CHAPTER 96

WOES OF A FATHER

December 14, 2010

12:12am

Charlottesville, Virginia

Russell Family Home

Aaron, Andros, Mike, Maddie, Greg, Lissa, and Jeremiah met each others' eyes unable to believe what Alex had just told them. "We...need...we should...um," Andros stumbled for the correct words.

"Tell the adults," Greg supplied.

"Y-yeah, that's it," Aaron agreed, he was terrified as to how the adults would react to this sudden revelation.

"Air? Andy? What's going on?" Jake asked, he Rachel, Tobias, Terra, Marc and Cassie had observed the younger Black Files conversation, and were concerned by their pale faces.

"We just found a new relative," Jeremiah said with a humorless grin. "You remember when Alex told us about Kyra, Ares's girlfriend?"

"Of course," Jake replied.

"Well apparently she's my, Greg and Lis's sister," Jeremiah sighed. Jake's jaw dropped, shocked that there had been such an obvious tie to his family that he had missed.

"Does Bobby know?" Rachel questioned. Lissa and the younger half of the Black Files looked at Rachel questioningly.

"You think he might of had something to do with Kyra being created?" Greg asked.

"Well, he played a part in our creation along with Will, Alley, Jamie and Jeff's. Maybe he kept her secret," Cassie suggested.

"He would have told me," Jeremiah insisted. "Either way we need to go and tell the family."

"Then lets go and round everyone up to meet in the living room," Jake sighed running a had through his already tousled hair.

It took ten minutes to gather the family and even then not everyone came downstairs. Jack, Jason, Amy, and Keegan were in bed sleeping. Jack hadn't been feeling too well earlier, giving cause for worry so Sydney volunteered to watch over the sleeping children. And of course Kaine was still being kept locked up in the younger children's room.

"Are Peter, Alex and the others all right?" Morgan asked worried for her children's safety.

"Katie and Tiger are for the time being safe. That's not why we called everyone together," Aaron told his mother.

"It's about Ares's girlfriend Kyra," Jake began. "She's your daughter Bobby." Several cries of 'what' went up around the room, the most shocking cries coming from Aaron, Andros, Jeremiah, Lissa, Greg, Mike and Maddie.

"Jake what in th hell are you talking about?" Greg asked believing that Jake had lost his mind.

"Jer, said that she was your sister," Marc said growing more confused by the second.

"She is, she's Dad's daughter," Jeremiah said pointing at Sam. Sam and Jen were both dumbstruck for several long moments and a very uncomfortable silence ensued. The silence was broken only momentarily when Marc muttered 'shit' expressing everyone's thoughts and feelings at the moment.

"E-excuse me," Sam managed to stuttered. Jeremiah got out of his chair and walked over to his father.

"Though you aren't a pretender Dad you still carry the gene. And they knew that through enough genetic manipulation they could have another pretender. She wasn't all that they wanted so they ended up using Kyra as part of project Midas. She was never allowed near you Dad, out of fear that you would find out. Kyra was transferred to Africa, with Bane, Ares and the others to continue her training. It's not your fault that you never knew about her," Jeremiah told his father firmly.

"Who is her mother?" Sam asked looking over at his wife, a part of him desperately wanted for Jen to be Kyra's mother.

"It's not Mom," Jeremiah said. "Kyra's mother was just a donor."

"I-I need to go and get some air," Sam said backing out of the room suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

"Sammy," Morgan called after her brother. She understood exactly what Sam was going through and didn't think that it would be best for Sam to be alone at the moment. Sam ignored Morgan and quickly darted out the front door, Jen following behind, leaving the rest of the family to sort out the newest development.

"So who's gonna tell Amy she has a big sister?" Jeff asked. With Amy's temper and new found telekinesis, Jeff didn't want to be the one to inform Amy of Kyra's relationship to the family.

Jen found her husband out by the lake, he stood on the pier looking out over the frozen body of water. His hands were gripping the railing of the pier so tightly that his knuckles were white. "Sammy," Jen said softly, snaking her arms around Sam's waist.

"I never thought...I mean I knew that they had the opportunity...But never," Sam faltered for words. It had been along time since Jen had seen her husband cry. It had been nearly thirteen years since Sam helplessly stood by, forced to watch Alley supposedly die. He had loved her, like all of the other children-and still did- as though she were his own child. Alley's faked death had hit Sam hard as hard as the murders of his father, and both of the women he called mother. But this...the discovery that for seventeen years Sam had a child that he had never known of, was in someways worse than everything else combined.

"God it hurts," Sam whispered in to Jen's hair.

"I know sweetheart. I know," Jen said doing all she could to comfort her husband.

"I don't even know what she looks like. If she looks like me...an older version of Amy. God Jen when will it stop?"

"I wish I could tell you, but you know how the Centre works just as well as I," Jen told him. Sam sighed unsure what course of action to take. Luckily Jeremiah, Greg, Lissa, and Amy chose to appear at that moment.

"Hi Daddy," Amy yawned from Jeremiah's arms, the little girl was rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Daddy are you alright?" Lissa asked and Sam smiled down at his daughter loving that she was truly concerned for her father.

