AUTHORS NOTE: This is just a transition chapter to lead us into the interview. It also occurred to me that there isn't really any backstory for Megumi, I did have one in mind when I first put her with Elliot and I have mentioned it but only very briefly in a couple of fleeting comments back in chapter 41. She was a background character in the Crossfire series of books and so all this is out of my imagination. The abusive relationship was sort of touched upon in the crossfire books but it was more a casual relationship in canon. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 90

(ELLIOT)

I hear my phone ping and quickly check it. I smile as I see a text from Meg telling me that she and Ava are now on their way back here. My attention is suddenly diverted by something hitting me in the face, I look to see what it is and see a pair of my swim shorts which I keep here lying next to me. I look up and see Christian looking at me with a grin on his face. I look closely at him and while to the casual observer he looks happy and relaxed I know my brother well and today has taken it out of him – as it has all of us, the tension around his eyes is testament to that.

"Are you coming for a swim or not?" he asks.

"Yeah, I am" I say. I pick up the shorts and as I quickly go to change Gideon appears ready to swim.

I watch as Christian and Gideon both execute perfect dives into the pool and start swimming strongly towards the other end. They reach the other end and look up to see where I am. I stand towards the middle of the massive pool and wait and as they swim towards me I watch them closely and as soon as they get close enough, I leap and tucking my knees up I hit the water with an almighty splash sending a wave over both of them. I come to the surface to hear them both cursing me.

"Elliot you ass!" Christian splutters and immediately he jumps on me and shoves me back under the water. I inwardly smile at this, because this seemingly natural albeit childish reaction was one he would never have done at one time.

Gideon laughs and as I surface again he deliberately splashes me.

"Come on, lets swim" Christian announces and starts swimming powerfully towards the deep end of the pool, Gideon quickly follows and I bring up the rear at a more sedate pace. Christian is a brilliant swimmer, he learnt when we were at school and with his time on the rowing team and his sessions with his trainer his upper body strength makes him hard to beat. It appears Gideon is no slouch either as he quickly catches him. I know that while I have strength in my shoulders and am physically fit from my work, I'm not as obsessive about working out or eating healthily as Christian, or Gideon it seems as there isn't an ounce of fat on him either.

I can see Christian's competitive streak starting to show and soon we are all racing each other up and down the pool. It is oddly relaxing after the events of today and something I think we all need to unwind. Eventually we all pause for breath although Gideon doesn't even seem to be out of breath.

"I feel much better now" I state as I wipe the water from my face.

Christian looks carefully at me, "I had no idea you felt the way you did" he says, "I'm so sorry" he adds but I wave my hand. The last thing I want is for him to start heaping the blame on himself for how I feel. As far as I am concerned it's down to mom and dad, not Christian and hearing them acknowledging the fact and apologising has gone some way to help. But I think we are in for some intense sessions of therapy for me to fully come to terms with the way I have felt all my life.

"Forget it, you have nothing to apologise for" I say.

"I need to say something as well" Gideon says.

We all look at him and he waves his hand through the water for a moment before he speaks.

"I'm sorry for what I asked, I wasn't trying to create trouble… it's just when Elliot said he felt disregarded, it reminded me of how Christopher felt".

Both Christian and I shake our heads, "No, don't be sorry Gideon it was a valid question and it turned out it encouraged Mia to speak up so it was a good thing you said something".

"Caroline has her work cut out trying to sort everything out, but she has done wonders with you bro so I have full confidence that she can help us" I say.

Christian nods, "It was the best thing I ever did, Ana was right about John… but then again Ana has been right about a lot of things".

"Caroline has been a massive help for me as well" Gideon says carefully.

We both know what Gideon is referring to and Christian places his hand on Gideon's shoulder and squeezes.

I am aware of events which transpired in New York and how a load of shit came out about Gideon's mother. Also, how he ended up finding out that guy who had been bugging him for years trying to undercut him in business and who lost his mind and tried to shoot him ended up being his brother. That has to be a mind fuck for anyone, but for Gideon with all the baggage he has from when he was abused as a kid if anyone needed help it was him.

Gideon looks at me, "I suffered from nightmares… bad ones, which linked back to the time I was abused and since I have been seeing Caroline they have receded dramatically" he explains.

