Authors Note: I own nothing. No ownership rights to Beverly Hills 90210.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Calls

I didn't stay long at my parents as I wanted to get home in time to nurse Art. When I drove in the driveway I could see Iris and Erica were having a great time. Each had filthy hands, both forgoing gloves whilst they potted tiny little tubs with soil and a seed. They at least had an order of some sort with pots being grouped together- hopefully by vegetable or herb, but knowing Arthur's grandma it could be anything from common food grouping to the seeds vibe. I waved at them both and quietly yelled out an apology that I couldn't stop and see the start of their garden, as I needed to feed Art. Dylan who was just about to open the freezer- I assume to pull out frozen milk, on seeing me stopped and stared. He had left while I was still in my robe so he hadn't seen the dress.

Art who was in his arms saw me as well and started fussing to get at me. "Okay little man I can see you want your beautiful mummy." He walked up to me and I leaned in and collected our son from his arms, I could feel him lean down slightly and sniff my hair. There was no elephants or butterflies, the latter had long since left our relationship, instead there was the hum under my skin from his nearness like my whole body was getting a charge being even remotely close to him. It was a feeling I had found pleasure in at times, had reviled at others and had recently taken to ignoring, currently I wasn't sure where I stood on it this afternoon. "Bren you look stunning though you always do even without the dress or makeup."

"Thank you." He looks into my eyes, he wants to know but doesn't want to ask.

"It was nice, a little awkward as he didn't know about our little man here." He lifted his whole brow in shock, "Dad's client knows he has a grandson but Dad wasn't aware if he remembered that Dad only has one daughter."

"He didn't feel the need to clarify when he was setting this up?" I can tell by his tone he is frustrated that I was put in that position.

"No but it was fine in the end."

He looks at me closely and then closes his eyes as if the next words were painful, "it was more than just fine. You had fun. Will you be seeing him again?" He opened his eyes to look at me while asking the question.

"Yes. We are going to go for a coffee well a tea for me, tomorrow afternoon while Art is napping."

He tries to control his facial features but I can see his arms get tense, I wouldn't be surprised if I look down and find his hands in fists. "That soon? Maybe fun wasn't the most apt adjective."

"Dylan it was nice that's it. Now I need to feed this little guy, will you sit with me and tell me what has the McKay women covered in mud? By the way they aren't coming into the house until they have washed up."

He chuckles at that, "I have already told the messy McKay women that that would be the case, they know the McKay matriarch would kill me if the house couldn't at least stay new and clean a little while longer." As we had been speaking we had moved to the couch where I pulled down my shoestring strap to begin nursing Art. Dylan so used to the scene and knowing how much I hated only being able to nurse Art from his late morning feed sat close to us and rubbed Art's head wanting to ensure he wouldn't distract him. My son was currently using his little fist to hold himself to me. "Well someone is hungry, no wonder he has been grumbling all afternoon he must have needed a little top up."

Quickly I turn to him, "he was grumbly?"

"Mama Bear relax, he was just a little more vocal and only Daddy was allowed to hold him when he woke up."

"He has been fine this week, especially now that you are home in the evenings. I can't imagine my absence would have triggered that or a new adventure to the nursery. Maybe he didn't sleep well in his car seat."

"Baby he was fine just had some complaints he wanted to raise in his garbling language." He squeezed my hand in comfort. "Now you wanted to hear about the garden situation. Firstly, Erica and my mother shouldn't be left alone together too long. If not carefully monitored today we would be running a farm up here, as it stands I think we will be producing about twenty different vegetables, fruits or herbs, that is if they don't kill them with kindness first."

Dylan spent the next half hour entertaining me with stories about the two McKay women together. I knew it was bad when he openly stated he would rather have gone back to looking at the white swatches with me then shop with the two of them. When he started comparing it to wrangling cat's I declared he was now in the embellishment phase of his story, though when they both turned up on the back porch wet and filthy ten minutes later he simply gave me a I told you so look.