"I've been better," Sam answered honestly as he let steeped out of Jen's arms.

"So, we've got a sister. What are we gonna name her?" Greg asked smirking.

"She's not a puppy Greg," Lissa said poking her brother in the ribs. "And Kyra already has a name. I believe it's, um, Kyra."

"I didn't say she was a puppy," Greg snapped back. "All I meant was that she doesn't have a middle name and well she kinda needs one."

"Don't fuss at me," Lissa threatened.

"All right you two enough," Jeremiah spoke up stopping the agreement before it could get any worse.

"My Jer's right, behave," Amy warned shaking a finger at Lissa and Greg.

"Thanks for the backup Baby Girl," Jeremiah Sam found himself smiling. It would seem that something would never change. Greg and Lissa despite how much they loved each other -or may be because of it- would always find something trivial to argue about. Jeremiah would always be the one to break up the arguments before they got out of hand. And little Amy would always be her big brother Jeremiah's 'Baby Girl'.

And yet within the past hour their family had been changed drastically. Sam had a daughter two and a half years older than the triplets. In that moment Sam knew that if there was a God or some sort of higher power, it had to have a sense of humor. For Sam had all but raised sixteen children, nearly all from birth, and none of them were biologically his, and yet Sam had missed out on seventeen years of his own child's life.

"Dad, I know that you are hurt and angry, but we just want for you to know that we're here for you and that we're okay with having an older sister," Jeremiah told his father. "And if you need to talk..." Jeremiah trailed off and allowed a smile to cross his handsome features. Sam chuckled, getting his son's joke. Jeremiah wasn't known for being big one talking or sharing his feelings.

"Did Jerry just make a funny?" Greg asked.

"I believe that he did," Lissa said in disbelief.

"It was kinda bad though. We're going to need to work on your sense of humor," Greg told his brother.

"You make enough jokes for the both of you, Greg," Jen told her son.

"Yeah well some one has to make up for Jer's lack of words. So um, can we reconvene back inside. It's rather cold out," Greg suggested.

"That's a fine idea. And someone else needs to go back to bed," Sam stated as he glanced at Amy.

"Talk about Kyra first," Amy yawned, resting her head on Jeremiah's shoulder.

"If you can last that long," Jeremiah murmured, placing a kiss on Amy's brow. Together the family walked back to the house entering through the back door. The kitchen was empty, everyone else had retired upstairs for the night to allow, Sam, Jen and their children to discuss Kyra.

With a sleeping Amy in his arms, Jeremiah quickly set to brewing a pot of tea and making three mugs of hot chocolate for himself, Greg and Lissa, if Amy awoke, Jeremiah would willingly share with his sister.

"Alex said that as soon as she gets some rest she'll try and set up a telepathic conference call. She's worn out so she was only able to contact us about Kyra," Jeremiah told his parents, concern for Alex obvious in his voice.

"How are things going over there?" Jen asked.

"Everyone's favorite evil pretender Alex or as Petey has taken to calling him 'Leon' has shown up and is the Triumvirate representative. By the by Leon is Airi and Lin's Dad which is how the revelation about Kyra came out. Alex got a bit... testy when she learn that Airi and Lin were keeping their paternity secret, and asked if anyone else was keeping their paternity secret. Imagine, Katie's surprise when Ki dropped her bombshell," Greg said.

"I take it there was a large amount of expletives on Alex's part," Sam guessed.

"She said words that would make a room full of sweepers blush," Lissa confirmed.

"But on the plus side, Kyra now knows that Katie has horrible language and it's doubtful that Kyra is ever going to attempt to keep any big secrets from us," Jeremiah said somewhat proud at Alex's ability to strike fear into others.

"So about Kyra's middle name?" Jen prompted taking as sip of her tea. Greg, Lissa and Jeremiah all glanced nervously at one another.

"We were thinking of the name Alannah," Lissa suggested nervously. "After our birth Mom."

"Alannah is a beautiful name, and I think that your sister would like it. The three of you can tell Alex in the morning and she can see what Kyra thinks about it," Sam said causing the triplets to smile. Their birth mother meant a lot to the children, Jeremiah especially.

"Now why don't you three get Amy off to bed?" Jen told the kids. "You three could even think about getting sleep yourselves."

"In a few hours. We still have a lot of stuff to go through on getting Alex, Peter, Kyra and the others out. Jer gave away that entrance and escape route when he and the others went to rescue AJ and Matty. So were trying to find a new way in," Greg explained.

"Well try and be in bed by three please," Sam begged.

"We promise," the triplets said getting up from the table to return to their room.

"Dad," Jeremiah paused on his way out of the kitchen.

"Yeah Jer?"

"You're going to be alright aren't you?" Jeremiah asked.

"I'll be fine Buddy. Now go and put your sister back in bed," Sam said. Jeremiah stared at his father a bit longer, searching Sam's eyes to see if he would indeed be alright. Satisfied with what he saw, Jeremiah nodded his head and left to put Amy down for the night.

I know that it's been a while, and i'm not sure if there is anyone left who is still reading this but if there is please review

Up Next: Peter does something and we learn just how Jake managed to sneek his group out of the Centre all those years ago