I smile widely at him, "Well that's brilliant, I'm pleased for you" I say with utter sincerity. I remember the awful nightmares Christian had when we were kids. He'd wake up screaming out in pain, and I wouldn't wish that night time misery on anyone.

Gideon's attention is suddenly taken by something behind me and I turn to look to see Eva and Ana approaching.

"Are you going to join us?" I call but they shake their heads.

"Christian, Jose has just called me" Ana calls and I watch as Christian immediately freezes at the mention of Ana's old college friend.

We swim over to where the ladies are standing at the side of the pool.

"Apparently Kate called Jose asking to speak to his dad about his time in the military with Frank and dad" Ana explains.

"Oh for fucks sake" I mutter in total exasperation.

"So, we need to get the interview done pretty soon. Ana has asked Jose not to let Kate anywhere near his dad and to ask his dad not to speak to her. He has assured us he will do that which buys us a bit of time but that fucking woman is relentless" Eva says.

Gideon looks up, "Have you decided how you are doing the interview?" he asks.

I look at Eva and Ana, we had discussed it and pretty much decided that a television interview would be best and Ana confirms this with what she says.

"We thought a television interview would be best" she says.

Gideon nods, "I thought so, I'll make a few calls and call in a few favours, is there anyone you want to particularly avoid?"

Eva snorts, "I suppose anyone linked to Kavanagh media" she says, but I shake my head at that remark.

"No, actually I disagree" I say, "Eamon has been marvellous throughout this whole thing with Kate, once he knew the facts. He has been invaluable to us and helping us out with his media contacts, I think he would be a good person to approach" I add.

Christian nods, "I say we approach him and tell him we are going public and why, I'm certain he will try and help us as he hasn't betrayed us yet, but we will leave that call for you El as it will sound better coming from you" he says.

I nod in agreement, "He might even manage to organise something which will be able to be screened in both Seattle and New York as I'm guessing you want it to go nationwide?" I suggest.

Ana and Eva look at each other and Ana shrugs, "I'm ok with that" she says.

Christian is clearly working things out in his mind, "I think we all call in our contacts, maybe organise a number of different outlets… a carpet bombing approach, that way we saturate the media with our narrative, which is the whole point of this to prevent Kate from releasing her own version should she discover anything".

"I agree" I say as I nod my head firmly.

"DADDY!" I turn and see Ava running towards the pool.

"Don't run near the pool!" I call and she stops dead, but is hopping around desperate to join us.

"I don't know about you, but I've changed my mind and I think we should all join in with the fun in the pool" Eva says as she sees Ava's excitement.

Ana grins, "I agree" she says and she holds out her hand to Ava, "Let's go and find you your bathing suit missy". She looks up at Meg, "I have a swim suit or bikini you can borrow if you like?"

Meg hesitates a moment but then nods, "I'd like that, thank you" she says.

With that the ladies move away to the changing area leaving us alone once more.

"We should get on this as soon as possible if Kate is starting to sniff around again" Christian says.

I nod, "Yeah, but let's just have a bit of fun with our wives first" I say.

A few moments later Meg, Ana and Eva all reappear and Meg is holding Ava's hand, Meg is wearing one of Ana's bikinis and I feel myself hardening as I look at her. Ava and I keep swimwear here all the time so I think it will be beneficial for Meg to do the same.

We watch as Ana and Eva sit on the side of the pool and sedately slide in, Ava watches and then she does the same. Ava can swim well and is confident in the water having spent a lot of time here from practically as soon as she was born, but Christian insists that she wear inflatable buoyancy aids just in case.

I watch and see Meg sitting at the side but making no effort to get into the water.

"Are you coming?" I ask and then I take a closer look at her and see the fear in her eyes.

"Meg, baby are you ok?" I ask as I move closer to her.

"I can't swim" she whispers.

"Ok no problem, let's move to where it's a bit shallower" I say.

I had no idea Meg was unable to swim, and she is clearly embarrassed, not to mention nervous about this.

"Is everything ok?" Christian asks as he comes over to us.

"We're fine thanks bro" I say brightly as I don't want to draw any attention to Meg, but Christian looks at me as though he's not buying that. "Meg is just a bit nervous that's all as she's a non-swimmer" I add quietly and I see the compassion appear in Christian's eyes.

"You'll be fine as long as you stay within your depth" he says kindly.