Once both of them were showered and in warm clothes, and I had got changed into more casual attire we sat in front of the lit fire with a casserole in the oven, playing a board game. Art was down for his nap and Erica had made the request to Dylan with her large sweet eyes, he of course agreed for all of us and so monopoly was played. Once the game was over and Erica was onto her important sign making, Iris moved into the kitchen to help me prepare some meals for my brother's and our freezer. As we cooked she chatted to me about Nat, like us she had continued to pop in on him this week, admittedly though for longer periods of time than we could due to our schedule. She was nervous about him being released to his own place without support. He would be on very light duties for the next few weeks as he gradually built up his stamina again.

Dylan came and joined us with our newly awake son hearing the tail end of the conversation. "Mum do you want us to invite Nat here for a few weeks? We haven't organised the Den yet but I'm sure we could get something arranged for in there."

"Oh I wasn't suggesting here but I guess with Joey still being problematic that this house would be the best place for him. Though if you and Brenda are okay with him staying here don't go to the trouble of organising furniture he could just take the spare room."

Dylan's response was instant and his tone was direct, "we don't have a spare room at the moment, we will eventually have two but currently all five rooms are spoken for."

Iris looked at me, Dylan hadn't taken on his biting tone with her since she had arrived, this was borderline approaching it. This day had obviously been harder on him than I thought, I imagine my plans for tomorrow weren't helping. I gave her a smile, "Iris it's fine that Nat stay here, we can go shopping in the morning for a couch and furniture for that room. The room can be positioned to make it a little apartment for him while he recovers, and with the guest bathroom next door to it he'll have his own space free from us, maybe a Murphy bed could work for in there. Dylan wants this house to be the family home for decades so we will always need spare beds."

Dylan smiled and agreed, I could tell he liked the idea of having a home welcome for our extended family, a place people wanted to be in. Iris though was still unsure by his recent tone, "are you sure? I didn't mean to upset you Dylan."

I jumped in wanting to spare Dylan from having to clarify his feelings on the matter. "As you know the master is set up for Dylan and I, until… well I'm not certain we will ever live in the house the way Dylan wants, but that room is to stay as is for the time being and not be used by anyone else. It either makes your son very eccentric or extremely sweet that he is adamant on this, I'm choosing to lean more towards the latter at the moment." Two weeks ago it was the former, but this week I could see he was trying to support me even when it hurt, he was trying to let me figure out what I needed. It was something I had given to him and I remembered the pain of it.

The fact I could disappear into my home to move away from it, that I wasn't forced to have a front row seat twenty-four hours a day was essential to me, had kept me sane. Dylan wasn't given that luxury, I could for that reason alone support him as he came to terms or I guess awaited the terms of what our life would be. The sad part of it was I didn't know how long I or him would be waiting, my definite feelings that we were done had been driven by my anger, as that subsided they were now becoming murky to me. It hadn't helped on Monday when he had declared we would have no more kids, I had been left unsettled by the thought. It was a line of thinking I was refusing to dwell too long in or live in the possible meaning behind those emotions.

Sunday was now a busy day, Nat was due for release this week Wednesday so even without asking him first we wanted to get a head start on the purchasing- it was needed regardless. After a quick breakfast we took two cars to the furniture store and preceded to find a couch that was perfect for the planned family movie and hangout space, it was a room that I wanted to be our hidden space for an all day hang on those rare wet day's in LA or a place where Dylan could spend a few hours watching his beloved Angels play. The couch was easily decided upon when Dylan and Erica both refused to get up after trying it, claiming the sectional was too comfortable to move off of.

Our previous sales person having spotted us as we walked in and decided to make my life easier by bringing me the swatch book so Dylan could be involved in the decision, whilst still comfortable. The sectional was in stock and as she pointed out the materials it was already available in I immediately chose the grey it would work perfectly. I arranged some pillows to be made in some different fabrics to bring life to the neutral base, and then set about making Dylan help me pick the rest. The Murphy bed was a challenge to arrange and required an additional stop but it did offer us the opportunity to install some additional cabinets on either side of it making the wall look custom built. The opposite end of the room saw a similar cabinet design to house the tv.

