Who are My Brothers?

by OneHorseShay

Sequel to 'We Love Each Other'. Life, fulfillment of dreams and hardships continue for Jade, Freddie and the rest of the former Hollywood Arts students along with Freddie facing a question he really never thought he'd have to answer in supposedly being an only child: 'Who are my brothers?

28. Chapter 28

Hello dear reader, it's been far too long for an update to this story, but I finally have one for you. I hope you enjoy this extensive update.

LindavO: I've updated Dark Dame since your review and posting another update simultaneously with this update. I hope you enjoy both updates.

DemonOnigiri: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the updates.

ArtisticAngel6: I hope this update was worth the wait and we'll see what happens with Jade. Thanks for reading.

JadeElizabethOliver: That is one way to describe the woman as she's jealous of the relationship between Jade and Ian, not seeing it as a sibling, but mother/child. It's a threat to her psyche. We'll see what steps Jade will take to make sure her relationship with Ian is maintained.

Fanfic-Reader-88: Mister West is hardheaded, but he's not suicidal. If Freddie doesn't frighten him, Shay certainly does. Hopefully he'll fully come to his senses before something drastic happens… like feeling his daughter's wrath.

Sam's grown as a person since her time in L.A. She does care about Ian, so most of what is driving her is genuine guilt, something she doesn't feel most if at all.

The Dusty/Ian scene was necessary for them both as what happened is pivotal to both their character arcs.

Guest: Thank you. Freddie did talk a little sense into Mister West, whether it be appealing to how his daughter feels or just the turmoil he might feel from Freddie and Colonel Shay for putting Jade through that pain. Jade did want to slug Sam as she still holds her greatly responsible for what happened and really on one level, never forgave her for what she did to Freddie for years. Ian gets unconditional love from Jade, something she never thought she would be able to give someone due to her life experiences, so they've benefited from their relationship. Thank you for reading.

Okay, I have to give special thanks to Ty616 for repeatedly giving me several swift kicks to get back on this story between my other works, so this chapter is dedicated to this reader.

Rating: T, Language

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Chapter 28

West Residence
Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, October 26, 2013

About an hour after sunrise, a rapid and noisy banging on the front door of the West home drew the attention and woke up a number of the occupants of the house.

Spencer jerked awake from his position sprawled out on the couch, sitting up with messy mat of hair and yelled half-asleep, "I'm up, I'm up!"

Mrs. West was already awake, only getting a few hours of sleep that night, and lazily sipping on her coffee to stay awake from her seat behind the kitchen counter. She sat her coffee down on the counter then got up from her seat to answer the door. On her way, she stopped by the couch and patted the disheveled artist on the shoulder, reassuring him that everything was alright, "It's okay, it's okay, go back to sleep."

The artist smiled his thanks, always grateful to his late-mother's dear friend and practical sister. He rolled back onto his side and tried to snuggle back up to his pillow.

Mrs. West headed for the door then opened it without checking the peephole. She was quite surprised at who was standing on the other side and muttered without thinking, "Carly?"

Carlotta 'Carly' Shay, the Seattle girl that really needed no introduction, stood on the porch with an anxious expression.

The matriarch without thinking pulled her goddaughter into a hug and the pair held on to one another for several seconds before Carly released her and frantically spoke, "I hopped on the first flight when I heard what happened this morning. Did they really find Ian? Is he alright? Where's Nora?"

Mrs. West rested her hands on the young woman's shoulders, hoping the physical gesture would help calm her down as she explained, "Ian's fine. He's back home and Nora—"

She was cut off when Carly called out at seeing her father approached from over Mrs. West's shoulder, "Dad!"

The retired colonel approached from behind, still dressed from the previous evening, and rested a hand on Mrs. West's upper back before slipping around her and hugging his daughter close, beyond thrilled to see her. He kissed her temple then pulled back just enough to be able to look upon his daughter. The Seattle girl smiled and he was instantly reminded of her mother. It was a bittersweet feeling, but more sweet than bitter. "Hey cupcake."

"Hi dad."

"Carly!" the familiar and energetic voice of her brother called out from behind her father after failing to try to settle back to sleep and realizing her arrival.

The brunette pulled away her father and the siblings embraced, "Spencer."

The artist picked her up and took a step back further into the house and away from the other couple to swing her to his left and right a bit, letting her feet dangle. She let out a joyful giggle and tightened her arms around her brother.

Spencer sat her back down on her feet and pulled back yet holding on to her shoulders. A grin was plastered on his face as he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Carly huffed out a breath with a mix of a giggle, "The same reason I'm guessing you are: I heard that Nora broke out and kidnapped Ian."

The older Shay sibling's smile slightly faded, remembering why they were all in Los Angeles. "Yeah, but you missed what happened."

The brunette turned to look to her father and future stepmother and asked, "What did happen?"

A car horn outside caught their attention and they looked to see an impatient taxi driver, apparently waiting to get paid and for Carly's luggage to be uploaded.

Shay offered with a nod back of his head, "We'll get your luggage while Ruby catches you up. Come on Spencer."

The son dutifully followed his father out to the taxi to grab Carly's luggage. The father and son pulled the two suitcases and carryon bag out of the backseat and trunk then the retired Colonel paid the cab driver.

As the Shay boys were getting Carly's luggage, Mrs. West led the former webstar further inside and explained, "Ian's fine. Sam and Dusty found him and brought him back. Nora on the other hand… that's a little murky."

Carly's concern deepened and expressed it with a worried expression.

The matriarch was about to further explain, but Sam groggily called out scratching the side of her head as she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, "What's all the noise?"

The brunette turned away from her future stepmother and dashed through the living room to get to the kitchen to see her longtime friend. "Sam?"

Sam blinked awake as she reached the bottom step and thought she was seeing things for a moment with Carly in her vision. "Carly?"

The brunette simply laughed, "Oh it's me. Maybe if I was dressed as bacon you'd be more excited."

Sam blinked again then walked over and picked the girl up to give her an exuberant hug to match the one Spencer gave her.

Carly laughed up a storm as she shouted, "Okay, okay! You're happy to see me!"

The dirty blonde sat her back down and asked, "What are you doing here?"

The former webstar laughed, "It's good to see you too."

Sam rolled her eyes and uttered, "That's not what I meant cupcake."

Carly rolled her eyes and answered, "I saw online what happened, so I had to come. What's going on? Nora broke out, kidnapped Ian… she's missing?" She turned a gaze to Mrs. West, waiting for her to begin again after Sam's interruption.

The troublemaking blonde shook her head and answer with a bit of sarcasm in her voice, "She's not missing."

"Then where is she?"

Shay stepped back inside carrying one of her suitcases and sat it down just inside the home before nonchalantly answering, "Mister Hale said she should be in Hell."

If Carly's face could become any paler, it just might have at that moment as she knew that wasn't some idle boast. She didn't believe she heard her father right and asked for confirmation with a quiet voice, "She's dead?"

Shay repeated the explanation Dusty gave to them, "Mister Hale said that she was in Hell 'if the Reapers had done their job'. I'm going to take that as her being dead."

The former webhostess' eyes grew wide and questioned, being a little slow on the whole comprehension of Nora's possible death, "Wow, ah…"

Shay casually answered, "Yeah… He couldn't say anything else since he was arrested."

Carly practically shouted her assumption, "They arrested him for murder!"

The former flyer answered, "He was taken in for questioning since they don't know where she is. They either think he killed her or helped her escape. They probably think the latter since there is still a manhunt out for her."

"But why him?"

Sam followed up, "Since we're the ones that found Ian and I brought him back, but Dusty remained behind, so they think he either could have done something to her or… he helped her escape like your dad said. The only reason why I wasn't arrested was because I brought back Ian and he said Nora was fine when I left with him."

Carly looked at her oldest friend as if she had lost her mind. "They think he helped her escape?"

"They went to the house, she's not there, they can't find her and Dusty's not saying anything else, so… there are only two choices, but we know the truth."

Carly closed her mouth tightly, not wanting to even ask the question, but she felt like she had to know the truth. "So you're accepting what he's saying? That he killed her?"

"It's not much of assumption. I left with Ian just as we told the cops, but he told me he would and when I was leaving the house with Ian, the house nearly exploded with a blinding light—the door went flying across the yard and blew out the window. He caught up at mine and Cat's place and said she's in Hell, yeah like your dad said. I don't see why I should doubt him that she's in Hell."

Carly shook her head and just looked to Sam in utter disbelief then uttered, "Why? Why not just call the police on her at that point? You got Ian, why not let the cops handle it?"

Sam glanced down at the floor and rung her hands as she answered, "Dusty had his reasons and you'll have to ask him when you get the chance."

The brunette expression spoke volumes that she didn't like that answer. She shook her head and muttered, "This is bad."

Sam half-heartedly smiled with an uncomfortable expression on her face. "It could be."

Carly looked dumbfounded to her oldest friend and demanded, "It could be? Dusty is in jail for maybe killing Nora or helping her esca—"

Freddie walked down the steps, stifling a yawn, and reached the kitchen. He called out as he exited the kitchen into the living room, "What's all the commotion?"