Meg nods and taking a deep breath and gripping my shoulders tightly she carefully slides into the pool.

"Hang on to the side baby and we will slowly walk down the pool a little" I say.

Meg nods and we slowly walk down until we are in deeper water.

"I don't think I want to go any further" Meg says and I look at her and see the water is up to her chest.

"That's ok baby, you stay where you are comfortable and I am right here beside you" I reply.

Ana and Eva come over and join us, "Is everything alright?" Ana asks.

"I can't swim, so I don't want to go any further in" Meg says with a little shrug.

"Oh ok that's fine, just take your time and go at your own pace" Ana says kindly.

After a short while Meg is confident enough to move away from the side and I encourage her to float. "I've got you baby," I say as I wrap my arm around her, "Just relax".

She takes a deep breath and goes for it, she is a natural and I see her getting more adventurous as her confidence in the water is rising.

"We will soon have you swimming at this rate" I say as I hold her and she kicks her legs. I walk backwards with her across the pool and she kicks.

"I think I'd like to learn, I mean when the baby comes it would be a fun thing for us all to do as a family… don't you think?" she asks and I nod.

"Yeah it is" I say and I wrap my arm around her and hold her.

"Can I ask you something Elliot?" she says and I look at her carefully.

"Of course you can, you can ask me anything – you know that" I say.

"Do you think everything will work out with your mom?" she asks.

I smile reassuringly at her, "Yes I do, Caroline is good at what she does, and she has helped Gideon and Christian. I have faith that she can help us, are you still worried about mom?" I ask.

She hesitates a bit and then slowly nods, "Yeah, I mean I think she now realises that I'm not just with you for your money and that I've not brainwashed you or anything but I just worry that she might still hold some resentment".

I shake my head, "No, mom's not like that. She doesn't hold grudges, at this moment she is drowning in guilt after everything that was said today but… and I don't mean this badly, but you are now the least of her worries. She has accepted you have good motives and she apologised, she will still feel guilty for how she felt towards you and she will probably make more of an effort now to get to know you… but that's not a bad thing is it?" I wait and Meg shakes her head.

"No, it's not. I really do want to get to know her and have a good relationship with her and that is a big thing for me to admit after… everything".

I smile and just hold her. I know about Meg's past; she has some real issues with trust and family as well as her experiences from the abusive relationship she endured. Her parents who were quite wealthy died when she was young and she was sent to the States from her home in Japan to live with her mother's sister who had emigrated and settled in New York. From what she had told me her aunt hadn't been a nice person and had only taken her to get her hands on the money her parents had put aside for her care in the event of anything happening to them. While she didn't neglect her as such, she didn't treat her well and made it clear she was a burden on her so as soon as she was of an age to do so she quickly moved out and made her own way in the world, with her own inheritance. Her aunt had died a couple of years ago and so Meg was all alone in the world and I marvel at her strength of character to be the person she is. Then after her bad relationship where she was emotionally, verbally, physically and sexually abused by the person who was meant to love her she pretty much kept to herself. She had befriended Eva when she had started working at Waters Field and Leaman and they had quickly become firm friends and it had been Eva's influence and encouragement which gave her the courage to leave the abusive relationship behind and press charges against him. That's the reason why I was so pissed at mom, because while she had no idea what a massive thing it was for Meg to reach out to her; for her to continually blow Meg off each time she tried triggered her memories of how her aunt had treated her. While mom didn't realise how her behaviour as well as the unfounded assumptions and attitude had hurt Meg deeply, I did and I also felt that mom was dismissing Meg just as she'd dismissed me all my life which had broken the line of communication between us and our relationship had deteriorated further as a result.

I run my hand over Meg and I look down at her stomach, "Baby you have a baby bump starting to appear" I say.

Meg's eyes widen at that and she looks down at my hand pressed against the smallest little bump starting to show.

"How? I can't have, not yet" she says almost indignantly.

I shrug, "Well I see it" I say with a grin, I press a kiss to her lips, "…and it's beautiful" I add.

"That actually reminds me of something - don't forget we have our pre-natal appointment next week" Megumi says.

I nod, "I won't, I have it in my schedule" I say.

We stay in the pool for a while longer and I smile at how Gideon plays with Ava and how she challenges him to a race across the pool.

"Race Uncle Gideon!" Ava shrieks and everyone grins at her and waits for Gideon's response.

