RE-EDITED VERSION

RECAP:

"J…Jackie?" His face had gone into complete shock. Jackie narrowed her eyes in response.

"Kevin." She stated coolly crossing her arms.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his eyes widened with wonder as he was still trying to process that she was standing right in front of him.

"I should ask you the same thing." She said icily. Ben looked between the two with a confused look on his face.

"You know him?" Ben frowned at Kevin, confused and a bit irritated.

"Wow Kevin. You didn't even bother to tell them about me. Shoulda figured." Her voice went cold and hard. She nodded towards Ben. "Know him?" She chuckled bitterly, her gaze never wavering from Kevin.

"Yeah I think I would know him. He's my brother."

The room had gone into an uneasy silence after the shocking information. Kevin had paled, avoiding everyone's gaze. Elena and her father had left, not wanting to be around the family angst. Gwen and Ben were speechless, not knowing how to react to the sudden information about the raven haired teen they thought they had known. Max did not look surprised, keeping calm and having everyone sit at the table to discuss the events of the night.

Jackie was sitting down next to Ben, angry and distant. Ben glanced at her worriedly, not knowing what to expect from the girl that intrigued him. He supposed if she was related to Kevin, he had better watch her temper.

Ben then glanced across the table at Kevin. Gwen was looking at him, her hand on his arm in a comforting manner. She looked confused but was trying to be supportive, despite the fact she was clearly hurt that she hadn't known about Kevin's only living family.

Ben wasn't sure what he felt. He felt miffed that Kevin hadn't told them about his sister, they had saved the world together and all. And he considered Kevin a good friend, probably his best. And Ben knew that Kevin cared deeply for Gwen. They were the two closest people to him. Why hadn't he told them?

Ben knew that Kevin still had his secrets. He understood that Kevin had been through a lot in his past. But what was so terrible that he couldn't share it with them?

Ben turned to Jackie who looked angry and ready to bolt. She clearly didn't share any love lost over her brother, in fact she refused to look at him. She fiddled with the stone around her neck, her knee jumping up and down in anxiety. Ben noticed her glancing at the door, most likely trying to figure out the fastest way out of here without being stopped.

"Jacklynn Marie Levin." Max said suddenly, breaking Ben from his thoughts. "Last time I you, you were three years old, taking after your brother with all the trouble he had gotton into even at that young of age." Max chuckled, leaning back in his chair, smiling as if Jackie were an old niece visiting for the first time in years.

"Well a lot has changed since then." Jackie responded tersely.

"Wait… So you knew about her?" Gwen cut in sharply, sending an accusing glare her Grandfather's way. Max sighed and nodded.

"How is your mother?" Max asked Jackie with a concerned look, avoiding Gwen's glare. Jackie shifted uncomfortably, her hard demeanor slipping a bit.

"Dead." She answered curtly, looking down twisting her hands. Ben noticed her hands were shaking slightly, and he had the strongest urge to reach over and take her hands in his. He didn't.

"What?" Kevin asked softly, in a disbelieving tone. Jackie stilled at the sudden sound of his voice and took a deep breath; finally looking up at the boy she had once called a brother. Her glare hardened.

"Yes. She died a couple of weeks ago, not that you would know Kevin." She snapped her voice no longer shaky, but angry. Kevin flinched, though his gaze never leaving hers.

"How?"

Jackie snorted and shook her head angrily.

"It doesn't matter now." She bit out bitterly. "And besides," She continued, her eyes narrowing at him. "You don't deserve to know what happened after you abandoned your family."

"I'm not dad. I didn't leave you guys by choice!" Kevin snapped back angrily, standing up and putting his hands on the table. Jackie stood up as well, clenching her fists as if she wanted to punch something.

"Yes you did!" She yelled. "And dad never left by choice! Something happened to him!" Jackie's look was murderous as Kevin scoffed.

"How many times do I have to tell you, he left us Jackie! He's dead somewhere, you know that!" Kevin groaned, having had this conversation a million times before.

Ben and Gwen were bouncing back and forth between the siblings, fascinated and a little nervous with where the conversation was going.

"Enough! The both of you! Sit!" Max finally cut in sharply. Jackie and Kevin glared at him, quieting immediately. Kevin hesitated, glancing back at Jackie, before sitting down slowly. Jackie stood, shaking with anger and something else Ben couldn't decipher. She didn't sit down, shaking her head slowly.

"God, screw this." Jackie turned away suddenly, and began to walk out quickly. Kevin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, Gwen frowning and looking to her Grandfather. Max stood up as well, about to walk after her but Ben jumped up quicker.

"Jackie wait!" Ben cried out, jogging to catch up with her. She walked quicker, not wanting to speak to him.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her back gently. Jackie turned around and tried pulling away from him, glaring at him angrily.

"Let. Me. Go." She hissed, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Ben shook his head firmly, grabbing her other wrist. His grip tightened slightly, though he made sure not to hurt her.

"You need help Jackie." He pulled her towards him almost roughly, having her almost pressed up against him. "You can't do this alone." He told her as his tone softened. "You have nowhere else to go." He continued softly.

Jackie faltered, knowing he was right. She had no answers, her supplies were running low, and she had no idea where to go from here. She was lost.

"We can help you Jackie." Max's voice boomed, interrupting their conversation. Ben glanced back at the rest of them, noticing their gaze was glued to the two of them.

Ben dropped Jackie's wrists, almost hesitantly.

