A/N: Hello again! I apologize if I take too long to update. I really try to do so as soon as possible. Anyway! Have I ever said how much I love my reviewers? You guys are incredible! Your reviews never fail to make me smile like an idiot. Thank you! So here goes chapter eight. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 clues.

Chapter eight: Getting to know each other

When Amy Cahill woke up that day, she didn't remember a thing that had happened the day before. Three seconds later, the last day's events hit her. And gave her a headache. She had so many things to process and get used to. First of all, there was an entire Cahill CITY she knew nothing about until the day before. Secondly, there were two mysterious twin girls that claimed to be members of all four original branches. BORN members, that is. And she hadn't known. Nobody had. No, scratch that. Fiske had known. But he hadn't said a thing to her, nor Dan. If she wanted to be honest with herself, she had to admit that it hurt a bit. Of course he had explained. They were too young, they weren't ready to handle something like this. But we have handled so much more than that! She thought bitterly. We were part of the deadliest race there has ever been; the Clue Hunt. We were the ones who had to fight off dangerous enemies, even though we knew nothing about them; the Vespers. And yet, were were not ready to handle something like this? When we entered the Clue Hunt, Dan was only eleven. Eleven! We had to beat crazy relatives who tried to kill us. Relatives who were involved in our parents death. Our parents murder. But we wouldn't be mature enough to know something like this? Seriously, Uncle Fiske? Seriously? She couldn't really believe it. Nor understand it. Why had this place been kept a secret, even after the Madrigals' exposure? There weren't supposed to be any secrets. So why didn't anyone know about this? She did not know how to answer all of these questions. She felt kind of betrayed. And hurt. And angry. But she calmed herself down, just like she always did when she was upset and thought about it.

One of the reasons for the secrecy of this place could be the twins. They were a part of all five branches and born in four of them. So Amy could figure out why their existence had to be a secret. If the rest of the branches knew, they would try to kill them. One more reason would be the way the Madrigals functioned. Every Madrigal was a bit secretive, some (like Fiske) more than others. It would have to be hard to have everyone know you exist after spending about 500 years in hiding. Then there was something one of the girls had said. GCC had been a shelter for many Cahills who decided that they didn't want to help their branches rule the world. This city had been a place for them to hide, an umbrella to protect themselves from the storm, called the Clue Hunt, which had been destroying the world slowly. What would happen to these people if their branches found out about GCC? Amy didn't want to know. So she kind of understood why GCC had to remain a secret. She did not like the fact that Fiske hadn't told her, but she would get over it. She was not the kind of person who held grudges and she knew Fiske would explain things further. He always did. So she relaxed and told herself that she would talk to Fiske when she saw him again. That might take a while because a) Fiske was someplace else at least once a week, and b) they would have to stay here at least until the end of the summer. And considering it was still June, that would take a while. But Amy was patient and she could wait. Besides, who knew, maybe she wouldn't ave to corner Fiske and make him tell her everything. By summer's end, she may already know.

With that thought she got up and went through her morning routine: she brushed her teeth, washed her face, put on her clothes. She had found a suitcase with some of her clothing in it last night, before she went to bed. She inspected her room. It was simple: a desk, two chairs, a TV, a laptop and a bed. There was a door which led to her bathroom. That was it. No decorations and the walls plain white. She wanted to change that. She tried to remember what the twins had said. Something about how to make changes in their rooms... "You can add whatever you want by asking for it" That's it! SO how to ask, how to ask... She decided she would talk to the House. Just like the twins did.

"Um... House?" she asked hesitatingly. A voice was heard however.

"Amy Cahill. Is there something you want?"

Wow. This place's technology was incredible! Amy was sure even the Starlings would find it extraordinary.

"I would like to, um, decorate the room?"

It was more of a question than a statement, really.

"As you wish. What would you like?"

And so she described how she wanted her bedroom to be. It took a while, but she managed to make it look the way she wanted, eventually.

"Thank you, House. It's okay now."

"Goodbye Amy Cahill."

Well, the girls house was certainly polite! She inspected her room and she was pleased with what she saw. She had made it a light blue color and placed a few paintings of the sea on the walls. Well, she had the House do it. But still. It had been her ideas and that's what mattered. She checked the time. 9:03 It was early, but she was an early riser. SO she decided to go out and try to find the kitchen. Key word, try. She did not know this place, after all, and she was not sure if she could make it. She would ask the house if she got lost. So she opened the door, took a step or two and bumped right into Ian Kabra.

When Ian woke up he was not in a jovial mood. First of all, this was not his bed. There were no Egyptian silk covers and that pillow certainly did not contain swan feathers. Second of all, he knew that he would have to tolerate this bed for a long while. It was only June and they would have to stay at that place at least until summer's end. And he wasn't happy about that. This is going to be a long summer... he thought. There was not much he could do though, and he knew it. He would never admit it to anyone, not even himself, but Ian was not fond of the idea of disagreeing with Fiske Cahill. In fact, he kind of respected him. He was a man capable of many things and Ian had the chance to figure it out himself. He had proved to be extremely resilient and had recovered surprisingly soon after the Vesper Incident. He was the second to recover fully, actually, after Nellie, Amy's other guardian.