"Ok but what about Uncle Christian?" he asks her and she shakes her head.

"Too fast" she says and Christian laughs loudly at that.

"And I'm not?" Gideon asks her.

She grins at him and shakes her head, "No" she says.

"Oh, but I am really fast Ava" he says solemnly and she thinks about it for a moment.

"Please" she says and his face just softens and they move to the side of the pool.

"Where are we going?" Gideon asks and Ava points to the other side of the pool, she can do widths of the pool but she hasn't managed to do a length yet but for a two-year-old a width is really good, but then again I'm biased as I'm her dad.

Eva moves towards them, and holds up her hand, "Ok on your marks… get set…"

Before she can say go Ava shrieks go and starts swimming across the pool.

Gideon watches her and waits a moment before he starts swimming and he deliberately swims slowly stopping a couple of times to ensure Ava beats him. As she gets within touching distance of the side of the pool he swims after her and as she touches the side and looks round to see him she grins widely.

"I beat you" she shouts excitedly.

"You cheated, you went before Aunty Eva said go" Gideon says good naturedly.

"I said go" Ava says as if that is perfectly acceptable.

Gideon laughs and pulls her up into his arms, she wriggles and wraps her small arms around him, then I see her say something to him and he looks across at me.

"Ava wants to ride on me back across the pool, she says it is something you do with her and I'm not sure how I am going to do this?" he says.

I realise Ava is getting tired and doesn't want to swim back across the pool so I nod, "Yeah, lie on your back and she will sit on your stomach, and you backstroke across the pool while she basically just sits there" I call.

Gideon immediately gets what I am saying and after a bit of fumbling he starts to make his way slowly back across the pool with Ava sitting on him and giggling insanely.

As they reach us, Ava slides back into the water with a splash and I grab her.

"I think it's time to get out now" I say firmly as I can clearly see Ava is definitely tired from all her exertions.

As I say that everyone decides to get out of the pool, and Meg takes Ava from me to get her dried and changed first before we all descend on the changing area.

By the time we are all dried and dressed Ava is fast asleep and I carefully put her down in one of the bedrooms upstairs. When I join the others, discussion is back on the interview once more and Christian and Gideon are discussing who they are going to call.

I grab my phone and sit down with them. "I'll call Eamon now and get the ball rolling" I say as I thumb through my contacts.

Everyone nods and I place the call.

"Hello Elliot" Eamon says as he answers.

"Hi Eamon, I need a favour" I say and cringe slightly at my rather abrupt greeting.

"What can I do for you?" Eamon asks and to my relief he doesn't seem to have noticed my abruptness.

"I was wondering if we could organise something as Eva, Ana and I are planning to go public about our parentage. The world already knows about Eva and Ana being sisters but nobody is aware of my link with them".

"Oh ok, and you want me to put together an interview or something?" he asks.

"That's right, we are hoping for a television interview, Christian and Gideon are also calling some of their contacts so it will be a joint thing and hopefully go nationwide".

"Alright, can I ask why now?"

I sigh, "Yeah you can but you won't like it… it's Kate, she is sniffing around again and looking to cause trouble. She is harassing Ray's old army buddies. Ana made a comment when she went to see her to try and get her to help her get back with me, Ana obviously refused which Kate didn't like and we made it clear as it was never going to happen as I have now remarried… so now Kate is looking for some kind of retribution. The plan is we go public first essentially setting the narrative and…"

"Destroying her story" Eamon says.

"Got it in one" I say.

"I will definitely help you Elliot, I no longer recognise Kate and the person she has become and I am ashamed to call her my daughter" he says sadly.

I'm not sure what to say to that so I simply opt for a simple thanks.

"I'll put something together for you and I'll give Christian and Gideon a call to liaise with what they are planning and try and make it as smooth as possible… I'm guessing this is a time sensitive issue?" he asks.

"Yeah, asap as she clearly believes she knows something. She has also tried to get access to our biological father in the military prison he is in and while we have managed to block her so far, it's only a matter of time before she gets the information she is seeking and the way she feels about us I can only imagine what sort of article she will write".

"Hmmm quite!" Eamon agrees. "Ok, Elliot leave it with me" he says confidently.

"Thank you, Eamon," I reply.

We say our goodbyes and I hang up feeling a lot more confident.