The band took a few steps away from the Café before they cheered aloud, finally getting a decent gig.

YEAH!

FUCK YEAH!

WHOO!

Maria grinned & laughed in happiness. "I can't believe we're actually going to Las Vegas!"

"And it's all thanks to you!" Murph cried out "You didn't tolerate Mr. Slines BS, and you made him give us the biggest gig we'll ever gonna have probably!"

"I told you she was a valuable asset in this band!" Jake told them as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, proudly.

"When did you tell them that?" she asked him confused

"At our last band meeting. The one you didn't go to yesterday."

"oh. Well, sorry I couldn't go yesterday. I had…to do things…and stuff."

"Errands?" Matt asked her

"yeah. Let's go with that." She replied uncomfortably knowing that Elwood was the only one who truly knew why she didn't go to the meeting.

She then realized something…

I never really talked to the other band mates…I've been hanging out with Jake & Elwood so much, that I must have made it seem I was ignoring the other guys…

I never meant to…

"What do you mean "let's go with that"?" Tom questioned

She didn't reply so Elwood came to her defense "Look, she doesn't have to answer if she doesn't want to"

"No Elwood." She said calmly "I think it's about time they got to know the real me."

A few minutes later, the band gathered around in Maria's hotel lobby as she explained her story to the band members on a nearby chair.

"Wow" replied Don when she finished her story. "No wonder you guys are so close. I had no clue you were an orphan as well."

"Yeah" she replied with a sad shrug

"I got a question." Mr. Fabulous mentioned aloud

Oh god. Out of all the dudes, I like him the least…

"What?"

"Is your last name fake too?"

She cocked her head to the side a bit, confused "Huh?"

"Your last name 'Valens'; did you legally change it or is that your birth surname?"

"It's my real last name, ever since birth." She told him awkwardly "Why would you think I changed it?"

"Well" he began "Valens is the last name of a guitar player right? Ritchie Valens? And I know you're a guitar player too so I assumed…"

Her eyes grew a bit in recognition & she laughed out loud. "ohhhh! I see! You misunderstand. Valens wasn't his real last name. It was actually Valenzuela, but the radio people changed it because they said people wouldn't want to hear a Mexican sing, as racist as it sounds. But my real last name is Valens, I swear."

"Oh" Mr. Fabulous replied embarrassed by his question now since he knew the answer "Well, the reason why I ask is because Jake & Elwood's birth last names aren't really Blues. They legally changed it."

He said it as if it might offend her that she wasn't aware of the fact, but she shrugged a bit & glanced at the brothers.

"Well, I kinda assumed that. I never heard of a "Blues" family." She then fully faced them "What were your real last names?"

The Brothers looked uneasy, but they realized that she was only asking because she was curious about their lives. After all, they owe it to her since she told her life story even when she wasn't that comfortable telling it.

"Well" began Jake "When we were eighteen, we decided to change our last names legally to "Blues" due to our love for Blues music."

"Understandable"

Jake closed his eyes behind his shades as his flashback played in his head as he explained his story…

"So we went to The Penguin to tell her, and that's when she told us about how we became to be orphans

'Jacob, I'm afraid you were born in a women's prison.' She said to me 'Your mother was Artesia Papageorge, who was sentenced to life in prison for killing her husband…' "When she told me, I didn't know what to say…" he voice trailed off. "I would always think that my parents died in some sort of car crash or something and they gave their lives to protect me. When she told me the truth, I felt so ashamed. I was the son of a dead father & a jailbird mother who killed him…"

Maria's heart sank & she gulped trying to prevent herself from crying. My god! I thought I had it horrible; Poor Jake!

"So" he continued "The Penguin told me more. 'Your mother was having major complications with her pregnancy and she was on the verge of death when she was in labor. Her health was weakening as the labor went on and…her final request…was that you were to be named 'Jake'. She died as soon as you were born & the prison guards sent you here as the other guards buried her in the prison cemetery.'

Jake took a deep breath & let out a big sigh. It wasn't everyday that he told his honest story & as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was still heartbroken over the reality of how he became to be. Maria felt the sadness from the older Blues Brother & she gave him a comforting embrace, in hopes of making him feel better. Yes she preferred Elwood, but Jake was his brother & Jake was a part of her life as much as her boyfriend. Jake seemed surprised by her embrace, but he hugged her back with a small smile. Elwood's got himself a good woman. He better not screw things up in their relationship.