"I don't know if I want any help from people who are associated with him." Jackie crossed her arms, not meeting her brother's frustrated gaze.

"Wasn't there someone trying to kill you tonight?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow. Jackie shrugged, not bothering to answer.

"Come on Jacks." Ben murmured softly to her. She glanced up at him, her heart speeding up when she realized how close he was. "I saved your life tonight." He cocked an eyebrow, smiling slightly. "You owe me."

Jackie frowned, hating that Ben was right. She sighed and shot him a look. Ben winked and pushed her softly, making her walk back to the table. Jackie walked back slowly, wishing that Ben had let her run out.

This was the last place where she wanted to be. She hesitantly sat back down, Ben taking his place next to her.

"Okay, can someone please inform me with what's going on here?" Gwen blurted out loudly, fed up with not knowing anything. Everyone turned to her as she blushed, murmuring an apology.

Max cleared his throat.

"I agree with Gwen. Ben, Jackie, I would like a recap of the events that happened tonight. But first, I would like to explain to the two of you," he pointed to Gwen and Ben, "how I know the Levin's."

"Arthur and Nancy Levin were part of the original founders of the plumbers, along with myself and a couple of others. We were close friends, and I did know Kevin and Jackie when they were children. Things were great, but hard at that time. Arthur did take off, not telling anyone where he was going or why." Max shook his head at Jackie when she opened her mouth to argue. He continued on.

"You and Kevin know about that. I don't know what happened, but I do know your parents were having a lot of problems. It wasn't long after that, that your mother left, with the two of you in tow. We kept in contact at first with phone calls and emails. But soon it all stopped. I wanted to find your mother, make sure everything was okay, but she had cut herself off from the plumbers and we had no way of contacting her. The next time I even heard about her was a couple of years later when we met Kevin." Max finished, looking at his grandkids, then turned to Jackie.

"I am truly sorry about your mother. She was a great friend, and she was incredibly brave. I want to help you in any way I can." Max told her seriously, his face filled with remorse. Jackie nodded slowly and responded with a quiet "thank you".

Ben glanced at Kevin and Gwen, wondering how Kevin was taking the sudden news of his mother's death. His face was blank, but rather pale. He was gripping Gwen's hand tightly, looking straight ahead, not making eye contact with anyone.

"I'm just glad the two of you are safe." Max continued, changing the subject. "Jackie, Ben gave us the run down through his message earlier. Do you have any idea why there were men hunting for you, making you their next practice target?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jackie shook her head slowly, pursing her lips. "Honestly, no. My mom never told me anything. We moved around often and she never explained why. I can't tell you anything that you probably don't know already. After my mom died…" Jackie trailed off, her voice going soft, holding back tears while avoiding everyone's gaze. She took in a shaky breath.

"After my mom died," her voice got stronger as she continued her story, "I knew it wasn't safe for me to stay home. I had known that we were on the run; I knew that there was something my mom wasn't telling me. Once, after we had moved to a new house, I went back to my old one two weeks later. The place was wrecked, the windows smashed and everything. I knew that it was a matter of time before they found me, so I took off. That was about three weeks ago. I've been on the road ever since." She finished, looking up at everyone.

"And you're absolutely positive your mother is dead?" Max asked seriously, studying her intently.

Jackie nodded gravely, something flashing across her face. She couldn't verbally answer, afraid she would burst the waterworks that always threatened to release when anything about her mother was mentioned.

Max sighed heavily. "I know you're telling the truth, I was just hoping that… Well…" He trailed off, looking down. He looked back up at Jackie.

"We're going to do everything in our power to help you out Jackie. We will get to the bottom of this." Max stood up, signaling that the conversation was now over.

Gwen stayed sitting as everyone else stood up as well, making plans for the night.

She glanced at Kevin, who was now standing next to his sister, though she was ignoring him. His sister. She still couldn't wrap her mind around it. She knew family was a subject Kevin never spoke about, but it hurt her that he didn't trust her enough to tell her about this. She wasn't sure how she should feel about everything.

Jackie was clearly angry with her brother, and from the sounds of it, it looked like she wouldn't be forgiving him anytime soon. But Gwen knew Kevin. He was protective over the ones he loved and she could already see his mind forming plans when he realized the danger his sister was in. Jackie being angry with him wouldn't change the fact that he wanted to protect her.

Gwen then glanced at her grandfather. She knew that he was telling the truth, but she sensed there was more to the story that he wasn't telling them. Jackie's life was in danger; Gwen knew that her Grandpa Max knew more than he was letting on.

She also had taken notice when Ben had gone after Jackie when she tried to escape earlier. He was intrigued by her, she knew her cousin like the back of her hand. She hoped he knew what he was getting himself into.

And lastly, Gwen finally turned to Jackie. She was small, but size never mattered. Jackie was strong; she had to be after what she had been through. Though Gwen no longer lived with her parents, she didn't know what she would do if they were both gone. She sensed that there was more to Jackie's story than she told them tonight. She was an angry person, that much she could tell. She reminded Gwen so much of Kevin when she had first met him. Closed off to the world, angry and bitter. Not that he had changed much over the years.

Gwen's gaze flickered to Kevin momentarily, a small smile tugging at her lips despite the confused feelings she was feeling towards him at the moment.

She looked back at Jackie, wondering what secrets this girl was hiding. Secrets that were obviously dangerous. Something was coming, something big, Gwen could feel it.

She just hoped it wouldn't get them killed in the process.