes burn. He had known the phantom was gone for awhile but part of him hadn't accepted it until the moment. Feeling the well of his emotions ready to burst he raced for the nearest place of comfort. Somewhere he could feel close to his absent mentor. Once it had been the gym Jack Murdock had taken his son to while he trained. In present day it was shutdown to be remodeled for who knew what.

Reilly needed that sense of familiarity and didn't know what he'd done once it was taken away from him too. Breaking in isn't hard and as soon as he's inside his senses are assaulted. The smell of sweat, the feel of his fist hitting the punching bag, the sight of the gym...it's too much. Leaning against the nearest wall Reilly let's himself slide down to rest his face on his knees as the sobs finally come. He allowed himself to grieve for the life he never had. The family that had left him behind, the ones that had mistreated him, for not fitting him and for the one person who had loved him unconditionally as a son.

...

"Any luck?" Peter asked even though he knew by clones' expression there wasn't any good news. Reilly had been gone for almost two days without a word.

"Only the bad sort." Kaine sighed. "What about your end?"

"Neither Normie or Phil have found anything yet. I'm considering calling in Johnny-the Human Torch. I probably should have done it sooner but I wanted to keep this a family matter." Still Normie and Phil were closer to the boy which would make it a little easier for all involved.

The two men stood in the kitchen watching Mary Jane try to keep a frustrated April under control. The girl didn't know the whole story just that the relatives had hurt Reilly in some fashion before he ran away. She wanted to find them to make them pay for whatever they did to her cousin. Neither man could say they felt any different. Pulling over a mug Peter filled it and offered it to Kaine. The taller man lifted an eyebrow but accepted without comment.

"We have to talk."

"I should have known there was a reason for you being civil." The clone grumbled.

"That's what we have to talk about. " Rubbing at his tired eyes Peter refilled his own cup. "Before all of this happened I was talking to Reilly. He was telling me why he doesn't believe I'm...sincere with him. What it basically boils down to is him thinking I hate clones and have a guilt complex."

"You trying to tell me that's not true?" Kaine snorted ignoring the irritated glare Peter shot him. "Oh please don't try to act like it's not. My memory isn't that bad. The last time you attacked me was after finding April and you freaking out over the idea that you might have raised a clone. And as far as guilt complexes go, hate to state the obvious but you wrote the damn book."

"It's not true! Look, you know what happened with Ben." They both became sober instantly. "You know how Norman Osborn made us run through mazes. That period of my life wasn't easy. I had an identity crisis, went a little crazy, lost a brother and nearly lost my child. I never knew how to deal with that so I didn't. I pushed it down and tried to focus on my family. I know that wasn't the best way to go about it. Try as I might I still use that as my default mode."

He took a long slip from his mug letting his fingers trace Mays' tiny handprint on the side.

"I get angry because I don't want history to repeat it's self. I don't want to become the same person I was when I thought I was a clone." Peter shuddered at the memory of smacking Mary Jane away. "It's not something I want for May either. I thought that I was handling things better but I'm not. I'm not sure if I can ever get over what Osborn, the Jackel and the others did. I know it's not fair to April and it's not fair to you."

Kaine lowered his drink looking like he didn't believe what he was hearing.

"You brought May back to us. I never thanked you for that. I should of. I should of done a lot of things like try to help you. That would of been the responsible thing to do." Peter gave a feeble smile. "It would have been what Ben would have done."

"He did...in the end. Ben never gave up on me even though I gave him plenty of reasons to. I would have stayed in prison if I didn't hear what happened to him."

"I still should have tried to be there for you. To live up to Bens' example and just been a better man. I'm just glad May didn't take after me in that regard." Taking a deep breath he asked the question he had been dreading for weeks. "Did you keep Reilly a secret because you thought I'd reject him?"

"Partly." Finishing the rest of the coffee Kaine slid the cup to the center of the table. "The main reason? I was keeping a promise."

"Did Ben know?" From what he heard Peter assumed Ben never had an inkling.

"No. I promised his mother." Not even Peter could dismiss the obvious regret he saw in Kaines' eyes. "She had a few requests, one of them being that I didn't kill for the kid."

"Well I did wonder why you left that guy alive." Peter murmured thinking of that so-called uncle. He wasn't sure if he would have had it in himself to be so kind. "This mother-"

"It's a long story, one that I'm not awake enough to go through. Let's leave it for another day."

To Peters' surprise Kaine seemed sad at the mention of Reilly's mother so he nodded in agreement. "Fine, I'll hold you to that. Now let's find our nephew."