(See the first chapter for disclaimer, notes, spoilers, etc.)

Chapter 17: "Trey"

The elevator stops with a slow groan and the doors open onto the Pediatric floor. Morris steps off first and I follow him. Behind me, I hear Colin say, "Darling, this way." I look over my shoulder, watching as he guides Olivia out. She's pale, devastation etched across her face. Her vacant gaze turns on me, but I don't think she sees me. She hasn't spoken a word to anyone since we left the airport.

Since I told her Trey was our son.

Colin's arm is around her waist and he meets my eyes, nodding. "It's just down the hall," I say quietly, turning away. Around us, the hospital goes on, not suspecting the secret lingering between the four of us. It's too unbelievable. I feel an insistent buzz against my thigh and I reach into my pocket, pulling out my Blackberry. Alex, the illuminated screen reads. I glance behind me at Olivia's swollen eyes as we reach Trey's hospital room. Gently, I drop the phone back into my pocket, letting the call go to voice mail.

"I'll wait out here," I hear Morris say and I nod, going in first. Cole's sitting at Trey's bedside, marching a toy dinosaur across the blanket. This is the first time I've seen Cole and Trey together since he arrived from San Antonio last night. It's like a clock has been reset in my life, new milestones recognized and placed on a shelf. My stomach clenches as I hear Trey giggle and say, "Stop it, Daddy!"

Daddy.

Two syllables that have a profound new meaning.

I feel Olivia behind me and I clear my throat. Trey's innocent eyes turn up to me as he beams. "Hi, Poppop!" he exclaims as Cole stands, looking past me. "Guess what? I get to go home soon!"

I nod, tight-lipped, as I move back, clearing a path to the bed for Olivia.

Colin's arm is looped around my waist and I let him lead me. Ahead of us are Morris and Gregory. And, somewhere in a room at the end of the hall, is Trey.

Trey.

My...son.

Bile rises in my throat and I moan, covering my mouth. I haven't been terrified of that child since he was an infant. When I was grieving the loss of my baby. When I was grieving him. The truth pounds in my head, swelling insistently in my skull. But, I can't.

I just can't.

Colin sighs gravely next to me and I look up blindly, watching Gregory turn into one of the rooms. I stop walking, my arms hanging limply at my side. "Darling?" I hear Colin ask and I turn to him, gasping. He knows what the loss of that child did to me, to my marriage to Gregory. Gently, he cups my face and gazes down at me. I shake my head, the gesture saying everything that I can not.

I'm afraid to go in that room.

I'm afraid to see that child.

My child.

"Olivia," he says softly, his thumbs rubbing against my cheekbones, "you can do this." My head continues to shake and I close my raw eyes, wanting to hide. "Do you know why I fell in love with you?" A shudder goes through me, the only reply I can muster as he continues, "Your strength. After everything that happened to you, you were still so very strong."

"I-"

"You are," he says simply as I open my eyes slowly. He's wearing a sad smile, his brown eyes heavy as warmth radiates from his palms. "You won't be alone. I'll be with you...and so will Gregory."

Colin's last sentence swells in the silence between us. Gregory. Oh, God...Gregory. He's holding it together, but barely. I flinch, remembering Morris' whisper to me at the airport. At the time, I thought it was just Caitlin that caused him to say that. An uncomfortable pressure weighs down on me, adding to the inconceivable yoke I am struggling under. Gregory's known about Trey since yesterday. How is he coping? I've known for barely an hour and it's quickly eating me alive.

"Shall we?" he asks quietly, his hands falling to my shoulders. Our eyes meet and I nod slightly, letting him gently turn me to the room. Slowly, he urges me forward and my eyes dance up to the painted door. It turns my stomach and I inhale sharply, rejecting the cheerful pastels. Morris leans against the doorjamb and he smiles encouragingly as I pass him, entering the hospital room.

Gregory looks up at me, his eyes a mosaic of anguish as he steps aside.

Olivia wears her distress like a cloak. Her blue eyes dance as she looks at me, pale and trembling. Colin's hands are on her shoulders, no doubt propelling her as she nears the bed. She's breathing heavily and I see the way her chin trembles as Cole moves to greet her. Does he suspect she's anything more than worried about Caitlin?

She nods at his greeting, but her attention is already beyond him. Like a magnet, she turns, drawn to the hospital bed. Slowly, I watch her take a step on her own as an excited voice cries out, "Nana!"

Colin stands next to me, both of us watching as she crosses the room to the bed. I see what she sees. Trey sits up, wearing an ear-to-ear grin as he exclaims, "Hi, Nana! Hi, Grandpa Colin!" He's wearing his own t-shirt and shorts, but the bandage on his thigh is impossible to miss. He holds up his arms to her, like he was a toddler again, expecting to be picked up.

