So I decided to update because I have nothing to do. Being sick blows. Anyway, I'm going to fix those Ronald/Biff mistakes soon. Get ready for the drama in this chapter. It's a doozy.

Enjoy!

NJPNJPNJP

Mercedes parted her hair & greased it before pulling it through the flatiron. She flipped it as she neared the end then tossed her head to get it out of her face. She put the iron down then picked up her comb to style her newly straightened hair the way she wanted.

When she was finished, she cleaned her vanity counter & exited her closet. Ozzie yipped from the bed & jumped down to run to her.

"Hi, Ozzie Baby! Like Mommy's hair?" She posed a few times.

"Talking to your dog? That's a sign of being wacko."

"Puck?!" Mercedes turned to the door. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"Mike. He's downstairs grabbing beer." He came in fully.

"Why are you here?" She calmed her racing heart.

"I'm bored." He said simply before reaching down for Ozzie. "Oz-Man Oz! How goes it?!"

Ozzie barked happily at his dad.

"Why are you here if you're bored? I can't entertain you."

"Yes, you can."

"I won't entertain you." She corrected.

He smirked. "I wanted to hang out with Mike & Finn but Finn is stuck doing family stuff today. Mike said he wanted to see what you were up to before we went to the school."

She beamed. "He's still trying to make up for that Ruby stuff."

"I don't know why he told you."

She hit his arm. "You better not be keeping stuff from my sister!"

He waved a hand. "I ain't did nothin!"

"What'd you do?" Mike came in.

"Nothing!"

"Alright! Alright!" He handed him a beer. "Hey, baby."

"Hi." Mercedes kissed him. "Do you like?"

"You did something to your hair."

"Yes!" Mercedes liked how much he paid attention. "I flipped it!"

"You look nice." He ran a hand through it.

"Nu uh!" She slapped his hand away. "I don't have time to be putting a track back in just cuz you like to pull my hair!"

Mike burned as Puck laughed. "You're a hair puller?!"

"Shut up! You're not that far behind!" She patted her head before walking to her desk.

Puck shrugged. "You're right."

"What are you doing?" Mike asked.

"Putting this file back. I left it in my desk the last time we were here." Mercedes took it out.

"What file?"

"Mama didn't tell you?" Puck lifted his bottle. "She found her sister."

"Marcy was lost?!" Mike's jaw dropped.

"No." Mercedes shook her head before telling him about what they'd learned three weeks earlier.

"What?! Why didn't she come home?"

"I won't know until she either writes me back or calls. I just wish I knew if she'd gotten my letter."

"When'd you send it?"

"Last week."

"She def. should have gotten it by now. Unless it was lost in the mail."

Her mouth fell open. "I never thought of that!"

"Better write her another one." Puck suggested. "What does she look like anyway?"

"Me." Mercedes smiled. She went to a bookcase & took out a photo album. "Look." She opened it & showed him.

He took the album from her. "Oh wow! She does look like you! Are her eyes-? What color are her eyes?"

"Green." Mike said. "& yes, that is her real hair color."

"Don't you mean colors?"

Mike chuckled. "You should see it in the sun."

"She's hot."

Mercedes gave him a look. "What is wrong with you?!"

"It's a compliment!"

"Beautiful is a compliment." Mike said. "Hot is vulgar."

Puck sighed with an eye-roll. "Fine. She's beautiful. Happy?"

"I'm telling Quinn."

Puck gulped. "We've been good. Don't do that."

Mike grinned. "We should tell Mal. He'd have a heart-attack."

"Oh yeah. Mama said they were close."

"Saying they're close is like saying we're dudes & alive."

Puck's brows lifted. "It's like that?"

"They're the couple to beat."

"Just think!" Mercedes exclaimed. "If we can get in contact with her, she can come home. They'll see each other again & it'll be fireworks. It'll be beautiful!"

Both looked at her star-filled eyes.

"I wonder if she's extra nice now that she's a nun?" Mike shook his head.

"I think so. Doing holy work should mellow a body out."

Mike pursed his lips. "I think I'm going to miss Tommy."

"She's still Tommy. Just a good Tommy."

"Tommy?" Puck asked.

"From the Rugrats. She was the one like Tommy. Fearless, fun, adventurous, exciting, rebellious. Mal was like Kimi. The opposite sex version of Tommy. Whatever Marcy had planned, Mal was right there with her, no questions asked."

"Quinn & I were like Phil & Lil. We were down for whatever but we rarely started anything." Mike explained. "Our cousin, Joanna is, was & will always be Angelica."

Puck laughed.

"But Mercy was our Chuckie."

Mercedes pouted. "Don't call me that!"

"It's okay, baby." Mike wrapped his arms around her. "Marcy liked taking risks."

"But I grew out of that!" Mercedes made sure Puck knew. "I grew into Susie!"

"Yes, you did." She hit Mike. "Ow! Mean!"

"Anyway, Marc was like Spike & Grandpa. He was always supposed to watch us but never did so he'd always have to come find us."

"Didn't I meet your brother?" Puck asked.

"Once or twice."

"I can picture him but I don't know why I don't think it's him."

She flipped some pages in the photo album. "This is him."

"I remember him now! He was the captain of the football team when we were freshman!"

"Yeah. He was also captain of the basketball team & golf." Mike said.

"Golf?! That's boring!"

"I was captain of the golf team!"

"I didn't know we even had a golf team, let alone you were boring enough to be captain!"

Mike glared. "I'm not boring!"

"Did you enjoy it?"

"No."

Puck blinked in surprise. "Then how did you become captain?"

"I've played golf since freshman year. I learned from our fathers when I was younger. They would take us guys on Sundays."

"My dad never took me nowhere."

"Want my dad?"

Mercedes giggled. "Don't give away Papa Mike!"