Sam sarcastically answered, "We have a visitor."

The former Seattleite cleared the sleep out of his eyes and spotted Carly, momentarily caught off guard with her unexpected appearance. He looked wide-eyed to his first love. "Carly?"

The brunette pulled him into a hug and the old friends shared the warm and comforting hug. She pulled away and asked, "Yep, it's me. It's good to see you."

"You too. It's been too long."

The younger Shay sibling slightly bowed her head, feeling a bit embarrassed, but asked, "You're probably right, but… I left as soon as I heard about what happened to Ian. Where's Jade?"

Freddie's expression waned and reluctantly answered, "She's upstairs, finally getting some sleep… actually I think she passed out more from emotional exhaustion."

Carly knotted her brow, perplexed with the answer then asked, "Why? I thought Ian was safe." She felt her stomach figuratively drop and fearfully asked, "Did something happen to him while Nora had him?"

Sam slipped in quick with an answer, "No, she didn't do anything to him except not give him something to eat. It's what happened after."

"What happened?"

The former tech-producer sighed, "Ian's mother practically snatched him up and left after Sam brought him back then she's forbidden Jade from ever seeing Ian again. Saying she's not taking it well is an understatement."

Carly's pale complex looked as if it drained further of color then she uttered, "Oh my God… She's so close with him. She can't do that."

Freddie scowled and answered with in a low, threatening tone, "For the moment she has and Mister West is backing her, but it won't last for long. I swear it."

The fierceness that Carly saw in his eyes told her that there wasn't a hint of jest in his remark and felt a sliver of worry on how far he could go to keep his vow. She looked first to Mrs. West then the others as she asked, "What is she going to do?"

"Right now, nothing. She's still in the emotional shock of the kidnapping and them practically snatching Ian from her…"

Sam added with a surprising sympathy to her voice, "She really is a mess."

Mrs. West spoke up with a bit of hope, "Once Jade pulls herself together and gets her Lynn spirit back, we'll deal with Roy and his bimbo of wife. This isn't over by any means. You can't let it get to any of you."

The once undividable trio looked to the matriarch with various levels of acceptance. Carly was a little more enthusiastic in nodding her acceptance that they would deal with the problem when the time was right as she had seen firsthand Jade's fighting spirit when she completely dominated Sam in a fight. She mentally turned back the clock at the moment all their lives irrepealably changed in the hotel room. She brushed the memory away and looked to Freddie and asked, "What about Dusty? He's in jail, have you tried to get him out?"

"I haven't had the chance to check on him."

The Euro-trotting teenager questioned Freddie with an indignant voice, "You haven't checked on him? He got Ian back and you haven't done anything?"

Freddie returned with a stern expression, clearly offended that she would think he was abandoning his friend, "I've had my hands a little full at the moment. I have to trust that Dusty can take care of himself."

Carly crossed her arms under her chest, giving him a slightly perturbed expression that she didn't like the cavalier attitude.

The college sophomore met her gaze, showing that he didn't appreciate her judging him.

Colonel Shay interrupted, hoping to derail any argument by informing them about the developing news over the night as he had kept up with the news while the others had been preoccupied during the rest of the night, "No, you two aren't going to start. The media vultures reported that he had been released last night since this has become a media frenzy with Jade's involvement, but we haven't heard anything from him."

The former webshow costars shared a quick apologetic gaze then Carly sighed in relief, "That's one good thing, but that can't be the end of it if they haven't found Nora."

Shay nodded his head to the side and sighed, "No it won't, but we'll just have to see how it plays out for him. I'm not sure what we can do for him if he really did kill her or really that we have to do anything."

Carly was not a 'wait-and-see' kind of person and to be asked to do such a thing was a hard pill to swallow, so she decided to see if there was something else she could do, specifically the reason she flew across half the planet to get back to Los Angeles. "Fine then, we'll handle that later, but I want to see Jade now."

Freddie thought about arguing with her, pointing out that Jade had her fill of people wanting to see her and she had finally started to get some rest, but… arguing with Carly… that was a battle he wasn't sure he had the wherewithal to fight at the moment. He hoped that she would settle for a compromise, "Okay, but you deal with her in her crankiness."

"Fine, but it's not as if it's something unexpected," she answered with a hint of amusement and glance to her father.

The former flyer raised a curious eyebrow, wondering why his daughter would give him such a gaze.

Carly held a lopsided smile towards her father for a few more seconds before she started on her way to the stairs. Freddie fell in step behind her.

Shay looked to his future second-wife, wondering if she understood the meaning of his daughter's gaze. Ruby shrugged a shoulder then followed behind Freddie to bring up the rear.

They walked to Jade's bedroom and saw that the nearly black haired girl was snuggled up with a pillow on the bed, clearly replacing Freddie's presence with it.

Carly froze at seeing the wreck of Jade's appearance as her hair looked like a mess and could see the bags under her eyes, perhaps appearing even paler than normal.

Jade was fighting in her asleep, internally wrestling with what was plaguing her mind. After several more seconds of observation, she finally returned to the waking world. She sat up and brushed some of the sleep out of her eyes then noticed not only that Freddie had returned, but Carly was standing beside him. She thought she was seeing things until the fellow dark brunette entered the room and took a seat next to her on the bed.

She muttered with what felt like cotton in her mouth, "Carly?"

"Yeah."

Jade tried to compose herself, but the slightly older one of the pair didn't give her a chance and pulled the girl into an embrace. She wanted to fight the compassion, but failed and returned the hug to her future stepsister, burying her face into the side of her neck.

Carly rubbed her hand up and down Jade's back. She attempted to reassure her in the motherly voice she had used during some rare, unspoken times with Sam, "Hey, it's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Jade was tired of hearing those words, but she didn't want to argue with the girl. She knew she could be as stubborn as she, giving some credence to the idea that perhaps they did share a father.

The slightly older brunette pulled back and asked, "I'm sorry. I heard about Ian."

Jade cleared her throat and held back another wave of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her again after being calmed for the last six hours or so. She answered in a steady voice, "Yeah, he's with my father and my bitch of a stepmother. They don't want me to have any contact with him anymore. They don't want to endanger him again being around me—"

Freddie interrupted her, "Me, what he really means, but he's not going to do that. I'm not going to let him."

As much faith as she had in the man she loved, she couldn't work up enough to believe him now and answered, "You can't make him."

Shay softly spoke, "I can."

The group looked to the retired colonel and Mrs. West standing at the doorway. He took a slow, deep breath. He slowly let it out as he stated, "If Freddie didn't talk enough sense into him then I will. You can get anyone to do anything, you just need to find that pressure point and push. I'll push Roy if he doesn't come to his senses… I've done it once before."

Jade softly challenged, "Like you did in regards to me when he and mom were getting their divorce?"

Mrs. West softly pursed her lips and glanced down at her feet, regretting that her marriage fell apart so utterly it had come down to a messy divorce and probably physical violence from Shay to stop him.

Shay answered with total conviction and without a hint of regret, "I already told you that I did what was necessary and if I have to again for your sake, I will do so again. I make no apologies or have any regrets with my actions."

An uncomfortable silence filled the space among the future blended family for mere seconds before Jade mirthlessly remarked, "Shay self-righteousness…"

Shay answered with a self-confident smile, "You're welcome… but this time it wouldn't be me…" He passed the quickest of glances to Freddie then added, "… but…"

Jade quietly asked, "But what?"

"But… it may be a long shot, but… you have a lot of money Jadelyn and you have your mother's tenacity, so… why not fight for him? Give Roy a fight and one he'll never forget."

Jade squinted and voiced her confusion, "Fight for him? How?"

What the Colonel was getting at dawned on Freddie as he recalled something Jade had told him about the alternate future version of her had mentioned about Ian in case the day came that his stepfather and mother weren't looking out for him or giving him the love he needed. He took a deep breath and explained, "You sue them for custody."

The rockstar looked away from her future stepfather to her future husband and questioned, "What?"

Freddie took a seat on her left and rested his hand over her left hand. "Remember what you told me about crazy rocker chick future you said when it came to Ian? He was the only one that she still cared about and would have fought for him—she would have gotten him. I didn't think that was one of the things that was different about you."

Spencer and Sam had in the meantime made their way upstairs and outside of the room. He awkwardly laughed, "Whoa, that's a huge step. Custody? Really? I may have only three days of law school, but even I know that's next to impossible. They're just stepsiblings. There's not even any blood involved."

The older Shay sibling embarrassingly smiled as the others looked to him with various questionable looks.

Jade remained quiet as she recalled the conversation she had with her future—and hopefully alternate-self—and how it was the one thing that she trusted the strung out rock star still cared about in the world. If she was willing to take that step in insuring that Ian knew that she loved him, why couldn't she?

She calmly looked to Spencer and quietly commented, "Impossible? You talk about the impossible? I should be dead right now with a broken body. I've timed traveled and I've met an alternated universe version of myself, Freddie has literally met his other-self and Carly has traveled to an alternate universe where you were 'normal' and ready to marry Mrs. Benson. We are way beyond 'impossible'."