"I'm so sorry for what happened." She told him sincerely.

Jake nodded a bit & patted her shoulder. "You're a good woman Maria."

She smiled a bit at him, but the mood within the band members was feeling somber due to the emotionality the story brought. They already knew his story, but they still felt the sad emotions of Jakes words.

"Uh…" Matt began to say uncomfortably "I think we're gonna go. Maria, tomorrow we're gonna have band practice & I'll show you the tabs & what to do for the songs we'll be performing at the wedding."

"ok" she replied with a nod

The rest of the band walked off, still feeling down. As they left, Maria sighed & ran her hand through her hair, still recovering from Jake's heartbreaking story.

Elwood then spoke up "Now it's my turn unfortunately,"

She didn't want to be sad even more, but she still listened. She cared for Elwood as much as he cared for her, and she wanted him to know that she'll listen to him & hear what he had to say no matter how painful it was. He listened to her story…

Now it was her turn to hear his…

"After The Penguin told Jake his history, I thought to myself 'How the hell is my story gonna turn out? Will mine be worse or equally as bad?' When she found my files, she told me my story."

Maria bit her bottom lip a bit, preparing for the worst.

" She said to me 'Elwood, I'm afraid that…we don't actually know if you're an orphan or not.' I replied to her 'How can you not know?'. She responded 'There was a man named Mike Delaney who was an investigating patrolman for downtown Chicago. One night he was strolling by a nearby newspaper stand when he heard a small cry. He looked around him to see where the cry was coming from, until he got closer to the stand. He noticed a crumpled stack move & he got closer to see what was making it move. What he saw astounded him. It was you Elwood, as an infant, cold & abandoned in the dark city streets.'

Maria bit her lip more to the point where it hurt & might bleed. She didn't care. She had to prevent a way from bawling…

He sighed & continued his story "When she told that to me, I was astonished as Jake was when he heard his story. It was that moment when I understood by what The Penguin meant when she said she wasn't sure if I was an orphan or not. I was abandoned, so my parents could've been alive…or dead. I asked her about the patrolman & she continued 'Delaney took you in his arms, his heart full of pity & sadness that something so innocent & weak had to endure the cold & the harsh environment around it. He wanted to help you out somehow, but he couldn't. He didn't want children,& He couldn't handle the responsibility of a baby with his job & with no wife at home to help take care, so he brought you here to drop you off, instead of to adopt you. When I asked him what your name was, he decided to give you his last name & to call you 'Elwood.' Because even though he didn't adopt you, he felt responsible to at least give you something you'll be able to live with. So according to your birth certificate, you're Elwood Delaney.'

Maria, with her palm underneath her chin & resting on her cheek, listened to his words intensely until he concluded.

Elwood slowly took off his hat & ran his hand through his chestnut colored hair. "When we heard our stories, we had a bigger motivation to change our names. Not only did we change our last names for our passion for music, but we changed them to leave behind our horrible past & to have new beginnings & a hopefully better future."

His guitarist sighed & bit her lip even more. "Wow" she managed to say. "I never knew how lucky I was to have been able to know & be loved by my parents."

"Well, you were." Jake replied "I would have done anything to have normal parents like yours, growing up especially since we never got adopted. Did you?"

She shook her lowered head sadly, and a tear ran down her cheek still overwhelmed by their stories. "Nope. I never did. I always felt that no one would love me like my parents &…I was right."

She felt someone wipe away a tear from her cheek & looked up to see Elwood. "Believe me, we knew exactly how it felt."

He held her hand gently & she glanced at the two brothers. "I never knew anyone else whom I can talk to about this subject & I'm glad its you guys."

Elwood smiled sadly a bit "I'm glad The Penguin introduced us or else we wouldn't have been here and…"

He began to say but Jake interrupted "ok, I don't wanna here this lovey dovey shit so im gonna go."

Maira chucked a bit Well, he got over it quickly

As Jake left, Elwood & Maria began walking next to each other to their rooms.

"What where you gonna say?" she asked him "before Jake interrupted?"

"I was saying" he began "that I'm glad The Penguin introduced us or else we wouldn't have been in this position" "… and we wouldn't have met each other" he added with a shy smile

Maria intertwined her fingers with his tattooed ones & kissed his cheek "I agree with you 100 percent"

AN: I did my research about The Blues Bros & I found out those things about them. I only read 3 sentences, but I'm glad I got to create some emotionality in there…

Hope this was better than the last chapter!