"He likes you better than me anyway!"

"He does not!"

"He def. loves you more than me. If we were to get in a fight, he'd be on your side before ever hearing what happened."

"That is not true!"

"Let's test it." Mike brought out his phone.

Mercedes grabbed it. "Let's not."

"Because I'm right."

"Because he's at work."

"Sure."

Puck snorted. "What is this?" He pointed to a picture.

Mercedes looked over. "It's from Halloween a couple years ago."

"I don't remember seeing you guys on Halloween. Ever. Why's that?"

"Pop doesn't like us eating candy & our moms are all about healthy living so we rarely got sugar growing up." Mike explained. "We were never allowed to go trick-or-treating so we always stayed in & had a Halloween party with our family."

"They're super fun & everyone comes home for it. In fact, except for Christmas, I hadn't seen Marc or Laura since." Mercedes went on.

"Christmas? Oh yeah. You did say you were going on a family trip for Christmas." Puck realized.

"We go every year. For about a week, we go somewhere. One year, it's somewhere warm & the next year, it's somewhere cold." Mike said.

"We take our Christmas card pictures at the beginning of December so that's why I went away that weekend of your birthday." Mercedes told Puck.

"It's your whole family?" He asked as he flipped through more photos lazily.

"Yep. We usually get back home around the 29th or 30th & we have a New Year's party. We didn't have one last year because- why didn't we have one, Mikey?"

"No one wanted to be home." He smirked. "We all had other stuff to do."

"Oh right." She grimaced. "Next year, we're having that party. I don't want Maddie thinking we don't care to come home."

Mike shrugged before taking his phone back from her. "We should pick up Quinn so we can make it to the school in time for glee."

"Okay." Mercedes had to pry the photo album from Puck. She put it back in her bookcase. "I'm ready."

Puck downed the last of his beer. "Me too. Let's get this over with."

She snatched up her purse & set Ozzie on the ground. "Don't be like that. We're helping out."

"My little bro's on that drama tip. I don't wanna be caught up in that."

They walked downstairs & she let the dog out into the backyard as Mike put the beer bottles in the recycling. "What's going on?"

"He cheated on that little girl."

Mercedes gasped as she came back. "He did not!"

"Yup. So he's all moody over that & I just got in a relationship. I'm not trying to bring all that crap into it."

"What kind of brother are you?" She put her hands on her hips. "You should be helping him out & showing him the error of his ways; not moaning about messing up your own relationship!"

"Hey! I didn't have a big brother! I don't know what I'm doing!"

"I always had Marc so I know how to be a good big brother." Mike said unhelpfully.

"Yeah but you were a rotten little brother." Mercedes slid in as she walked to the front door.

Mike laughed. "I was not rotten!"

"You tormented Laura!"

"Tormented is not the word."

"Tortured? Picked at? Beat down, beat up? Scandalized? Pick one."

He snickered. "I was an angel."

Mercedes locked the door behind herself. "Angel of darkness."

Puck laughed. "Not Mike! He's the best person ever!"

"Not when it came to Laura! He traumatized her! He's why she went to school on the east coast! To get away from him!"

They walked to Mike's car & climbed in. Mike drove around the corner to Quinn's house & beeped the horn.

"I wasn't that bad." Mike insisted.

"You were so bad." Mercedes poked his face.

He leaned over & kissed her. "I had to. She was the bossiest person I'd ever met."

"There are def. bossier people than Laura in this world."

"I know that. Now."

Quinn came flying from the house & opened the back door. "Hi!"

They all greeted her as Puck kissed her. "Hey!"

"Q! Wasn't Mikey a terror to Laura?" Mercedes asked.

"Oh! Completely!" The blonde put on her seatbelt.

"I'm thinking you were bad, man." Puck laughed.

"Nah. I don't think so." Mike pulled off & drove to the school.

They continued talking until they made it to the high school. Mike parked & they went inside to the choir room.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Mr. Shue opened his arms.

"We're here, ready to help out." Mercedes smiled.

"Good. I was thinking of splitting the time up in fours & having you teach them." Mr. Shue went into his office & returned with a list in hand.

"Do you have enough kids for Nationals?" Quinn asked.

"We're substituting band members because Sugar & Joe don't go to school here anymore."

"What?! Not my Sugar & Joe!" Mercedes was distraught.

"Sugar goes to another school & Joe went back to homeschooling."

"That sucks." Puck leaned against the doorway of Mr. Shue's office.

"Tell me about it." Mr. Shue snorted.

"We'll help in any way we can, Mr. Shue." Mike supplied.

"Thanks, guys." He walked to the classroom again. "I was thinking of having Mike start & give tips on dancing. Then Quinn can go & give tips on harmonies."

"Got it!" Both held up thumbs.

"Then Mercedes can give points on everything she's learned professionally & Puck can end practice with style & appeal."

Both nodded. "We got you."

A scream was heard at the door.

They all turned to see Unique having a fit. "The queen diva is here!"

Mercedes laughed & went to give her a hug. "I am here!"

Unique squeezed her tight. "I was counting down the minutes until you showed up!"

"Well you got me!"

M&MC

Mercedes pointed to the white board before making her way closer to the students. "This way you can make sure you hit the people in the back of the audience. It takes a bit of time to build up the air necessary for it but it's worth it."

"Is it like when you had me hold the maracas?" Marley raised her hand.

"Yes, it is." Mercedes smiled. She wasn't aware of someone slipping into the classroom behind her as she went on. "It also helps you keep notes long-!" She stopped as something touched her shoulder. It freaked her out & she automatically swung around.

The person behind her ducked & popped back up as she went around. The person grinned. "Nice to know your reflexes are still sharp."

"Marcy?!"

"Sup, Sis?"