Amy... He wasn't sure how he felt towards her. He knew he should fell repelled at even the thought of her, but he didn't. She... fascinated him, in a way. She was not like any other girl he had ever met. Not because she was shy, or a bookworm. He had met plenty of them. Not because she didn't throw herself at him the very moment she saw him, though that was a part of the reason. Unlike what most people believed, not every girl that laid her eyes on Ian did that. No, it was Amy's intelligence and leader potential that attracted him to her. Amy had always had a silent power of some sort. She was smart; a lot actually. And she could be a great leader; she had proved that multiple times. And yet, she chose to hide, to stay out of the spotlight. Most of the time, at least. But then, just when you would think she is worthless and start forgetting about her; that was when she would expose herself to the light, to defend her family or friends and her presence would be blinding. And that was what fascinated him. Was it mere fascination, though? Mere respect? No. It was more and he knew that. The problem was, he could not say what this more was. It was sad how he had spent so long trying to hide his feelings and make them disappear that he was now unable to identify them himself. But, on the other hand, maybe what he felt for Amy was new. Maybe he couldn't name it because he had never felt it before. Which was kind of sad too.

He got out of bed and took a quick shower. He got dressed and exited his room. Hardly had he taken a step though when someone bumped into him. His quick reflexes worked perfectly as he caught her and steadied her.

"Good morning, love."

"G-good morning, Ian."

She cursed internally. She rarely stuttered now, but that didn't mean she didn't stutter at all. And her stutter had chosen the perfect moment to make a big comeback.

"Would you happen to know where the kitchen is, love?"

"Actually, no. I think the twins mentioned it yesterday, but I can't remember what they said."

She didn't bother to tell him not to call her 'love'. She did blush a bit, though.

"How do we find it then?"

"We could always ask."

He looked confused and a bit, amused?

"Ask who, love? I don't see anyone around but you and me."

"The House. House, where is the kitchen?"

"You follow this corridor, turn right and the kitchen is the second door on your right."

"Thanks!"

They started walking at the same time and Amy found herself once again comparing her strides to his. She stopped once she realized it though. She didn't want to remember what had happened the last time she did that.

When they entered the kitchen they saw that Ned, Ted, Sinead, Shaunee and Seraphine were already there. They were chatting and Seraphine was making breakfast. Amy noticed that Sinead's smile was wider that usual.

"Good morning!" she greeted.

"Good morning!" the others replied.

Amy took a seat next to Sinead and Shaunee, while Ian sat next to Ned.

"Why are you smiling? Did something happen?" Amy asked Sinead

"Yes! Shaunee and Seraphine say that they can cure Ned and Ted!"

"Really?" Amy smiled too. "That's fantastic!"

"Yeah! They are already working on a pill for Ned's headaches and planning surgeries for both of them!"

Sinead was so excited, Amy thought she might blow up from excitement and happiness. She was beaming. Literally.

"It's not just us, Sinead. We will need your help." Shaunee said. But she was smiling too.

"Still!"

Shaunee just laughed and said nothing.

"Seraphine? What are you doing?"

It took Seraphine a moment before she answered. She look so concentrated that Amy doubted she had heard her at all for a moment. Then she replied.

"I'm trying to make pancakes. And failing miserably."

"Ow, come on! You cannot be that bad!" Shaunee said. "I thought you could cook anything."

"That's right!" her sister retorted. "I can cook anything not make breakfast!"

"Okay, okay! Move away from the stove before you burn the house down. Again."

"Hey! That only happened once! And it was only the kitchen, not the entire house!"

"Yeah, whatever you say, sis."

Seraphine didn't answer that. Instead, she just sat next to Ted and started a conversation with him. A minute or so afterward the rest of the Cahills entered the room.

"You guys should really give out maps. This place is a maze!" said Hamilton.

"A map, huh? We'll think about it!"

It wasn't particularly funny, but everyone laughed. Even Ian. Shaunee finished making the pancakes and served them. It was a nice morning, everyone was talking with someone and the twins seemed to blend in perfectly. Gone were the cold 21 year olds. In their place were two Cahill girls who laughed and joked and answered a few questions and just let everyone get to know them. It was nice, actually. They were far from normal, but so was everyone else in that room. They wouldn't judge them, like others would. The Cahills in that room had learned not to judge people so easily and were giving them a chance. So they took it. They had to spend a summer with them either way, so why not make the best out of it? And just like that, the twins knew. They didn't have to say a word. They had decided that, yes, they would let these people know them ad the other way round. They had a feeling that the people to whom they were currently talking to would be important in their lives. That they would bring changes. They had learned never to underestimate their instincts and weren't going to start now. They looked at each other and smiled. This would be a very interesting summer...

A/N: Is this a bit too small, or is it just me? I'll try to make the next one longer... Okay. Sooooo what do you think? I really want to hear your suggestions. So why not let me know by (dun dun dun) REVIEWING? That's right! Review! If there is anything you don't like, or any question you might have, then please tell me. I would love to answer them. I will probably update again in two days.

Love,
Burning Tulip