Slowly, she sits on the bed next to him and I see her cup his cheeks. Her eyes move over his face like it's the first time she's seen it. And, isn't it? Before, it was our grandson's face she gazed into. Now, it's our son's. Her shoulders slump and I hear the contained agony in her voice as she sighs, "Oh, darling boy."

A lump materializes in my own throat, watching as she leans forward and kisses his forehead. "What's the matter, Nana? Why are you sad?"

Colin and I exchange a brief glance as Olivia inhales sharply. "I've been worried about you," she says slowly, her words scratchy and raw.

He nods enthusiastically, not understanding. "Look, Nana! I have stitches! Seventeen of them! But see," he explains, pointing to a small pile of lollipops on the bedside table. "I got candy! Lots! Cindy said I could take as much as I wanted because I was the bravest boy she ever saw!"

But, Olivia only nods, unable to look away from the little boy. "I did cry a little," he continues, looking back up at her. "But, Daddy said it's ok if brave boys cry."

Her gasp echoes in the small room.

Daddy.

I can't do this.

I can't.

Trey's looking up at Cole and I vaguely hear them talking. But, they don't see that I look away, breathing hard. I vomited everything out of me at the airport, but I'm still nauseous. I've cried every tear, but I still feel more burning at my eyes. Whatever strength Colin thinks I have isn't enough to sustain me. Not for this.

My son is alive.

My grandson is my son.

I suddenly remember that old movie, the private detective smacking the hideous truth out of his lover. My sister...my daughter...my sister...my daughter. My grandson...my son...my grandson...my son. I shudder, hiding my face in my hands.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and I look up into Gregory's concerned eyes. My lips part, my words dying in a sob as he says softly, "You're doing fine, Olivia."

Does anyone else hear the devastation in his voice? Do they see it in his eyes?

"What's Nana doing, Poppop?"

I glance away from Olivia, looking into Trey's inquisitive face. He tilts his head, watching me with big blue eyes. "S-she-" But the words die in my throat, unable say anything other than what she was: his mother.

"Nana's been on a plane all night, buddy," Cole says, his voice flat. My eyes turn up to him, seeing the dark circles under his eyes. He's been bouncing between Trey and Caitlin's hospital rooms since he arrived late last night. He hasn't had any sleep either. On the bed, Olivia shudders and she looks back up at me as Cole says, "Will one of you stay with him? I want to go check on Caitlin. Sean's with her now."

Olivia nods blandly, closing her eyes as she gently leans her head against my hand. Instantly, I'm back to where we were after the earthquake all those years ago. When Trey giggled in her lap as we worried about the safety of our children on that cruise ship. Whenever I've thought of her in the years since, my right hand tingles, remembering the way her head felt against it.

"Mommy's sleeping," Trey announces to us as Cole leaves. I feel Olivia flinch and I gently squeeze her shoulder. I sit on the other side of the bed, Trey's legs separating us. "Daddy said she hurt her head." My hand travels down her arm to find her hand, our fingers threading together like they had never been apart.

It's Olivia who responds first.

"Yes," I say softly, my hand entangled with Gregory's. My voice vibrates in that one word as I look up at him, watching him play with his toys. This child is the one innocent piece of this entire puzzle. He doesn't understand about brain surgery and swelling. He doesn't understand D.N.A. He doesn't understand how children are born. He doesn't understand how parents can plot against their children. He doesn't understand the people we used to be.

He will never understand the chain of events that led to this moment.

Whispers echo over the last six years, rising to a fevered pitch as I force myself to continue, "But, her doctor has fixed her up and she's going to be all better soon."

He sighs dramatically, our eyes meeting. "And then she'll get to come home too, right?"

I nod slightly. "Yes, darling boy," I say softly as Gregory squeezes my hand.

Trey watches me carefully for a long moment before he nods too. "Look, Nana, I got new dinosaurs! Fred doesn't like Turbo because Turbo ate all the leaves off the trees. Turbo's greedy, but I like him. He's my friend."

Another sob rises in my throat and I smile, listening to him as Colin's hands settle on my shoulders. Trey goes on, talking aimlessly as he stages a conversation between his dinosaurs. He's a happy child, concerned only with the fact Fred doesn't like Turbo.

That should be the only worry hanging over him, clouding his otherwise sunny sky.

I watch the strained smile on her face, my chest tight. Trey continues to chatter on, the pitch of his voice changing as he acts out a conversation between his dinosaurs. Slowly, her free hand reaches out, ruffling Trey's hair. And, the boy looks up, grinning at her.

My God.

How could we not have seen? How could we not have realized?