Mercedes could have died right then. She screamed & threw her arms around her sister, rocking to & fro with the hug. "I can't believe it's really you!"

Marcy laughed. "Nice to see you."

Mercedes leaned back & took in her sister. She was wearing a tiny white mini skirt that looked like a bunch of flower petals stuck to a band, a denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up, a black tank it seemed with heels & stockings with the line up the back. "You're wearing a skirt!"

"I am."

"& you're blonde now!" Mercedes was right. Her sister's waist length hair was the whole family of blonde. She ran a hand through the straight satiny strands.

"I am."

"& you're wearing makeup! Who are you & what have you done with my sister?!"

Marcy laughed. "Is that how you treat the sister who crossed an ocean to see you?"

"How about the brother you left?!" A cross voice said from the door.

"Marc?!" Mercedes couldn't believe it. Both of her siblings in one place?! Was she dreaming?!

"Hey, Sis!" He waved as he came inside. "I see she found you."

Mercedes gave him a hug. "She did. I can't believe you're both here!"

Mr. Shue cleared his throat. "Are these your siblings?"

Mercedes turned around. She'd completely forgotten she was teaching a class! "Oh yes! This is my brother, Marc."

Marc, tall, muscle bound, light skinned, long braid wearing Marc gave a wave. Girls melted.

"& my sister, Marcy."

Marcy gave a flirty salute. The guys sat up straight.

"Can they stay, Mr. Shue? They know a lot about music." She begged.

Mr. Shue laughed at her pleading face. "Okay. They can stay."

"Yes!" Mercedes cheered before pushing her brother in one direction.

"Mike!" Marc held his fist out for a bump.

"How does your brother know Mike?" Tina asked.

Mercedes thought quick. "We got close this past year."

Marcy & Marc looked at Mercedes like she was crazy. "What?"

"Do they know Quinn then? From when she lived with you?" Tina went on.

"That's exactly it." Mercedes was not a good liar so she was happy this was working.

Marcy asked Mercedes a question in Italian.

Mercedes just pushed her in another direction. "Please sit up there. Thank you."

Marc moved his long body up the aisles. He took the only empty seat in the second row between Kitty & Marley. Both blushed.

Marcy strode to the back row where the only empty seat was between Jake & Ryder. Both eye-balled her to death as her skirt slid higher from crossing her legs.

Mercedes texted her parents that both her sister & brother were at the school with her. She knew they'd be so happy to see them that she wouldn't get in trouble for contacting Marcy.

Unbeknownst to her, Quinn & Mike were doing the same with their parents.

"Okay, Mercedes. You were saying about projecting your voice." Mr. Shue tried to draw the attention from the new visitors but it really wasn't working.

Ryder couldn't get his mouth to work right while Jake wouldn't take his eyes off Marcy's thick curvy legs.

Marley refused to look at Marc but she couldn't keep her eyes in one spot while Kitty wouldn't stare at anything but the hunky graduate.

Mercedes cleared her throat. "I was saying that projecting ones voice will ensure that it reached the back pews!"

M&MC

It happened all at once. The chaos unleashed like the kracken.

Michael & Jeanette showed up first with Maddie.

"Mike? What are your parents doing here?" Tina leaned forward to whisper.

"I have no idea why they're here." He muttered to himself. "Early."

Mercedes was just winding down from her speech when they strode in. "PM? Mrs. C? Maddie?"

Marc & Marcy came down from the rafters. "Hey!"

Maddie launched herself at Marc as Judy & Laura came in. "Marc!"

"Marcy! Is that you?!" Judy ran a hand through the girl's hair.

"Yes, it is." Marcy ran a hand through her own hair.

"Where's my baby?!" A voice called out. Rose appeared seconds later, searching.

Marcy's whole face dropped. "I should go."

"Go? Go where?" Mercedes took her arm as she tried to leave.

Marcus swept into the room & took one look at his daughter & nearly cried. "Sweetpea!"

"I can't stay here." Marcy said to her sister. "Next thing you know-"

Mal came running into the room. "Is she here?! Did I miss her?!"

If her face was cold before, Marcy could be described as glacial now.

Mal saw her & squeezed by a few people to reach her side. He didn't expect for her to hit him. She cracked him upside the face so hard, it was like a thunderclap & everyone heard it.

"Damn!" Puck, Artie & a few other guys winced.

Marcy poked a finger in Mal's chest & uttered a simple phrase of hatred in Japanese.

His look of shock didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the room. "What?"

"Why would you do that? Why would you say that?" Rose gaped.

"Really? You don't know anything?" Marcy turned cruel eyes on her mother. She switched to Italian to let her know exactly how she felt at the moment.

That was when it all went downhill because they all stopped speaking English & started speaking at once.

Mr. Shue & the class watched in fascinated awe as they bickered.

A ringtone cut through the noise. It belonged to Marcy, who took her phone out of her jean jacket pocket. "Hello?"

"You're really going to answer the phone while we're talking?" Rose set her hands on her hips.

Marcy ignored her as she tried to listen. "You what?!" She exploded suddenly. "You insignificant parasite! You insolent maggot! I'll rip your spine out through your navel & beat you with it!"

Everyone in the room took a step back at her low serious tone.

"Don't tell me that crap! I'm on my way! I don't care! I'm on my way!" She hung up violently. She turned to Marc with a sigh. "I need a favor."

"No, I will not help you dispose of a body." He was serious.

"I don't plan on hiding it." She muttered darkly. "I need a ride somewhere."

"Sure." He shrugged.

She took his hand & led him out.

"We're coming, too!" Mercedes yelled.

Michael, Marcus, Jeanette, Judy, Rose, Laura, Maddie, Quinn, Mal & Mike ran after her. Puck stood up. "They're my ride. Gotta go!"