Spencer pulled his lips into a tight grin, mentally shivering from Carly's story about her own travels. He uncomfortably glanced around to look at the others, seeing that they agreed with her valid point.

Shay smiled at seeing Jade sound like she was getting her fighting spirit back.

Jade took a deep breath then continued as she felt a new sense of purpose, "If he wants to make a fight of this, I will make a fight of it. He's wanted us to bond and be siblings, well I'm going to hold him to that."

Mrs. West attempted to verbally throw on some cold water on Jade's determination, "Roy will dig in his heels if you do that. It really could make things worse."

Jade answered incredulously, "I can't see my brother; how much worse can it get?"

The older West frowned and put on a stern look, hoping to convey the seriousness of her counter argument, "Let's say you even get this to court and they don't laugh you right out of it on the first day, Roy doesn't like to lose and he's not going to accept losing to you. He will make it worst, I know he can make it worst. I was his wife and I know him inside and out and if you turn this into a war, he will fight it as one and he will not go through the humiliation of losing again, especially losing his second chance to his missed first chance with you. And do you know what he'll do if by some crazy miracle you win in beating him and somehow getting Ian away from his birth mother, he'll poison that child's mind to hate you out of pure spite before you have him."

The rock star closed her mouth tightly and glared at her mother, hating the woman's point.

Mrs. West turned her eyes to Freddie for a second then pressed, "What about Freddie? Have you even bothered asking him whether he wants to suddenly become a father to you wanting to be a mother? It's not just your decision to take on that responsibility."

The younger West blinked as the consideration had never crossed her mind. She hadn't considered Freddie's feelings or the idea that perhaps he didn't want to take on that responsibility. It was one thing to be the faithful boyfriend that dutifully played the role of future brother-in-law, but it was another to take on the role of fatherhood. Her cheeks flushed with warmth, hesitant to look to Freddie, fearful to look into his eyes. She swallowed down that fear and glanced over to her love, unsure what she would face.

Freddie supportively smiled to Jade and remained quiet, letting his expression give his answer.

Jade sighed in greater relief than she expected then turned her attention back to her mother and demanded, "Why are you so negative? Why don't you want me to try?"

Mrs. West ignored the irony of her daughter asking such a question and answered, "I'm not negative; I'm being realistic. Spencer is right. The idea that you could actually challenge him for custody is absurd. It's a baseless lawsuit trying to get custody of him and you'd be laughed out of court."

The rock star took a few breaths, trying to settle her temper, but some of it bubbled up and viciousness slipped into her voice, "Really? Is that what you think or is it because he's dad's stepson? You don't like the reminder that he hooked up with some blonde bimbo trophy wife over you and has a new family? That he had another child that wasn't from you?"

The room went so silent that the only thing that could be heard was the individuals' respective breaths. Shay turned his head and silently whistled, knowing he was about to see fireworks between Lynn women. Freddie looked a little stunned at the irony that Jade would make such an accusation against her mother since that's how she had originally felt about Ian's presence in her life. The Shay siblings remained quiet and weren't sure where to turn their eyes and Sam, she was holding back a smirk wanting to see the coming fireworks.

Mrs. West easily matched Jade's stern expression as she's the one from which the musician had inherited such a look. She coolly answered, "He's not Roy's child either. Roy moved on and so did I. He wanted to start a new family with the airhead blonde, that's his business and I don't care."

Sam interrupted with a raised hand, "Could we cut it with the blonde jokes."

The others looked to her as one, sharing looks that her point was a momentary pause in the tension.

Jade wasn't initially convinced and asked with a raised eyebrow, "Really?"

Mrs. West continued, warming her voice to dial back the tension, "Jade, I'm genuinely happy that you care so much about Ian, I really I'm. Do I regret that we didn't have another child since seeing how you've embraced being a sister? Yes. It never really bothered me because we seemed fine together until seeing you bond with him, but that doesn't mean I hold any resentment towards Ian for being the child and brother to you that I didn't get to have with Roy…"

Jade studied her mother's eyes to see if there was any deception in them, if there was any resent towards Ian as she had originally felt after her father remarried and adopted the woman's child.

"…but that's not the way to resolve this situation…" She turned her head to look at Shay and continued, "…and you shouldn't encourage her to take such an irrational approach to try to one up Roy."

Shay knotted his brow and asked genuinely surprised by Ruby's turn, "What do I have to prove to Roy? He's the one that's always had this competitive nature with me." He snorted out dismissively, "I'm not responsible for his lack of self-esteem."

Mrs. West crossed her arms under her chest and turned a withering look that would have made lesser men knees start to shake, but Shay returned with a lazy look and replied, "Look, she doesn't have to go for the kill. All she has to do is scare him enough to fold, that she's not going to just roll over to his demands because that's what this has always been about: her being the good little daughter that does exactly what her daddy tells her to do. He will fold."

Ruby fiercely countered, "Roy is not going to be scared and I don't see his wife getting that way. She's going to fight tooth and nail because I've seen it in her eyes how jealous she is of Jade's relationship with Ian. She's doing this to hurt her and she's going to do everything she can to hurt Jade with this."

"Enough!"

The couple turned their gaze from one another to the rock star's aggravated expression.

Jade continued after several deep breaths and with a stern look, "I don't want you two to be fighting. I don't need that right now."

Shay was quick to respond, "We're not fighting, we're discussion our differing opinions. We're giving you our honest advice for a decision that is entirely up to you."

Jade slightly knotted her brow, not looking convinced that was all that was going on.

The former flyer curiously looked back at her, slightly confused with her reaction.

"We'll be right back," Mrs. West spoke while grabbing Shay's elbow and nodded her head out of room.

Shay returned with an inquisitive look, but followed his future wife out of the bedroom and down the hallway.

After they were hopefully out of earshot of the other then Ruby let him go and turned a disapproving gaze on him, one that he was long familiar since the late seventies and they were teenagers.

Shay slightly shook his head and asked, "What?"

Mrs. West slightly tilted her head to the side and touched her fingertips to her temple. She dropped her hand from her head and looked to him with a tired expression. "Look, I don't want her to see us fight like she saw me and Roy, especially during our last year before the divorce."

Shay closed his eyes then opened them with a sweet smile. He brushed his hands up and down her upper arms and answered, "She's nineteen, not nine; she can deal with us having differing opinions. We're not doing her any good if we just tell her what she wants to hear." He rolled his eyes and incredulously asked, "When have we ever gone along to get along? If we do, then she'll know something is up."

Ruby slightly bowed her head and replied, "I want to give her a united front. You never did that with Taylor when it came to Spencer and Carly?"

The Colonel frowned for half a second then answered in a stern voice, "I am not making comparisons between our relationship and what I had with Taylor. We're going to handle situations as we see them, not how I may have hypothetically handled them with her. If Jadelyn can't see that we are united behind her regardless of how we disagree on getting to the same point then we have bigger problems than we thought."

Ruby brushed her forehead with her fingertips and sighed then dropped her hand to meet his eyes. She slightly shook her head. "I just can't see my little girl's heartbroken anymore and if she takes your advice, all I see is Roy dragging this out as long as he can and twist the knife more and more into her heart."

"And if she just sits on her hands then what?" He continued with a mix of sarcasm and disgust, "Roy's going to come around after she's been a good little girl and learned her place with him? I don't believe you want that for her for a second."

The dark haired matriarch turned and clenched her jaw tightly, pacing about a little then frustratingly remarked, "God, I hate Roy for this." She turned back to him and pointed. "He pushed this. He pushed for them to get along as a way to make her accept his choice of remarrying and starting a new family and now that they've really bonded, he's pulling the rug out from under her because he can't get his way and that bimbo bitch… I actually tolerated her because there wasn't anything wrong with her, but this… talk about insecurity. It must not have been just the looks that drew him to her."

Shay remained quiet as Ruby let out her frustrations, knowing that with decades of experience, it was best to just stand aside.

Ruby calmed her breathing and turned her gaze back onto him, feeling a little better with letting that tension out.

Shay smiled and asked, "So… what do you want to do?"

The lovely lady of the house thought on the question for a moment then answered with a tired tone, "I guess it doesn't matter what I want does it? It's what Jade wants to do… or I'd be just like Roy."

He supportively smiled and added, "It was always her choice, but what I meant was us. What are we going to do when we walk back in there?"

She cocked her head to the side and answered with a playful smirk on her lips, "Tell the truth."

The couple walked back into the bedroom with the rest curiously and eagerly eyeing them as if they were their parents eager for a decision whether they'd get the house for a night to throw a party.

Jade broke the tension with a raised eyebrow and asked with thick and blatant sarcasm, "So are you two done with your private argument?"

Shay matched her tone with a grin, "It would look like it."

Ruby passed a glanced back and forth between the pair, seeing another reason why people would think that they were father and daughter, then gave them a true answer, "We were not arguing. We're disagreeing as if you and Freddie have never disagreed about anything. I disagree with Steven's idea and think you can just wait your father out and let the tension die down then calmly get things back the way they were and Steven…" She looked to him and continued, "Wants to take the initiative… it's the rebel in him, but it's ultimately your decision to make and we're behind you one hundred percent."