I hear the catch in her breathing as her palm rests against his cheek. Her pale face glows with adoration as she looks down at him. Her dark hair is pulled back in a loose knot at the nape of her neck. Fine lines crinkle at her swollen eyes, the last six years evident on her face. But, doesn't she look as awed as the moments when she first saw Caitlin and Sean?

Colin's hands rest on her shoulders and I look up, making eye contact with him. He's grim, his face drawn and pale. Questions dance in his eyes, no doubt reflected in my own. But, we say nothing as Trey's voice bubbles around us.

Oblivious to the pain consuming the three of us.

I stand next to Colin in the elevator, my hand in his. He's been quiet since we left Trey's room and I see his face shrouded in thought.

Does he know? Does he understand?

Gregory stayed with Trey, the two of them engaged in a dinosaur battle. I lingered in the doorway, watching them and remembering the way Gregory and Sean would crawl around his study, playing with dozens of race cars. I never understood how they could stay that way for hours, crashing small metal toys into each other.

"Olivia?" I turn to Colin, watching the question forming in his expression. And, I shake my head, not yet ready to hear it. He pulls me against him, his arms around me as he sighs, "Oh, darling..." I press my forehead into his chest, wanting to stay in his embrace forever. But, I can't. Not yet. Not with all that I need to do.

The elevator pings and I look up, his arm firmly around my waist. We step out, my hand over his heart as we walk down the hall to Caitlin's room. "Olivia," I hear him whisper and I look up. Sean stands slowly, watching me with sorrow-filled eyes. He opens his mouth to speak, but no sound comes out.

Gently, I move away from Colin, nearing my son. He looks down and I see his shoulders shake. "Sean," I sigh, embracing him. A moment later, I feel his arms around me as he begins to cry. "Darling, don't cry." But, all I hear in reply are gut-wrenching sobs. I cup the back of his head, remembering the small boy he used to be. "It's alright, Sean," I say, kissing the side of his head, running my fingers through his hair. "It's alright."

He looks up, tears leaving tracks on his face as he shudders. "Mom, I'm so sorry. W-we didn't know," he sobs, shaking his head. "We didn't where...that Trey is..."

I shake my head, cupping his face as I look up at him. "I know," I say, listening to his twisted voice. "I know that."

"But-"

"Sean, it's not your fault," I whisper as he shakes his head again. But, he only hugs me back, his arms tight around me.

Sean comes into Trey's room, a haunted expression on his face. I look up from watching the sleeping child as he collapses into the chair. "Where's your mother?"

He leans forward, his elbows on his knees as he exhales deeply. "With Cait. The doctor is happy with what the tests show."

"Are they-"

He shakes his head, anticipating my question. "He wants to wait until a full day has gone by since her surgery. So, we still have a couple of more hours to wait."

I stand, the bones in my spine popping an unholy melody. An unseen juggler is toying with the odds, tossing them around like they meant nothing.

"I'm going up to check on your sister," I sigh. "Can you stay with your- Trey?" His eyes crumble as he nods and I squeeze his shoulder as I pass him.

I watch Cole walk forlornly away, his head down. The poor man looks like he's been broken, a light gone out of his dark eyes. He stood next to me when Caitlin's doctor gave us the latest update. She was stable, her brain function was normal, but he wasn't taking her out of the induced coma. Not yet.

"I want to be sure, beyond a shadow of doubt," the doctor explained, looking from Cole to me. "You want me to be sure."

"Would you like me to come in with you?" I hear Colin ask and I look up at him. Slowly, I shake my head and he sends me a crooked smile in reply. He understands. He cups my chin, turning my face up to his as he kisses me gently. I curl against him, wrapping my arms around him. "I'll wait here," he whispers and I nod, though I let the seconds tick by. His embrace is comfortable, a balm to the agony ravaging my body. He nods gently and his arms fall away from me as I slip away.

Caitlin's hospital room is different from Trey's. His is warm colors and cheerful cartoon characters, no doubt to make a child more at ease. But Caity's? Her room is stark white, machines beeping and hissing as I near the bed. Cole tried to warn me what to expect, but nothing could've prepared me for this. "Oh, dear God," I murmur, hearing my own gasp waver in the unnatural silence. Her head is completely bandaged, her golden hair hidden beneath layers of gauze. The left side of her face is swollen, her eye disappearing into an angry purple bruise. There's too many cuts and scrapes to even count.

I feel Colin's eyes on my back as I near the bed, watching me from the doorway. There's a waiting chair next to the bed and I sink into it, no longer able to trust my own legs to support me. Not now. Not after everything. Not after learning about Trey. Not after seeing the injury inflicted on my daughter.