Mr. Shue gaped as they cleaned out like the aftermath of a tornado & stood. "Well I guess the lesson is over."

M&MC

Marcy gave Marc directions to the park in City Square. She answered her phone as they neared. "Hello? You found them? You better had! No! I'm nearly there, pinhead! Whatever." She hung up.

Marc raised an eyebrow. "So…? What's going on?"

She looked at him. "Are you ready to be thrown for a loop?"

His other brow rose. "How loopy?"

"You're going to hurl."

Marc pursed his lips. "Bring it. So what was the stuff with Jr.?"

"Another loop." She massaged her temples. "We're here!"

He parked his car & they got out. Their family was right behind them as they drove on each other's heels.

Marcy ignored them as she went looking for the mysterious caller. They followed behind asking questions until she spotted a brunette sitting on a bench. "Alan! Where are they?!"

Alan jumped up & spun around. "Right here! I promise!"

Two toddlers ran over to Marcy's outstretched arms. "Mommy!"

"Mommy?!" The large family echoed.

Marcy checked over the kids before throwing Alan an irritated glare. "How do you lose them?! There's two of 'em!"

"I turned around for a minute & they were gone! I called you & I turned around & they were back!"

"You blithering dolt!"

"I'm sorry!" Alan raised his hands.

"Let's go back to the mommy thing for a second." Marc said.

"Loop, bro. Loop." Marcy stood up as the kids encircled her legs.

"I'm hurlin." He stared at his niece & nephew in awe. "What are their names?"

"Mally & Mickey." She sat on the bench & set them on either side of herself. "This is Mally." He had black hair & brown eyes. "This is Mickey." She had brown hair & green eyes.

Both had curly hair, round chubby cheeks & light cocoa skin.

"Why?" Maddie piped up.

"Guess." She gave her a deep look.

"Is it cuz they look like me when I was a baby?"

"I think they look like me." Marcy looked down at her children.

"She does but he looks like Mal." Maddie's mouth formed an "o". "Is it because they're his?!"

Marcy bopped her nose. "Ding, ding, ding!"

"No way!" Maddie cried. "I'm an auntie!"

Marcy chuckled. "I knew you were easy."

"Can I hold one?" Maddie was enthralled.

"Hold Mally. He likes girls." Marcy picked up the baby & held him in her arms. "Sit down."

Maddie sat next to Marcy & held out her arms. "I've never held a real baby before!"

"You've been holding fake babies?"

"I had to take care of an egg for home EC."

Marcy gave her the little boy. "He's def. different than an egg."

Maddie let his solid weight adjust to her arms. "He's so cute!"

"That's my baby."

"Hi, Mally! Why'd you name him after Mal? I know he's the dad & everything but couldn't you find a better name than Malcolm?"

"Hey!" Mal snapped out of his daze. He turned to Marcy. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I tried but as I recall, you didn't want to hear anything I had to say." She snapped.

"I would have listened to this!"

"But you didn't!"

"You didn't give me a chance!"

"No! You didn't give me a chance while I was sitting there pleading for you to listen to me!"

"What are you talking about?! I always listen to you. Whenever you talk, I always listen."

"Oh? So you don't remember tellin me that I ruined your life?!"

"No!" He burst in.

"What about your girlfriend?! Remember telling me about her?!"

"When was this?!" He'd never told her about having a girlfriend.

"December ninth!"

"I didn't talk to you this past-!"

"Not this year, genius! Last year! When I really needed you, you told me all about how you really felt about me! Well guess what?! I got the message! We don't need you!"

"What message?! I don't remember talking to you last year either! I haven't heard from you since October of 2011!"

"Please! Like I believe you really just "forgot"!"

"I have not talked to you, Marcy." He stated clearly.

"Yes, you did." She said just as seriously. "I called you late at night & you were somewhere noisy & you told me how you didn't like me because I ruined your life. You told me you had a girlfriend. A good girlfriend that you could depend on & wouldn't jerk you around like I apparently did."

Mal was stunned. "That was you?"

"How many people have ruined your life, Mal?!"

"No! I was supposed to be studying with a friend but he dragged me to a party. I got drunk & I don't remember what happened. The guys said I told off some girl on the phone but I didn't recognize the number the next day so I thought it was a wrong number. I was drunk."

"Well it was me. & I wasn't drunk."

"Marcy?" Jeanette came closer as if approaching a wild animal. "What happened? I thought you were a nun?"

"A nun?" Marcy's lips quirked. "I don't think so."

"What happened? The convent is closed." Mercedes came closer, too.

"Yeah, it is." Marcy bowed her head in shame. "It's my fault."

"We don't have to get into that." Rose cleared her throat. "Come along. We can discuss this later."

"There's nothing to discuss. You said what you wanted. I just gave you what you asked for." Marcy glared.

"What she asked for?" Marcus asked. "What did she ask for?"

"You were there. She said I was no longer a part of this family & that I was on my own. That you both were ashamed of me & disgusted by what I'd done, who I was & that I didn't have a home with you anymore."

"What?! I never said that!"

Rose put her hand over her face as she tried to keep it together. "I said we'll talk about this at home. We can just go."

"No, Rose. What is she talking about?" Marcus turned to her.

Rose swallowed hard as they all looked at her. "I did what I thought was best."

"Which would be?!"

"I said it! I said it all! You weren't there! It was just me on the phone but I thought if you saw that doing these things weren't going to get you further in life, you'd stop!" The last part was to Marcy.

"Disowning me was supposed to help me?" Marcy drawled. "Well it did & it didn't."

"Were you taking care of them this whole time?" Quinn asked as she played with Mally over Maddie's shoulder.

"No. I was in prison."

They all (excluding Alan) looked at her & Puck even gasped.