"Thanks mom…" She tightened her smile and conceded embarrassingly, "Sorry about what I said how you feel about how you could feel about Ian… it was a cheap shot."

"It's alright… it's an understandable assumption, but… in this case, I'm clearly the grandmother." She shook her head and muttered, "Now I do feel old… and feeling hitting the five-o…"

"You?" Shay asked then thumbed to Spencer, "I should have a few grandkids by now, so don't talk to me about feeling old…"

"Hey!"

Shay's grin grew bigger, teasing his son a bit more.

Mrs. West's slips turned up to a small smile, feeling a tad bit about her age, though mortality never really bothered having faced it far too soon with Taylor.

Jade stood up and stretched her arms above her head, letting out a yawn then looked to her support group and said, "If that's settled and if you don't mind, I'd like to get a shower and dress. I feel like a mess."

Sam grinned, cocked her head to the side and sarcastically commented, "And looks like one."

Jade turned a half-hearted sneer to Sam and answered, "Thanks Blondie."

The babysitter rolled her eyes as the disheveled brunette got up from her seat and headed out of the room towards her bathroom.

Shay suggested with a confident tone and smile, "While she's doing that, why don't I make breakfast?"

Carly's face was still etched with concern, but her father assured her, "She'll be okay. She's a Lynn, tougher than nails."

Ruby gently smiled, feeling the supportive reassurance from her lifetime friend.

---

About an hour after Jade went to get a shower, Sam and Freddie completed their morning routine for the day and Carly got settled in the spare bedroom on the first floor, the future blended family met in the dining room for breakfast.

Freddie and Jade sat on the side of the table where they were facing towards the opening to the foyer while Carly, Sam and Spencer sat across from them with plates, silverware and empty glasses in front of them.

Shay approached the table and started laying out plates in front of the teenagers and the early thirty-something year old, one filled with pancakes and another filled with toast. Mrs. West brought a pitcher of orange juice and milk. She took a seat at the end of the table and the occupants began pouring themselves drinks while Shay went back to the kitchen to retrieve one more set of plates.

The former flyer returned balancing a bowl of eggs, bowl of sliced fruit and mug of coffee. He sat a cup of coffee in front of Jade and the musician picked up the mug and took a sip from her coffee. The hot liquid pleasantly slipped down her throat, but quickly pulled the rim from her lips and sat up due to the strength of the morning beverage and lack of sugar. She glanced to Shay with a questioning gaze.

The Colonel smirked as he took his seat cattycorner to Ruby and next to Carly.

Jade smiled in return and took another sip of her coffee for a greater pickup.

Freddie took a gulp from his orange juice then asked the traveling teenager, "So how's Europe? Is it as magical as you thought?"

Carly took a few seconds to eat a sliced of pancake then answered with a partially filled mouth, "I'll say it's as fascinating as I thought it would be. I'm seeing all the sites and immersing into all these little cultures. I love the little quaint towns, especially in Switzerland. You have to see the mountains one day. They're just… beautiful. I have so many pictures to show you. I know I've posted some online, but I still have tons more to show you. The people are so welcoming—"

"American dollars will open a lot of doors," Shay remarked before sipping his drink.

Carly grinned and rolled her eyes. "Don't be cynical dad…" She turned her attention back to the others at the table and continued, "They're real welcoming as long as you're genuinely nice and friendly and at least give it an honest try in trying to speak their languages…" Her eyes lit up and got a little giddier, "Oh, the languages, they're beautiful to listen to. I've picked up a bit here and there and I think I'm enjoying the French the most."

Jade cocked an eyebrow and gently mocked, "Does that include the kissing? I know that's one of the things Tori enjoys about the culture…"

Carly eyes went wide and started sputter, almost dropping her fork on her plate.

Everyone around the table gave her curious expressions to one degree or the other, though Spencer looked more concern while Jade was trying to stifle a laugh.

The former web-hostess shook her head and bashfully answered, "No, I haven't. I've been practicing the language, not kissing…"

Shay could tell that his little girl was telling the truth, but the look in her eyes told him that she had been tempted by a few. He audibly sighed then remarked, "At least you're not taking after Spencer."

The artist looked to his father and demanded, "What do you mean by that?"

The father smirked and answered just before sipping the rim of his mug, "You were always the lady's man since elementary school… I think it's the goofy charm… and the good looks."

Sam commented while her mouth was mostly stuffed, "Hhee just can't… hooold onto them… remember that dating site?"

Spencer rolled his eyes to the ceiling and overdramatically sighed.

The Colonel half-grinned and asked, "Is that the time you posted just eating cereal?"

Carly answered for his brother, "Yeah and he had a lot of responses including a few psychologists that wanted to 'help' him."

The older Shay laughed to his son, "So they wanted to play 'doctor' with you?"

Spencer gave him a squirrelly look then realized what his father meant then snorted a laugh, "I didn't play doctor with any of them."

Shay looked to his son with a soft challenging look, questioning such a denial.

Spencer raised a hand and putting on an innocent expression.

The father held his gaze for a few more seconds, refraining from asking why he would pass up the chance. Instead he verbally leant his support, "Good, I don't want grandkids that way…" He turned a smile to his daughter, but one that was more as if he was going to interrogate her in a friendly manner, "So, about those boys…"

Carly answered with a blush, hiding her face behind her cup to try to stall the inevitable, but knew she would have to eventually fess up, "I ah… may have kissed a boy or two…"

"Any names… if you remember them…"

Ruby softly nudged Shay with her elbow and gently admonished, "Steven…"

"What? I'm a concerned parent even if she's old enough to vote." He looked to his daughter and raised an eyebrow.

Carly knew when she was cornered, especially by her father. "Okay, one guy that I actually kissed, but it was a little… weird."

Sam smirked, but made sure that her look was playful and supportive of her best friend as she asked, "Weird? That's not a good sign."

"He's a prince okay. I cut through this small country that I didn't even realize was on my map and he noticed me from the show at a street café, so he asked me to dinner. He's a prince; I wasn't going to say no to him."

Jade laughed, finding the hard to believe happenstance amusing yet believable with Carly's luck, "A prince? You kissed a prince?"

"Yeah, but…" She looked to Freddie and her cheeks blushed deeper and remarked, "He looked like Freddie…"

Freddie tightened his grin and nearly spat out, "Ah… Gabriel, good old Gabriel…"

Jade half smirked with her gaze on her boyfriend, asking whether he was jealous without speaking.

Carly's eyes nearly popped and nearly tripped over her words, "Wait, you know him?"

Jade teasingly smiled while bringing the rim of her mug to her lips. "He attended one of my concerts during my world tour and got mistaken for Freddie for a backstage meeting then dinner. It was an interesting meeting…" She licked her lips and gave a flirtatious gaze to Freddie as she finished, "…and Freddie got a little jealous."

The college sophomore didn't bother denying the statement in his retort, "I didn't like the way he was looking at you or going on and on about how great his kingdom was to impress you—and the picture with him as some Greek demigod using lions to pull a chariot, really?"

Jade playfully smirked, touched by the possessive response from Freddie. There wasn't much of it between them due to the explicit trust they had for one another, but sometimes seeing it come out was cute and reassuring.

Carly idly commented, "I think if I would have played my cards right, he'd have made me his princess."

Jade agreed with a soft laugh, "That makes two of us."

Freddie knotted his brow and pursed his lips almost as if he was pouting. He mumbled while reaching for the glass of milk, "The jank he would… not my queen…"

The rock start reached over to her boyfriend and tickled under his chin and asked, "So I'm your queen?"

The former tech-producer sat his glass down and rested his elbow on the table, turning his full attention to his love. "You're a lot more than that to me and if he wanted to make you his princess… then I guess we would have a dual for you… or maybe a joust."

Jade licked her lips and fought not to split into a face breaking smile at the silliness of his statement, but one she had no doubt he would have carried out for her.

The Colonel bit off a piece of his toast then asked, "So you would have caused an international incident and brought down an entire monarchy down?"

Freddie thought about it for half a second then answered with a nod of his head, "Yes, yes I would."

Shay raised his mug and lazily commented with a smirk, "I'm glad we cleared that up."

Jade kissed Freddie's cheek and teased almost, almost mockingly, "My hero."

Carly playfully grin, hiding it behind the rim of her glass as she asked the young couple, "So, have you two finally set a date yet?"

Jade and Freddie shared quick glances then he took a deep breath then sighed, "No, we haven't set a date and we're not in any rush to set one…" He snapped his head to double check with Jade, "We're not really rushing for a date are we?"

Jade closed her eyes and slightly shook her head then breathed out, "No, we're not. After you graduate is fine by me. We're together, that's all that matters." She slightly leaned to him and stole a quick kiss off his lips.

Sam rolled her eyes at the affectionate display and chugged the last of her orange juice.

Carly found the affection sweet, glad that one thing was still positive in the situation. She glanced over to her father and future stepmother and asked, "So… have you two set a date?"