I look up into her bruised face, gently cupping her still hand. Moments go by and I realize I'm waiting for her to squeeze back. But, she doesn't. I sigh deeply, watching her lay there, unmoving. "Oh, Caity," I whisper, raising her hand delicately to my lips. I kiss her fingers, mindful of the needles and I.V. lines taped to her.

I remember her holding out her hand to me, proudly showing me the new wedding ring set Cole gave her after his first bonus. I remember her holding Trey out to me at his baptism, smiling encouragingly. I remember her dancing around and modeling the diamond bracelet Gregory and I gave her for her high school graduation. I remember her crying, holding out her torn and bleeding palms after she fell off her bicycle. I remember marveling at her tiny fingers after the nurse placed her in my arms for the first time.

I sigh, my cheek gently nuzzling her hand. "Oh, Caitlin...darling, I understand why you didn't tell anyone the truth," I say softly. But, there's no reply, no matter how desperately I want to hear one. "I understand. I see it all...so clearly."

I remember her holding back my hair as I vomited into the toilet. I remember watching her lay a cold compress on my forehead. I remember her slamming her bedroom door, her eyes furious. I remember her choking back tears as she threw empty liquor bottles into the garbage bin. I remember the way she clenched the steering wheel, furious at me as she sped down the highway.

Colin's sitting in the chair outside of Caitlin's room and I walk past him. But, I stop abruptly in the doorway, watching Olivia talking to our daughter. She's holding her hand and the expression on her face takes my breath away. The devastation and pain from earlier is gone, replaced with a calmness that makes her face glow.

"I was an awful example to you," I hear her say. "I taught you how to lie. I taught you deception instead of truth."

I frown, my hands settling in my pockets as I listen to her.

"I was never the mother to you and Sean that I wanted to be," I continue, familiar regret churning in my stomach. "But, what we have now is what I always wanted for the three of us." I close my eyes, her cool fingers against my cheek as I rest my elbows on the firm bed. Despite the thousands of miles separating us, I've never been closer to my children.

Either of them.

Slowly, I open my eyes, looking into her still and bruised face. I don't know if the doctor is right. I don't know if Caitlin can hear me. But, that unknown doesn't stop my lips from parting, from the words rising in my throat. "Darling, your secret will stay safe. I'll make sure of it."

I suck in my breath, suddenly find it difficult to breathe. Her words ring in my ears like church bells, heralding the news.

She can't.

She can't possibly-

"You need to come back to us, Caity," I hear her say quietly, watching as she kisses our daughter's hand. "Your son needs you."

My hand clenches around the vibrating phone in my pocket. She can't. She can't. I spin away from the door, feeling Colin's gaze as I answer the call. "What!" I snap, putting as much distance between myself and my daughter's hospital room as I can.

"Gregory?" I close my eyes as Alex's throaty voice washes over me. "Are you there?" I hear her ask and I nod. "Gregory?"

"I'm here," I say softly, opening my eyes. The world dances around me, my vision blurring. Your son needs you.

"How's Caitlin?"

A lump settles in my throat as I reply, "The same."

"But, that's good, right? That she's the same? Nothing's happ-"

"Yes, that's right," I murmur, collapsing into one of the chairs in the deserted waiting area by the elevators. A crackle of static fills the line and I press the phone closer to my ear. "Where are you?"

"Sea-Tac. My flight is delayed because of fog, but I'll be home tonight." I nod, listening as she sighs. "How are you?"

Your son needs you.

Our son.

Our son.

"Honestly? I'm...exhausted," I confess quietly. "I'm too old for this, Alex."

"Oh, my love," she sighs and I can picture the way she shakes her head, "have you slept? At all?" My silence answers her and I hear her sigh again, deeper this time. "How is Olivia holding up?"

Your son needs you.

"Managing," I say softly. "We all are."

She's quiet for a long moment before I hear her ask, "Gregory, what's wrong?"

Your son needs you.

Four words that have shaken my already upside-down world.

"It's nothing," I say quietly, lowering my head into my hand.

Your son needs you.

She sighs again and I hear the worry. "I love you," she whispers and a small smile comes to my face.

"I love you too." My dry eyes close as I murmur, "Tell me about Seattle. What did your editor say?" I listen to her talk, her words bubbling over me like a warm wave. But, another, more powerful one, follows behind and knocks me over. I twist in the dark and cold water, the sunlight beyond the surface fading away as I sink to the murky depths.

Your son needs you.

A/N: Thank you all so, so, so much for the feedback on the last few chapters! I appreciate every review more than you know. This story exploded into my imagination like a supernova more than a year ago and it's hard to fathom that only four more chapters need to be posted. Thanks for sticking with it (...even though I broke up Gregory and Olivia...I more than understand that wasn't the popular road to take). But, I hope you enjoy the concluding chapters as much as you enjoyed the preceding ones. :o)