Marcy sighed. "After the convent closed, I had nowhere to go so I moved to a different country with a friend of mine. I got back into fighting-"

"You were fighting pregnant?!" Mal couldn't believe it.

"No." She sucked her teeth & rolled her eyes. "I got back into fighting & the place was raided. Everyone there got nabbed & thrown in prison. One day, I got a letter from Nurse Agnes that my children had survived-"

"Survived what?" He interrupted again.

She just ignored him. "So I was able to get off on good behavior & a major favor. I went back to Scotland & found out they were sick. There's a Malaysian disease that I cured when I was fourteen so I was able help them & every person infected with it. I moved us to Italy, where we've been ever since."

"Wait? How'd they get the disease from Malaysia?" Laura wanted to know.

"One of the doctors worked there for Doctors Without Borders & he brought it back."

"Why did you think they didn't survive? What weren't they supposed to survive?" Mike asked confused.

"Birth. That convent was hell. The mother superior beat us. She was a mean old woman & the night I called Mal, I was calling for help. I figured out I was pregnant & tried to stay away from her but she'd beat me anyway. So I thought I needed help.

It wasn't just me. I had a baby to care for. So I called him. Seconds after my tongue lashing, she pulled me from under her desk. It was against the rules to use the phone. She beat me so bad, I went into early labor. I never knew how far along I was until then. The nurse had to rush me to the hospital.

I gave birth to the twins but the doctors were under the impression that they'd be dead within minutes so I named them, hugged them & promptly had to go under the knife for my injuries. I was able to leave the hospital a few days later & I stayed in the convent's infirmary for a few months to heal."

"How did the convent close? How was that your fault?" Marc asked.

"Maybe you should go play?" Marcy suggested to Maddie.

"I'm almost thirteen! I can hear this!" Maddie insisted.

"I was in a bad place while I was healing. All I had were time & my thoughts. & they were dark. I wanted to kill the mother superior for killing my children but that wasn't what I was after. I wanted her to suffer.

That meant I had to take something she really wanted like she'd taken what I really wanted-"

"Why'd you really want the kids?" Marc questioned as he peeked at the shy Mickey. "Besides them being yours & everything?"

"Because I've already had three miscarriages."

"What?!" They all spoke at once.

"When I was twelve, fourteen & fifteen." She nodded. "All by Mal, too. I figured I kept having them because Momma wanted to get rid of them & that's why she sent me to those places."

"What?! No!" Rose was devastated.

"How'd you take your revenge?" Laura brought it back.

"I knew she loved that convent more than anything. The reputation of that place made her prideful. So I took it from her…"

"How?" Judy was invested.

"I slept my way through it. I had sex with every nun in that place except for her & the nurse. There were 27 of them. Ranging from age fourteen to twenty four. I lied to them all. Made promises of love, being together, running away, anything. As long as I got them on their back, I said it.

There were also three traveling priests. One came a month & I slept with them, too. I didn't have a clear plan but I didn't need one in the end. One of the monks felt so bad about what he considered rape that he turned himself over to the authorities.

The other two confessed but they never said what nun they took advantage of. The girls started feeling bad about their souls, too & confessed to breaking their vow of chastity. It all came down like a house of cards.

The newspaper painted Mother Superior as a depraved madam & it got worse & worse until she called Momma to rub it in that although her life was up in flames, I would be in trouble with my family.

I was there when she told Momma & Momma said Daddy was right beside her. But the joke was on her, I didn't care. As much as I enjoyed seeing her career go down, it didn't bring my babies back.

She didn't get what she wanted. I won. I left that same day."

"Remind me never to piss her off." Puck whispered.

"I can't believe this." Marc gaped.

"I ruined thirty two lives." Marcy sighed.

"No. You're cooler than me!"

Marcy's brows lifted. "Marc?!"

"C'mon! You got them to break a sacred vow!"

"Pig!" Laura scoffed. "You would see this as a good thing!"

"I never said it was a good thing but it was majorly cool."

Marcus sighed heavily. "Why did you lie, Rose? Why would you disown your own daughter then lie about it?"

Rose looked down as tears slid down her face. "I was wrong. I've been looking for her. To apologize & make things right."

"Why would you do it in the first place?" Jeanette didn't see why her family was always trying to get rid of their children.

"I guess I should tell you now." Rose didn't see any other way.

"That would be appreciated." Marcus folded his arms.

"I'm mentally ill." Marcy rolled her eyes, tired of the waiting game her mother was playing.

"&?"

Marcy & Rose both raised their eyebrows. "You don't care?"

"My mother has chronic depression. I figured one of you might end up with something." He shrugged.

"What?!" Marc & Mercedes yelped loudly.

"Yes." He nodded. "Grandma has chronic depression."

"I wish somebody would have told me that before I went undercover to get meds!" Marc snapped.

"What?" Rose's mouth fell open.

"I'm manic depressive." Marc pursed his lips as a weight was lifted off him. "Can't believe I've been hiding it so long."

"Why would you hide it?" Marcus asked.

"You know how Momma is about "crazy". So when I turned eighteen, I got checked out. When I was diagnosed, I told Sonny to take Mercy when she turned eighteen."

"I'm bi-polar." Mercedes whispered, finally saying it aloud. "Amongst other things."

"I told Jr. to take Marcy when she turned eighteen." Marc went on.

"We all have issues." Quinn put in. "Mike & I were diagnosed with Mercy."

"I've received help as well." Laura admitted.

"Does that mean something's wrong with me?" Maddie asked.

"More than likely. It can't hit all of us & leave you out." Mike told her.

"What do you have, Marcy?" Judy wondered.

"Turns out… a lot. I got help when I moved to Italy. I had schizophrenia & am sociopathic but my doctor says I also have abandonment issues & PTSD. & there's that stupid OCD." Marcy shrugged. "& I have a type of bi-polar. I forget what she said. Depression."