Shay got up from his seat and started picking up the cleared plates and answered with a laugh, "Look, I need to get some more coffee…"

Ruby half smirked and glanced over to Shay's retreating form then looked to her future stepdaughter and answered, "We haven't set a date. We're just taking one day at a time… actually he hasn't really popped the question, not really." She looked over her shoulder and spoke loud enough to be heard in the kitchen, "He needs to put at least a little romance into it."

"I'll get you some black roses…" he shouted back and echoing in the room.

The matriarch of the home shook her head and sipped her drink, trying to hide the smile behind her coffee mug.

Jade looked over to her future husband and commented with a wicked smile that showed she was feeling better, "I should have asked for black roses before you proposed."

Freddie shifted in his seat towards her, resting his forearm on the table and answered, "I'll get you some for Halloween."

A genuine smile appeared on Jade's face, a small one, but clearly a real one after the emotional rollercoaster of the last day.

The rest of the conversation among the teenagers and the artist that just couldn't grow up turned to a fairly lighthearted one about other things that had been happening in their respective lives—minus the revelation that Freddie had half-siblings—that was punctuated with a few soft laughs.

Mrs. West excused herself from the table to take her plate back to the kitchen, passing Shay standing off to the side, bracing his shoulder against the frame of the opening between the dining room and kitchen. He just watched the scene unfold, letting the faintest of smiles play on his face.

She slipped up beside him after putting her dishes in the sink, catching the soft, almost hidden smile on his face, and asked, "What?"

Shay slightly turned his head to look at her from the corner of his eye and answered, "Our children are all sitting around the same table and happy for the most part… it should have happened a long time ago and a lot more often… my mistake."

Ruby leaned over to give him a kiss on his cheek then whispered, "Wasn't just your choice. We have enough regrets in life… no point in wallowing in them."

The former flyer slightly turned his head, catching her gaze and pointing out, "You seem to forget who you're talking to."

"My stubborn Steven, what's new?"

They shared a soft laugh before the doorbell rang, inevitably interrupting the mood for the family. Mrs. West stepped away from her future second husband and cut through the dining room to the foyer.

Mrs. West opened the door and was surprise by her porch swamped with Jade's friends: The Vega sisters, Beck, the Benson siblings, Cat, Robbie, Rex, André, Ava and Sinjin were crowding the porch. She took a second look at Sinjin as she still couldn't stand that 'mop-headed freak' due to his resemblance with her first love.

"Hi," she answered a bit slow, still processing everyone that had shown up. She wondered if they had coordinated their arrivals. "Are you trying to lay siege to my porch?"

Tori took the lead in speaking and asked in a hopeful tone, "We were hoping to see if Jade was up for visitors."

"I don't know if she's up for company at the moment… or filling my living room, but… I'll check." She stepped aside and decided to let them inside instead of just waiting outside to draw attention, which took a few moments to get everyone inside. They quickly filled the foyer and spilled into the living room.

The gaggle of visitors shared various levels of surprise when they spotted Carly exiting the dining room to their left.

Tori began with a laugh, "Carly?"

Carly turned on her bright smile at seeing the old extended group of friends. "Hey, it's good to see everybody."

Beck was the first to approach the former webstar and swept her into a hug.

Carly returned the hug and patted him on the back, giggling a little.

The friends pulled apart, the long haired actor holding her upper arms and grinning, feeling far more upbeat than he had felt over the last few days. "It's great to see you."

"It's great to see you too. It's been too long." She slightly tilted her head to the side and bashfully smiled. "I just wish it was under better circumstances."

Beck dropped his hands off her arms and casually answered, "Me too, but you're here. That's what's important."

Tori gave the pair a sideways glance, feeling a twinge of uncomfortableness with how well the pair greeted one another. The secret of the friendship they had formed in those initial months of Jade and Freddie's relationship had been explosive for Jade when it came out as she had made the reasonable assumption was that the pair had become friends through a presumed common goal of getting the couple to break up, Freddie to move back to Seattle and give Beck an opportunity to reconcile with Jade. It was a reasonable assumption, but one that didn't turn out to be true and a real friendship had formed, one for the most part until this day hadn't been a fairly secretive one.

They were still clearly on good terms regardless with Carly busy trotting through Europe and Tori wasn't sure how she felt about such a circumstance.

Beck stepped away and of all 'people' to greet her next was Rex. He laughed and slipped his way into the conversation to give Carly a hug. "Hello sweet cheeks."

Carly was still getting used to Rex's similar appearance to her old onetime 'bad boy' boyfriend Griffin, but she happily accepted the greeting from the friendly former puppet. "Hey Rex."

Rex's right hand went a little further than the small of her back to the beginning curve of her behind.

The dark headed teenager pulled back and smirked, raising an eyebrow and giving him a look that told him she knew exactly what he was trying to pull but wasn't particularly upset.

Rex innocently smiled and raised his hands away from her. "Sorry, hands tend to wander on their own sometimes. Still getting used to fully functional ones."

Carly smirked and slightly squinted, playing along in a smooth and flirtatious voice, "I bet you are…"

Shay turned a dark glare to the former puppet and uttered loud enough to hear from the entranceway to the dining room, "Then someone might need to put strings back on them…"

Rex turned his attention to the Colonel, seeing the predatory smile and cautiously taking a step back… but not before stealing a cheek kiss from Carly.

Carly let out a giggle and patted him on the upper arm, enjoying the bit of flirtation from him.

Shay gave him a warning gaze to not push his luck with his daughter.

Jonathan and Amanda looked on curiously at hearing the odd comments about the tall teenager.

Rex stepped back from Carly and allowed Cat to approach, instantly drawing a stunned expression and muttering, "Cat? Your hair…"

Cat took her curly brown hair in her hand and brushed down it, still trying to get used to the change. "Yeah, I had to get rid of the coloring. Dusty said that my hair was becoming too damaged, so…" She put on a pout, "I still miss my hair color though."

The former Seattle teenager offered a comforting smile and hugged her. She rubbed a hand up and down her back and assured her, "It's okay. It looks good though."

Cat returned the hug and smiled, thankful for the support from her second cousin. "Thanks."

Carly pulled out of the hug and turned her attention to André, her friendly disposition turning into a glare towards him and if she had Spencer's same pyrokinesis ability, the musician would be withering in pain from being consumed in flames. She barely spat out a cordial greeting, "André."

The soulful musician returned with a tight smile and tried to answer politely, "Carly."

Freddie darted his eyes back and forth, wondering if there was going to be a blow up between the pair. "Are we going to be okay?"

Carly stared at the dreadlock wearing musician and answered with a curt tone, "As long as he doesn't say something absurdly stupid again, we'll be fine."

André tightened his jaw and returned with an uncharacteristically cool tone, "I didn't say anything stupid. You're the one that told me to—"

The brunette young woman from Seattle's cheeks started to flush and was about to explode with anger, "You're damn right I did and you can still do that to yourself if you believe that nonsense and what you tried to call me."

"I didn't call you anything—"

Carly took a step to the songsmith and raised her finger to point at him. "You called my dad a liar and you knew exactly what you were trying to imply about me when I wouldn't let you get by with it."

The younger Benson siblings looked stunned at the vitriol that could sprout from the sweet looking teenager, especially with her reputation from the webshow.

Shay physically and verbally stepped into the potential fray, "Enough, you're not going to work yourself up over him again."

"But dad—"

He rested his hands on her shoulders and assured her, "It's alright… if he wants to believe that nonsense and drink the Kool-Aid, that's his business and he's free to do so. If you worried about everyone else's stupid positions, you'd drive yourself mad."

André didn't look too pleased with Shay's remarks about him, but he didn't have to courage to start another argument with his previous encounter with the former flyer. The decorated officer had verbally cut him off at the knees with a well placed statement that shut him up pretty quickly.

Jonathan discreetly leaned over to question his brother, "What's going on between them?"

Amanda gave him an equally curious glance in wanting to know the answer.

Freddie whispered back with a mild grimace, "They have a differing opinion on politics that got really personal because it cost her father his job. I'm surprised you haven't seen him on the news, but I'll tell you later."

The younger Benson siblings shared another look as their curiosity just grew in wondering what could have upset such a sweet dispositional girl.

Carly took several deep breaths to calm her nerves, feeling the anger inside her heart slowly simmer back down.

Trina softly chuckled and pulled the traveling young woman into a hug, hoping she would help calm the girl, "Hey girl. It's alright." She pulled back to face Carly while holding her upper arms and asked to steer to a more lighthearted topic. "How's the grand tour of Europe?"

Carly shared a laugh and answer while slipping from the hug, "It's an eye opener. You should try it sometime. I have so many stories to tell."

"I just might." She cocked a knowing eyebrow and asked, "Meet any cute boys along the way?"

Carly's laugh turned a bit nervous and smile grew just a little bit bigger, sparing a glance to her father and brother.

Shay and Spencer simultaneously raised their respective right eyebrows, picking up the shift in pitch of her voice and thinking there might have been something a little more to her adventure than what she led on during breakfast.

Trina saw the shift in the former webstar's demeanor like she had sent up a flare, so she leaned in and whispered, "Fill me in later."