"You're really messed up." Mike blinked.

"I've been through a lot of things."

"I still don't understand why you didn't tell us. We would have understood." Marcus shook his head.

"Momma didn't. She found out when I was seven."

There was a collective gasp as he turned to look at Rose. "Seven?! When she started getting into all that trouble?! What the hell, Rose?!"

"I was wrong, okay?!" She shouted. "I grew up believing this was evil at work & I didn't want the devil taking my daughter! So I did what I thought was right! I tried to save her!"

"By shipping her all over the globe?! Was she even in the same places you told me about or was that a lie, too?! You lied to me, Rose! You lied when you were taking her to all those doctor appointments!"

"I made those appointments so you couldn't make them after the first one you missed." She admitted. "Sometimes, she wasn't where you thought she was."

"Oh my-! What the hell is wrong with you?!" He exploded.

Everyone flinched. Marcus Jones did not raise his voice.

"Marcus!" She pleaded.

He turned from her & walked away a bit to pace. "I can't believe this!"

"Dad." Marc went to him. "Maybe you should calm down before you have a heart-attack?"

"I'm not having a heart-attack!"

"You're breathing heavy, turning red."

"We should talk. About what we're going to do." Michael put his hand on his wife's back.

Jeanette nodded. The two went to speak quietly with each other.

Laura picked up Mally. "I can't believe you're a mother."

Marcy set Mickey on the other side of her. "It's unbelievable."

"Momma, I think you should talk to Daddy." Mercedes touched her mother's arm.

Rose pulled a napkin from her purse & dried her eyes. "You're right." She walked over to her husband & son.

"Let me get Marc before he does something to make it worse." Laura said as she gave Mally to Marcy.

Mercedes took Mike's hand. "Hey, Mad? Want to check out the park with us?"

"No. This is a baby park." Maddie frowned.

"& you're the baby so get up." Quinn pushed at her shoulder.

"Not anymore." Maddie pouted as she got up.

Quinn took Puck's hand & pulled him in a direction, Mercedes, Mike & Maddie following.

Alan scratched his head. "I think I'm going to head out. Here's your diaper bag."

"Thanks for watching them." Marcy took the bag.

"I'll see you at the house." Alan got up & left.

Mal sat next to her. "So what are we going to do?"

Mickey stared at him before reaching out to touch his face. He caught her hand & shook it. She lit up & squealed.

Marcy watched them with a heavy heart. "They know who you are. I show them pictures."

Mal smiled & set Mickey on his lap. The little girl hugged him. "I'm glad. I wasn't there for them then, for you then. But I'm going to be now. You can count on me."

"I don't know, Mal. It's been too long & we have a life-"

He took her hand. "We have a life. We're going to be good. You'll see."

She raised a brow. "I know we'll be good. We're already good."

"I mean all of us together."

"What about your girlfriend?" That came out more bitter than she intended.

"We broke up months ago."

"I don't know…" She took her hand back. "This is all so fast."

He brushed her hair out of her face & drew closer. "We're us. In the making for sixeen years. Us being together makes more sense than anything else in the world. & the twins deserve their parents together. We're a family; it's time we started acting like it."

She looked away. "I feel like I've been a great family member."

He brought her face back by her chin. "You have. There's going to be a lot of changes & we have to talk about that but as long as we're together, we'll be alright."

"You seem awfully sure about this. Like you're not even tripping about being a dad."

"Let's be real; I always planned to knock you up. Just thought we'd be married first."

"That ship has sailed…"

"Twelve, huh?"

"Huh?" She was confused.

"You had a miscarriage at twelve. Why didn't you ever tell me?"

She sighed. "I didn't know how. I barely knew I was pregnant."

"& fourteen?"

"Still didn't know how to say it."

"& fifteen?"

"I was too hurt. I didn't know how to say it & I didn't want to say it."

He tucked her hair behind her ear. "I will always be here for you. You know that, right? You don't have to be afraid or ashamed to tell me anything."

"So the convent thing? Not disgusted by me?"

"I'm a little in awe. 27 nuns? That is crazy."

"Not my brightest moment."

"I don't see you any different."

She blushed. "That's nice of you but I know I did wrong."

He kissed her cheek. "You did the best you could with what you had. You were grief stricken."

She ducked her head. "Why are you being so… weird?"

"I'm trying to kiss you but you're making it hard."

She smiled to keep from laughing. "When have you ever had to try to kiss me?

"You're right." He captured her lips in a sweet kiss.

She deepened the kiss as he held her face still. Whopping was heard & they broke apart to find their family staring right at them. She hid behind her son. "Oh joy."

"Well you being together makes this easier." Michael said.

"You'll be moving back home." Marcus added.

"I have a home." Marcy protested.

"You're seventeen years old. You belong home with us as we sort all this out."

"That's not fair!"

"It's not fair that I've missed out on ten years of my youngest's life."

"So I'm just supposed to stay here like a trapped princess?!"

"Look at it how you like but until you turn eighteen, you're here with us."

She looked ready to scream but she swallowed it & crossed her arms with a scowl.

"You'll be well taken care of." Michael went on. "Especially the children. We're updating the wills, setting up accounts, everything."

"I don't need your money, Papa Mike. I make enough."

"What do you do? You're seventeen." Laura crossed her arms.

"I'm a dancer." Marcy sat up with a smile. "I just finished a season across the boards."

"Really?" Maddie hopped up & down. "You did it!"

"I did."

"I'm so jealous." Mercedes smiled.

"Me too." Quinn added.

"We should continue this at the house." Marcus said. "This is too public a place."

"We still have to talk. Want to come to our house?" Mal asked Marcy.

"Sure. Unless I'm literally being chained to you." Marcy glared at her parents.

Marcus looked at her in confusion. "Were you always this willful?!"

M&MC

Quinn kissed Puck. "I promise to call you later."

"Never thought I'd see your family like this." He opened his truck door & climbed inside.

"Me either. I can't believe about Grandma."

He smirked. "Make sure you call. I gotta know what's going on."

She leaned against the car. "I will. I need to make sense of this with someone."

He started his truck & drove away from the Chang residence. Quinn waited until he was out of sight to go into the house.

Mike & Mercedes were in the foyer. "He's gone?"

"Yeah, he's gone. So what are we going to do?"

"Give them some space." Mike shrugged.

"But there's so many questions I have for her." Mercedes pouted. "I have them for Momma, too. I'm just glad we never said anything about being sick or she would have sent me away, too!"

"At least she knows she was wrong now." Mike took her hand.

"Fat lot of good that does. Marcy is still…"

"Still what?" Marcy walked in.

"I don't know. Broken?" Mercedes chewed on her bottom lip.

"I have a shrink. Don't need you psychoanalyzing me."

"Why didn't you respond to my letter?" Mercedes blurted out.

"I did. I showed up."

"I thought you'd write back or call."

"I was coming anyway so why waste paper? You know I don't call people."

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

"Why were you coming here?" Quinn asked.

"What?"

"Why were you coming here? You said you were coming anyway."

"Oh. I've been going to school. In prison, I met a woman that killed her husband & she was always on me about learning. When I realized the twins were alright, I decided to take that Polish aptitude test. When I got out, schools were tripping over themselves because of my scores. I ended up going to Harvard."

"How do you go to Harvard in Italy?"

"Most schools have programs that you can do online or through the mail. You just have to look. I was first in my class & I'm actually graduating the certain program I'm in this Friday."

"No way! That's so amazing!" Mercedes hugged her.

"You're still on that hugging thing, huh?"

Mercedes made sure to squeeze her. "Yes! You hug the ones you love!"

"Are you kids hungry?" Jeanette walked into the foyer.

"Yes. I haven't eaten since last night." Marcy made Mercedes get off her.

"Why not?!" Jeanette was appalled.

"I just wasn't hungry this morning."

"What about this afternoon?"

"Just never thought about it, I guess."

"Well come into the kitchen & I'll make you a snack before I fix dinner."

"Please no tofu stew." Mercedes begged.

Quinn gulped. "Anything but that!"

Jeanette was offended. "I thought you liked my tofu stew!"

Mike, Mercedes, Marcy & Quinn shook their heads.

Jeanette sighed. "Fine. I'll think of something."

M&MC

"Ready to talk?" Mal asked.

Marcy sighed. "If we must."

He took her hand & led her upstairs. He went to his room & closed the door before sitting on his bed.

She stood in the middle of the space looking lost.

He patted the space between his legs. "It won't get any easier with space between us."

She walked over & sat on his bed. He pulled her onto his lap. She eyed him warily. "What are we going to talk about?"

"We should live together." He didn't miss a beat.

"Live together?!" She gaped.

"Yes. We're together, we have children, we're almost adults. We should live together."

That made a strange sort of sense to her… "Where are we going to live?"

"Do you want to move back here? We can find a place."

"I like where I live." She stuck her bottom lip out.

"Then I'll move there." He said instantly.

She blinked. "Oh. What about college? You're going to college, aren't you?"

"I could go to school in Italy. They have good schools. I heard you talking about the program you're in & I could do that. There's a ton of options."

"What about work? Don't you want a job?"

"I can get a job. You know our inheritance will be coming in soon. You won't have to work."

"I don't think I'm going to be getting that." She shook her head.

"Pop is def. going to help you. I'm sorry you went through all this-"

"You're sorry?" Her wide eyes peered at him.

"Yes. You should never have had to be disowned."

"Oh." The hopeful light dimmed.

"We're going to work this out. Tomorrow, I'm going to see about the schools I applied to & see if they have the same program you were in. If that doesn't work, I'll just apply to Italian schools. That'll be school down. I can find a job when we get there.

"I guess you have it all worked out, Mal."

"I do." He wrapped his arms around her & kissed her jaw. "We will be happy & together."

"Happy & together." She whispered before sitting up. She turned around to stare at him. He raised a brow as she just looked at him.

"What?"

She lurched forward & kissed him.

He didn't need to be told twice! He rolled her over & attacked her lips. She giggled as he moved to her neck.

M&MC

Mike blew in Mercedes's ear. "Want me to walk you home?"

She stirred sleepily. While Marcy & Mal were upstairs talking, everyone else had gone to their respective homes but the two of them had decided to watch a movie with his parents, the twins & the sleeping Maddie.

"Merce?" He whispered again.

She breathed deeply before opening her eyes. "Mikey?"

"Want me to walk you home?" He repeated.

She nodded & sat up. She began stretching.

"You're about to go?" Jeanette stood.

"Yeah. I'm kinda tired." She yawned.

"I think your sister's going to stay here. They have a lot to talk about & I don't want to interrupt. Tell your father she'll come home in the morning."

Mercedes nodded. "Okay."

Mike stood. "Want me to put Maddie down while I'm up?"

"I'll wake her up in a minute. Can you two put the twins in the guest room?"

Mike picked up Mickey while Mercedes grabbed Mally. They went upstairs & put the children in the big bed then shut the door & came downstairs.

Mike patted his pockets to make sure he had his keys then locked the door behind himself. He tucked his tuckered out girlfriend under his arm & began walking her around the corner to her home.

"Can you believe today?" She asked as she tried to wake up.

"Let's just say when I woke up this morning, I did not expect any of this."

"It's crazy!"

"How are you holding up? I know this must be a bit much for you."