Carly nodded with a relieved grin then looked to the others to continuing the greetings. She paused at seeing Amanda, a twin to Cat but with a darker shade of red velvet than the musician formerly wore. She was aware of Shelby Marx—considering Tori to be the double as she had met and became friends with the fighter first—and Jade's doppelgangers, so the concept of seeing another 'twin' wasn't entirely a foreign concept, but that still didn't make it any less startling the first time. She recovered from her surprise and politely introduced herself to the two unfamiliar faces, "Oh, hello. I'm Carly."

Jonathan smiled and offered his hand, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Jonathan. You can call me Jon. This is my sister Amanda."

Carly gave a slight nod, but unsure smile to the strangers.

Freddie easily picked up on her uncomfortableness at being cut out of the loop of why the siblings were there, so he motioned to Jonathan and Amanda and answered, "Carly, Jon and Amanda are my brother and sister."

The pale former webstar paused, unsure if she had heard him correctly then asked with wide eyes, "What?"

Sam laughed at Carly's stunned expression then answered with the humorous tenor, "He's not joking kiddo. Daddy Benson got himself a new wife after leaving Mrs. Benson and popped out a few kids."

Freddie threw a mildly disapproving look to Sam about being so cavalier about his father walking out on him and his mother, but quickly forgot about it confirm her central point, "I have half-siblings."

Carly took a hard look at Jonathan then glanced to Freddie, seeing a bit of resemblance then nervously laughed, "Ah… wow… this is…"

The computer science major lazily answered, "Yeah… it was a shock. It was something when we found out."

The brunette put on her bright smile that Freddie fell in love with when he was eleven and replied, "I was going to say great. You have a brother and sister. When did you find out? How did you find out?"

Amanda readily agreed with a smile tossed in Freddie's direction, "Yeah it is great finding Freddie."

Jonathan looked from the corner of his eye at his sister, perhaps questioning how 'great' it was to find Freddie without considering the consequences to their family.

Freddie's annoyance for Sam partially subsided as he could easily agree that despite the awkwardness of finding out he had siblings from a man that refused to acknowledge him as a son, he was happy to meet Amanda and Jonathan.

Jonathan volunteered with a smile that Carly could see was quite similar to Freddie's charming expression, "Accident really. I met Jade and Tori because their class is after mine in the same room. I hung around a bit playing the piano and Jade was early. We started chatting over the weeks and on the same weekend that Tori had her accident, our dad came for a visit. Our dad and Freddie met at the hospital and confirmed that we're brothers and sister."

Amanda interrupted with a heavily laced sarcastic manner, "It's about time you admit the truth."

Jonathan rolled his eyes.

Carly slightly squinted as she passed glances between the new additions then one to Freddie, hoping for an explanation.

The dark red-velvet haired explained her brother's hesitance, "He's had his doubts when dad refused to acknowledge Freddie."

Jonathan incredulously asked, "Who was I going to believe? Our dad or a stranger that I had watched on a webshow for a few years?"

The traveling Seattleite sympathetically nodded her head and commented, "I can understand that. If someone suddenly said he or she was my dad's child, I wouldn't just take their word for it…"

Carly realized what she had spoken, feeling a slight heat of blush. She turned her head and was immediately met Jade's eyes with a questioning raised eyebrow and a half-cocked smirk.

The younger Benson siblings noticed the nonverbal exchange with the future stepsiblings. Jonathan lightly commented, hoping they would take it as a point of conversation and not him trying to pry into anything, "I feel like I'm missing a joke in there somewhere."

The former webstar cleared her throat and hastily answered, "Oh, it's nothing, nothing at all."

The handsome younger Benson brother curiously looked at the Seattle girl, sensing there was something she was hiding.

Carly felt the scrutiny of Jonathan's gaze and hurriedly tried to think of anything to change the focus off of her. She glanced back at Tori and said the first thing that popped into her mind in a sympathetic manner, "I heard about the accident then a 'miracle' happened…" She closed her mouth to cut herself off when she remembered Jonathan and Amanda's presence.

Jade sighed, passing a conflicted gaze to Tori, and answered, "They know. Tori 'kinda' let it slip last night about Dusty."

Carly and Beck picked up what was just short of a disapproving look from Freddie towards Tori.

The pop star had the decency to look embarrassed.

Freddie curtly asked Jade, "'Kinda'? She just outright told them."

Tori was quick on the defensive, "They had to know—"

"They didn't need to know."

Tori cocked her head to the side and hope to cut off the argument before it really got started, "We've had this argument last night, do you want to have it again?"

Ava jumped into the conversation with a fierce expression, "Maybe we should. Who are you to tell practical strangers Dusty's business?"

The musician turned an annoyed glance to the shorter teenager, not appreciating apparently being double teamed about her choice.

Freddie followed up with a continued look of disgust, "What's the point? The damage has already been done and it's not like you'll actually be sorry for the betrayal of trust."

Tori was about to snap back, clearly offended by the insult, but Jade interrupted, "Enough, I don't need you two fighting or any of you fighting. I have enough chizz to deal with right now without it."

Tori looked down, a bit shameful while Freddie glanced away, clenching his jaw. Ava didn't look phased at all and her anger was visible.

Jade took several calming breaths as she didn't want to get angry again. She still hadn't emotionally recharged and she didn't need her rocks to be at odds, not at a time like this when she needed all the emotional support she could get before facing her father.

She continued with a stern tone, "They know, so what's done is done. We just hope that they will respect Dusty's privacy…" She turned her gaze specifically to the pair siblings to emphasize, "…and not share what he is to anyone else."

Jonathan joked, trying to make light of the entire situation, "I'm still having a hard time believing what you're tell me, but… they'll probably think we're crazy if we tried to tell anyone what you've told us."

"Good…" She glanced across her guests and asked, "Now that the reunion is done, why is everyone in my living room as if we're about to have a party?"

André gave a good hearted laugh, "We're here to check up on you, you know, give you all the support you need after… everything."

Ava added, "And to find out any news on Dusty."

Jade took a deep breath and gave a quick glance over to everyone answered, "I appreciate that you're all concerned about me and wanting to be here, but I'm okay now. Yeah, I'm mad. I'm furious about what's happened with Nora and now my stepmother, but I don't need babysitters."

Sam dismissively snorted out, "If we were here to babysit you, we would be charging you. That's how we made money on the side."

Jade turned an annoyed gaze towards the blonde. She did trust Sam enough to be a smartass with the opportunity arose and wanted to just smack the smirk off of her face, but that might look to be ungrateful for what she did in helping rescue Ian—though a piece of her still blamed her for letting it happen in the first place.

Tori passed a glance to Sam, hoping to convey she had gone too far with the jibe then continued, "Jade, we're here because we care about you and want you to know that we are here for you, not to babysit you. Anything you need, we're here for you."

A great many things had changed in the last two years and this was one of those things, unwavering support for her. She halfheartedly smiled and answered, "I appreciate it, but you don't have to have a vigil over me. You've already done that once for me and I don't really care for a repeat."

Uncomfortable expressions of various degrees appeared on the group's respective faces as the last time they did such a thing, Jade was in a hospital bed fighting a losing battle for her life.

The rock star reiterated, "Look, I'm going to be fine… we're going to be fine."

The brunette actress hated to go to the heart of the issue to potentially upset her friend, but everyone was genuinely curious and perhaps not willing to just accept that Jade was 'fine'. "Are there any updates? Have you heard anything about Ian? About what really happened to Nora?"

Freddie decided to field that question since he had first hand experience with that part of the situation, "I talked to Mister West last night and he wasn't budging for the moment about keeping Ian 'safe' from what could be happen being around Jade, but that's not going to last."

Jade answered with a mysterious smile, "We're coming up with a plan on how to deal with my dad if he doesn't see reason, but it's in the early stages, so we really don't want to share it right now…" She looked to her mother and added, "…it's a little 'half-baked' at the moment." She looked back to the others and continued, "About Dusty, all we know is the same as everyone else: that he's out of jail."

Cat wondered out loud, "Has he been by?"

"No. Have any of you've seen him?" Jade looked to Ava, thinking if anyone he would see, it would be the petite brunette and she wouldn't have brought up wondering if Jade had heard any news.

Ava sadly shook her head. "Nope, I haven't heard a thing from him. No calls, no texts, no tweets, no nothing. I thought about calling Heather, but…" She took a breath and slowly let it out, "We talked during Tori's party and I held out a hand, but I'm not sure how good we really are… things are still awkward after their breakup. She doesn't exactly see me as someone neutral on the situation."

Jade forced a smile, but it wasn't a happy one, and muttered in embarrassingly regret, "Yeah, it is with her… and no one would ever accuse you of that."

The former 'shrugger' smirked in return and glanced away, not bothering to try to argue the point.

Cat spoke up with a curious gaze, "Has anyone thought about praying to him?"

Every set of eyes in the room turned to the rising pop princess.

Cat's eyes darted all around and timidly asked, feeling that she was in trouble, "Whatie?"

Amanda looked to her double with a knotted her brow. "Praying to him?"

Tori shrugged a shoulder and nervously answered, "He hears them, so…"

Freddie pinched the brow of his nose and loudly let out a breath.

The Benson sister looked to her brother then to her half-brother, wanting confirmation to what she just heard and if it was true. Jonathan questioned with understandable disbelief, "Are you saying that you can really pray to him?"

Freddie sighed and reluctantly answered, "It's just one of those things he can do."

Jonathan questioned slowly, slightly squinted as he assessed each of the gathered friends' reactions. The various expressions trying to gauge whether or not they were being snookered into some kind elaborate hoax. He slowly questioned and tried to pick up any hint of deception on their parts, "Right… and none of this freaks you out?"

The teenagers traded looks, seeing what each other thought without having to speak.

Freddie decided to bite the bullet and answered, "We've had plenty of time to adjust to the fact that miracles really do happen… that there are angels and demons… a Heaven and a Hell… It's reassuring depending on your religious view or disturbing to know that you're correct."

Carly eagerly nodded her head and stressed, "There's definitely a Heaven…"

Shay looked to his daughter, his curiosity drawn due to the absolute certainty in her words. It wasn't just a matter of faith that her late-mother had instilled in her or simply meeting Mitch and knowing Dusty, but sounded as if there was something more to it.

Jonathan curiously asked, not understanding his older brother's point, "How is that disturbing? Knowing the truth?"

Freddie lazily remarked with a side nod of his head, "There's a difference between believing in the existence of angels and knowing they're real after seeing and talking with them."

The remark made Jonathan silent, but Amanda hesitantly questioned, still finding the whole situation unbelievable despite knowing the miracles after Tori's accident were real and needed the confirmation, "Have you really seen an angel?"

Her older brother answered with a nod and a smile, "Yes, I've met a few. I've had the most dealings with Dusty's mom."

Amanda was hesitant to ask, but her curiosity got the best of her, "Do you think… we could meet one?"

The younger of the Benson brothers looked to his sister with an incredulous expression. "Amanda?"

The dark redhead answered just as surprised by his tone, "What? You're not curious to actually meet one? A real angel."

Freddie took a deep breath, hating to burst his sister's bubble, but commented anyway, "You might be disappointed. They don't live up to what we imagine them to be."

An unlikely voice of Colonel Shay spoke up, "To be fair, they've lived up to what the Bible actually describes them as, not the Victorian and modern interpretation of them in popular culture. They're messengers and soldiers, not Roma Downey or Michael Landon."

Cat interrupted, feeling the need to defend the ethereal beings, "Dusty's Uncle Cas is nice. We've watched cartoons together a few times. Our favorites are Roadrunner and Coyote and Dusty said the cupids are pretty much like that."

Amanda knotted her brow and asked, "Cupids?"

Freddie lazily asked, "Supposedly the closest things to guardian angels. They get involved with people's love lives. I've never met one, so…"

The youngest of the Benson siblings nodded her head and muttered, "Right…" She felt a little disappointed, one part his opinion of them, one part not getting the chance to see one."

"But… you could ask Dusty when you get a chance. I'm sure he can arrange something. He's on speaking terms with a few, like his 'Uncle' as Cat puts it."

Amanda's smile brightened up a bit, feeling a new sense of hope.

An odd lull seemed to sweep the room as if no one was sure what else to say or do. They had gotten their updates about the situation and Jade's condition, but weren't really needed to hang around. It would be pretty crowded just hanging around the house.

Tori was the first to speak up and suggest for them, "Okay since it looks like you're alright and we know what's going on—"

"I'm fine for right now," Jade assured her with a patient smile.

"…then I guess we'll be going… you'll keep us in touch and let us know if there's anything we can do."

"I will and I do appreciate all of you stopping by… and not having to feed you," Jade added with a prodding smile and a nod of her head.

A wave of gentle laughter spread through the group.

Rex threw up a hand and definitely remarked, "Oh, I'm going to eat double at your Halloween Party."

Jade had only made tentative plans for a Halloween Party and even then, it was probably going to be held at the Vega sisters' place with Trina hosting it, and she hadn't given it any real thought of one between what happened with Tori's accident and what happened yesterday. She refrained from commenting on whether she would have one or participate in one without Ian. She couldn't see her partying with Ian's absence in her life.

Fortunately, any depressing thoughts were interrupted by Carly brightly smiling and joking, "That would be funny to watch and…" She looked to Jade and teased, "I just got here."

Jade glanced to her future step-sister and answered with a flippant remark that didn't have much heart into sounding the least bit sarcastic, "I wasn't suggesting that you hop on a plane back to Europe."

Shay sarcastically commented, "I certainly hope not. I have my kids in one place."

The Shay siblings and Jade turned a look to the former special operator, each weighing in their respective minds about how inclusive he meant by his phrasing of children.

Tori was the first to signal that they should head on out by pulling Jade into a hug and patting her back. The former rivals pulled apart and shared a smile then Beck followed with sharing a hug with his former girlfriend. He whispered into her ear, "It's going to be okay. I promise."

Jade tightened her smile, his words much appreciated coming from him with their history and answered, "Thanks."

Beck gave her kiss on her temple for old time's sake and comfort then let her go. He passed a glance to Carly, signally that they'd get a chance to catch up later.

The expression didn't go unnoticed by the Colonel and he wasn't necessarily pleased by it.

Jade remained in place as the rest each took their turn to share a hug—except for Sinjin as he was not going to get a hug out of her—and bid farewell before heading out the door. Cat was the last one in the group held on for a few more seconds and left a kiss on Jade's cheek before pulling away.

The former redhead looked to Carly and remained her with a grin, "We have to hit the cupcake shop before you go, okay?"

Carly laughed and nodded in agreement, "Oh, we're definitely going to get cupcakes. We're hitting the shops tomorrow then making an afternoon out of it."

"Yeah!" Cat shouted excitedly and threw her arms around Carly.

The brunette shared the girl's excitement and returned the hug.

Sam rolled her eyes and loudly sighed, "She's going to be bouncing off the wall all day and night. You might want to just go ahead and go this afternoon and make a night out of it tonight at our place."

The second cousins turned their heads at their mutual blonde friend, considering Sam's suggestion and not immediately thinking of any reason why not to put it off for tomorrow except for Carly returning to be here for Jade.

Jade cocked her head and offered with a smile, "It's not a bad idea. I don't need you to babysit me tonight. I'll be fine and you should enjoy the city."

Carly smiled a 'thank you' to Jade then turned to Cat. "Okay, how about late this afternoon? I'm going to need a long nap with the jet lag then we'll go out… we'll be up all night."

The former redhead threw her arms around Carly again, excited of the prospect of a sleepover

Sam refrained from commenting that it would be a long night with the bubbling redhead if she was on a sugar high, but she couldn't complain if it meant catching up and spending time with Carly.

Amanda smiled to her half-brother and informed him, "Tori's giving me a ride back to New York, so I guess the next time I'll see you will be Thanksgiving?"

Freddie softly smiled, a touched surprise that she was serious about having a sibling relationship with wanting to spend at least a portion of the holiday with him. He pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, "We'll have plenty of video chats before then."

Amanda smiled against his shoulder and squeezed him in return.

The siblings separated and he led her to the door. Jonathan followed a step behind and the brothers shared awkward smiles before the younger of the pair exited the home. The others followed behind with Jade waving her goodbyes. After waving the last of them goodbye then shut the door. She sighed, wearing a wary grin then walked back to the living room.

Carly idly remarked to Jade, "That was sweet of them."

The rock star grudgingly admitted, "Yeah, yeah… nice of them…" She couldn't help but think once again why they couldn't have been that supportive of her two years ago, but in hindsight, her life would be radically different if they would have reacted the same instead of all going to Yerba after her breakup with Beck.

Wanting to disregard those thoughts and perhaps do something productive instead of wallowing, Jade turned her back to them and headed back to the dining room. She lazily called out over her shoulder, "I'd like to finish my breakfast… and I think I want to write too."

Carly looked at Freddie from the corner of her eye, questioning whether Jade would be alright.

Freddie answered with a lopsided smile, "It'll make her feel better."

The brunette from Seattle nodded in acceptance, knowing he would be the best to understand how the rock star handled stress. The others followed her back into the dining room to finish breakfast.

Tori and Trina Vega Residence

Hollywood Hills, CA

Noonish, October 26, 2013

The door to the expansive house opened and Tori led the way inside with Trina behind her and Beck bringing up the rear. Tori sighed with genuine and happy relief while she dropped her keys off on a little end table next to the couch, "That went better than I thought."

The girl-next-door actress dropped into a seat on the couch as Trina followed up and walked in front of the couch to share the seat with her, "Did you notice the bags under her eyes?"

Tori sympathetically answered as if it could cross town to Jade unseen, "Yeah, but she really did look better than I thought. I guess she worked through most of it through the night then she has Freddie and her mom and…" She let out a gentle laugh as she finished, "…the rest to support her."

Beck took a seat on an arm of the cattycorner chair and casually remarked with his heartthrob grin, "Carly has that way with people."

Tori turned a curious eyebrow to her boyfriend, feeling more of that twinge inside her heart with his praise for the former webstar.

The handsome actor shrugged his right shoulder and nodded his head to that side as he added, "She's calming—if she hasn't worked herself up to a frenzy—and an emotional rock that'll listen."