She sighed. "I don't think it's hit me yet. It's all fresh & new. I do wonder how my parents are taking this grandparent thing."

"My parents are handling it kinda well. Mom keeps looking at them like they're going to disappear any moment."

"I think we're all still bummed about the Beth situation. She knows Marcy has them but thinks she's going to give them away."

"Which is weird. You know Marcy; she'll do her own thing if the popular thing isn't the right thing."

"I wonder about all those miscarriages though. How could she not tell me? I'm her big sister. I would have helped."

"Have you ever had a miscarriage?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. "No!"

"I'm just asking. It could have happened & you didn't want to tell me. Or Puck or Sam."

She breathed through her nose. "I have never had the misfortune of having a miscarriage. Thank heavens!"

"Yeah, I think that'd be rough on anybody but three? Then thinking she lost the twins after that horrid labor? No wonder she plotted."

"I can't believe she got 27 nuns & three monks to sin."

"I can. That girl can talk an eskimo into buying snow."

She giggled. "This is really inappropriate. It's not funny."

"But I like to see you smile."

She couldn't help the huge smile covering her face. She peeked at him from under her lashes. "You are a smooth operator, you know that?"

"Oh yeah. I'm real smooth. Like peanut butter."

"I like how much of a goober you are."

"I like that you like me even though I'm a total goober."

"I like that you like that I like you for being a goober. It shows how secure you are with your goober-ness."

"You know I'll win." He looked at her.

"Okay. That's my last one. No tongue twisters."

They walked in silence for a while as her house came into view. "Did you see Marcy's & Marc's faces when you told Tina that we only knew each other from this past year?" He laughed. "I thought their brains broke."

She giggled. "I know I'm going to have to explain that."

"We could just tell everyone the truth…"

She peeked at him. "I'm just not ready for that conversation yet."

"I'm talking about our family. She will understand that we've been friends for years."

"Or she won't understand why we didn't tell her in the first place."

"It wasn't her business?"

"Mikey!"

"I'm serious. When you met Tina, you didn't give her a list of your friends. So why would she need to know that information when we were already hiding it?"

"Sometimes, I wish Q never made us make that promise."

"Sometimes? I wished it almost constantly during & after. It was stupid & I should have talked her out of it."

"You know Quinn. Once she gets something in her mind, it's the truth."

"I know but I still should have tried or told her we weren't going to go through with it."

"You know what? Everything happens for a reason. Everything happened the way it was supposed to. We're all good."

"We are." He agreed as they crossed the lawn of her house.

"You want to come in?" She unlocked the front door.

"For a minute." He shrugged.

They went inside & looked around for people. "Momma?! Daddy?! Marc?!"

Marc walked in from the kitchen. "Hey?"

"Hey? Where are Momma & Daddy?" Mercedes looked at his hands. He held a bowl of… something.

"Dad's taking some of his things & putting them in the bedroom down here & Momma's upstairs crying."

"How can you say it like that?! It's a bad thing!" She looked up the stairs.

"Well you stayed at the Changs while they were here fighting. So I say it like I'm tired of hearing it. Where's Marcy & the kids?"

"At my house." Mike said. "The twins are asleep & Marcy & Mal are still talking."

"I guess they have a lot to talk about. I couldn't imagine how he's feeling."

"Him?! What about her?!" She put her hands on her hips. "He's the one who wouldn't let her explain!"

"He was drunk! Give him a break!"

"Oh please!" She rolled her eyes.

"I've had drunken mistakes."

"You keep banging desperate women. That's not a mistake, it's a choice."

His mouth fell open. "Since when are you judgy?!"

"I'm not judging you. I'm just saying that it's not the same. He did make a mistake & he's going to have to amend it but what you're doing with these loose girls is completely different."

"They're not all loose!"

Mercedes gave him a look. "I'm going to bed."

Marc pursed his lips. "They're not! I date some nice girls!"

"Name the last one." She taunted.

"Stacy!"

"You just thought up that name!"

"So?! You said name her, not be right!"

Mike laughed. Mercedes glared at him. He cleared his throat. "That's bad, bro."

Marc's lips twitched. "Whatever. Want to watch a game?"

"What game could possibly be on?!" Mercedes snapped.

"We'll find one!" He shot back & slapped Mike on the back. "Come on, Sonny! Women!"

Mercedes turned her glare on him before going into Mike's arms. "Don't forget to come up & tell me goodnight."

He pressed a light kiss to her plump mouth. "I won't."

"What is this?!" Marc's jaw dropped.

"We didn't tell you?" Mercedes thought back. "I guess not. Mikey & I are dating."

Marc's mouth worked. "Well damn ya go to college & shit changes!"

Mercedes's eyes widened. "You owe money to the swear jar."

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Actually, I don't. What do you mean?"

"When did this happen? Why did this happen? Is it working? Isn't it weird? Does Laura know?"

"That's what you want to know?" She set her hands on her hips. "If Laura knows?"

"I'm just asking." He shrugged.

"Someone could have told her but I don't know."

"So is this real?" He seemed confused.

"Of course it's real!"

He waved a hand in defense. "It's a little incestuous, don't ya think?"

"You & Laura were together for five years."

"& look where we are now!"

"I thought you loved your life?"

He looked at Mike. "Well I'm done talking to her. Want to catch that game?"

Mike tried not to laugh. "Sure."

Marc went into the den. Mercedes rewrapped her arms around Mike. "He'll come around."

"Around to what?"

"Laura. They're meant to be."

"Uh… Laura's married to Robert. That's a pretty big roadblock."

"She's going to divorce him any minute." She was sure.

He gave in. "Yes, she will." He gave her another kiss. "I should go before he thinks up some silly kids song to mess with me."

"He's four years old. Of course he will."