The brunette actress commented with a slight tremor in her voice, "Right… it's a good thing she was there then…"

Beck either ignored or didn't pick up the shift in pitch of his girlfriend's voice and commented with a bit of jest, "Yeah, her being there is another good thing when everything's a mess… At least it didn't turn into a bigger one after you told them about Dusty then Rex told them what he is… we're lucky they don't think we're all nuts or worst, they believed us and they went nuts knowing it was true."

Tori rolled her eyes and answered, "Well, I had to explain what was going on so they wouldn't be concern about him when hearing all the rumors about him possibly killing Nora—and you're the one that let it slip about what he's been doing."

"I'm not disagreeing with you on that point, I'm just surprised that you would tell them."

Trina interrupted with knotted brow and a raised finger, preparing to unleash a biting remark, "I have to agree with Freddie on this; it wasn't your secret to tell."

Beck ignored Trina's point and retorted his girlfriend's point, "If they are going to be around him after finding out they're Freddie's siblings, they should know who will be hanging around them so they can make fair judgment call about their safety."

Trina interrupted with a flippant remark, "Why? Why should they concern about their safety with him around?"

Beck dramatically rolled his eyes as he answered, "Oh, I don't know Trina, how about the fact that he probably did kill Nora… he's killed plenty of people already."

Trina fiercely responded, "That batchizz crazy bitch kidnapped a six year old and wanted to do only God knows what on him to take revenge on Jade and Freddie. I'm just glad he got to him before she could do something to him, so why in the Hell should we care that he put her down?"

The actor looked to the older Vega sister sharply countered, "So her life isn't worth anything? He gets to play judge, jury and executioner. That doesn't concern you at all?"

The comedic actress rolled her eyes, feeling he was being a little dramatic with his moral outrage. She spat out in disgust with a glare to match, "She's already had a judge and a jury and the punishment sure as Hell didn't work. She kidnapped Ian for God sake."

Beck sighed with a hint of frustration and answered, "I know. I'm not trying to make any excuses for her. I'm just saying that it's not his place to do that."

Trina shrugged a shoulder and answered, "Maybe, maybe not, but I'm not going to cry any tears over her."

"Maybe not?" He animatedly waved a hand about and further asked, "What if he decides one day that maybe, just maybe he starts dealing with other people around here like that… maybe one of us? He doesn't like something we say and 'snap', something happens to us." He absently thumbed his shoulder and added, "He trashed my show's set in a temper tantrum."

Tori remained quiet on the couch and let the pair argue out their points, wanting to avoid playing referee this time.

Trina raised a challenging eyebrow and retorted, "You've known him for how long? You didn't think getting in Heather's face wouldn't piss him off? You're lucky he didn't break you in half. And what if one day you go nuts, get a gun and go on a killing spree? Are we to assume everyone around us is going to go nuts one day and become mindless sociopaths?"

Beck spat back without hesitation, "The difference is that I've never killed anyone before and the cops could stop me. What about him? What could stop him? What could really stop him?" He sarcastically added, "Maybe we can call up Captain Man from Swellview and hope he can stop him."

The older Vega sister pursed her lips and ever so slightly tilted her head to the side, struggling with an answer to such a question.

Beck shook his head and muttered, "That's what I thought. He's a bomb with a hair trigger and one day might blow up in our all faces."

Tori interrupted with a nervous laugh, hoping ease back the tension, "Beck, I think that's an accurate or fair description of him."

Beck looked to his girlfriend with mild disgust. "Great, another guy's side you're taking over mine."

Tori knotted her brow and questioned with a clearly surprised expression, "Excuse me?"

The heartthrob of an actor turned a fairly annoyed expression to his girlfriend and repeated clearly enough that there would be no mistaken that Tori had heard him, "Last night when Freddie and I were about to get into an argument, you took his side over mine and I'm the one that had to leave just like you're taking Dusty's side right now."

The actress's brow tightened and replied in a curt tone, "We weren't there for you to get into another disagreement with Freddie, but to be there for Jade. As for Dusty, as brash as he can come off with us, we know that he's a good guy. He's saved Ian and a lot of other people too."

"I know he did and he's helped a lot of people. I'm not questioning that, but I have a legitimate concern and all of you want to do is simply brush it aside and put on rose tinted glasses when it comes to him because what he's done for everyone."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he recalled that Jade felt the same way when they were together, that he didn't take her concerns seriously and never seemed to take her side. In that moment, he realized how she must have felt and it added to the regret in his life of first love lost.

As Beck was contemplating dragged up feelings and new realizations, Tori looked back at him stunned. She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts and answered with a raised pitched voice, "Whoa, wait a second. I am not just ignoring them. I'm just saying the timing of bringing them up wasn't good. It was about Jade and Ian, not about what you think of Dusty at the moment. I know you feel pretty strongly about that, but that was insensitive to say at the time. He had enough to deal with Jade's reaction to Ian's kidnapping and not being able to see him."

Beck slightly shook his head while maintaining eye contact and sharply retorted, his anger starting to get the best of him, "So what? Insensitive? It's the truth. He murdered someone. He didn't just beat her up to leave for the cops, he murdered her and everyone wants to ignore it."

Trina interrupted with a flippant tone and crossed her arms, "Some of us aren't ignoring it, we just don't care."

Beck snapped in return, his patience for his girlfriend's sister running dangerously thin, "And what does that say about you Trina?"

Trina's brow shot up then knotted as she made a face at him, ready to verbally rip him a new one.

Tori interrupted before her older sister could unleash the floodgates, "Beck, that's out of line."

"Why? Because I just called her out in thinking it's alright for Dusty to do whatever the Hell he wants? How about you actually take my side in this conversation? Not Freddie or Dusty or Trina's, but my side?"

Tori crossed her arms over her chest and challenged, "Even if you were wrong?"

Beck felt the twinge of hurt that she would openly question him like that, but he ignored it and snapped back, "Yeah Tori, even if I was wrong." Beck motioned a hand away and stated, "Heck, Freddie would do that for Jade. He'd put her first no matter if she was wrong or not."

Trina wanted to make a sarcastic remark that if he had down that with Jade in the first place, they probably would have never broken up.

Tori instinctively tried to counter with her mouth opening, but Beck continued, seeing that she was going to argue against his point, "Don't say that he wouldn't. Remember the PMAs? He knew it was wrong what Mason did to you and he was going to make sure that Jade performed that night and have the world see her. If his plan hadn't work where you could perform with her then you were just out of luck. He had no problem doing that, so stop putting him up on some pedestal."

Tori crossed her arms under her chest and countered, "I'm not putting Freddie on a pedestal.

Yes he did know it was wrong and that is why he came up with his plan so that Jade and I could perform at the same time. He was going to get one over on Mason and have us win."

"But if he failed you would have lost your chance at being a star to the world. It wouldn't have bothered you if he had sided with Jade over doing the right thing—namely you being the one up on that stage?"

Tori's emotional insides tore up and struggled with the question as she was living the benefits of performing that night. She took a breath and tried to give a reasonable answer, "The last time he did that, he flew up to Seattle on New Year's Eve to stop Nora and save the others. It almost broke them and she is his girlfriend. She's supposed to be his number one priority. Are you saying I should expect him to simply sacrifice that for me?"

"If he's really that good a guy that everybody thinks he is, then yeah, I would expect him to put you first!" Beck mentally hissed as soon as the words left his mouth, potentially giving her the excuse that she should look elsewhere to another Benson.

Tori challenged in return, refusing to take the bait, "Okay… you're just going around in circles. I should be loyal to you like Freddie is to Jade, no matter the consequences or that I should stand on my principles and express honest disagreements with you?"

Beck sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose then dropped his hand. "I'm saying that as a couple, I expect that you support me and I support you, but I'm just pointing out that he sometimes get too much credit in being the 'noble one' and you shouldn't be giving him more loyalty than me."

"Freddie is my friend and he's a good person. I am not being more loyal to him than you. I was being considerate of Jade, so if you want to be mad… then be mad that I put Jade before your petty childishness."

Tori pursed her lips, feeling suddenly awkward at her phrasing.

Beck clamped his mouth shut and took a deep breath, feeling as if he had been slapped. He forced a smile and stated, "You know what, I think I'm just going to book a flight back to New York and see if I can make it back there by tonight." He turned his back towards her and started for the door.

Tori answered in an equally clipped voice, "Okay, fine, you do that. I think I'll take another flight tomorrow. I want to see if there is anything more I can do to help."

Beck stopped in his tracks and answered over his shoulder with laced disgust, "You go do that." He picked up his step to exit the home.

Tori wide-eyed stared at Beck retreating form that he would just leave it at that, making snide remarks to one another.

Trina stood on the sideline, stunned at what she witnessed, believing she was seeing the first acknowledged crack in the couple's relationship.

---

Author's Note: Well, we had a number of surprises in this chapter. Carly's back into the mix after her European tour, Jade's getting her fighting spirit back, still have tension between Freddie and Tori, and Bori going more and more on the rocks… a lot of threads to explore. Take care, OneHorseShay.