When Dylan took Erica in the Porsche to meet her mum for lunch I made my way to my parents in the Jeep with Art. Brandon was already there on my arrival and was being filled in by my gloating father on his excellent skills in matchmaking. I tried to reign in my father's excitement and clarify that it was nice, that it was a nice date but that is all. When Brandon asked if Dylan was aware of the details, I clarified some but he has decided he'd prefer not have too many. My Dad declared that it was none of his business anyway and then spent the remainder of the lunch actively changing the conversation whenever Arthur's Father's name appeared. Considering that he and I spent very little time away from the other, and when we were apart if he wasn't in class he was most likely with Brandon, it was a challenge for my Dad to find a conversation he didn't naturally come up in.

Just before one-thirty I went upstairs to my old room and nursed Art and then put him down for his nap, when I moved into the bathroom to try and organise myself for the coffee Brandon appeared in the doorway. "You doing okay?"

"My life is weird, I live with my ex like husband and wife without the intimacy-"

"Bren I've been in your homes together, there is nothing but intimacy between the two of you. I don't think you know how much of your time together you both spend touching the other and even when you aren't, the underlying text of all your conversations is that you know each other in a different way than everyone else."

"Brandon I thought you didn't want Dylan and I-"

"I don't want you with someone who could do what he did to you, I'm just not sure if that guy still exists. Thanksgiving he was still there but since you came home, it's like the Dylan of Junior year has returned except older, wiser and self aware."

"That Dylan still spent the summer with Kelly."

"That Dylan started to fade after Baja and then disappeared after that wedding and Dad's deal."

"Brandon what are you trying to say? In a few minutes I'll go on a date with someone else."

"Just be careful if in punishing him you don't punish yourself."

"I'm not punishing Dylan, I'm honestly just trying to figure out what I feel about all of it."

"So adding a new guy in is helpful to that?"

"Since I got back from Paris I couldn't figure out what was wrong, I compensated, corrected and ignored, trying to help us find our way. When I found out the reason when he told me there had been a girl I put up a wall, I ran from that pain. Since then if the emotions get too much I shove them behind that wall or box. Dylan recently told me the worst of him and Kelly, the stuff that would destroy me to hear."

"That was the pain?"

I nod. "He did it so we were in a place of complete honesty, that when we moved into our home it would always be a place of complete honesty to us. No lies only truth, a place that was real. He called her… thought of her as his soulmate. At the time he reasoned to her that it was because of their shared life experiences. They knew each other in ways only the other could know-" Brandon's laughter stopped me.

"Seriously, thank god he has found self awareness. If they knew each other so well why were they constantly at each other's throats for their whole relationship? Why when Jack died were you the first person to be able to comfort him even after a full day spent with her? Why when anything has got too hard, too much, too anything has he turned to you? Bren, Grandma told me how much he called, how long he would call for, how many letters you got. She wasn't spying but she was concerned that it could be too stressful, when you guy's danced at the anniversary party together she informed me she had nothing to be concerned about. At the time I was hoping it was because she could see it was over, I'm not so sure now."

"That uncertainty is what runs through me. Apart from my kids," he lifts an eyebrow, I ignore it, "Iris, and my brother's I don't know how I feel anymore about anything. Look at the gang, Kelly, our parents, and well Dylan; for him which guy is real, is it like a flick of a switch can he revert back to that. I'm the love of his life this week but next will he find… well he's used up all his titles already, but will he find someone else? I don't know how I feel about any of it but what I do know was yesterday my lunch was nice."

He comes up and squeezes my upper arms, "okay sis, you go enjoy your niceness for a bit, I'll hang here with my nephew I've got some taskforce reading to get through and well my roommate is hosting some keg brothers for Sunday sports watching."

I smile and turn back to the mirror and adjust my hair. "I'm still your favourite sibling to live with then?"

"Well you at least smelled better, though he is better at sharing the bathroom."

When the doorbell rang Brandon was on his bed reading, he declined coming down. Like Dylan he wasn't wanting to be involved yet, it told me a lot about how much he had forgiven Dylan and how much he understood about how hard this was for me. It was my first attempt at moving beyond, well seeing what a move like that could look like, the unknown was hard, if he didn't like Stuart I would probably be against trying again.

Stuart arrived with more flowers, my mother would have another beautiful bunch to display; they weren't coming home with me. As we walked down the driveway he commented on the changing car's, I explained that Art was sleeping inside and so I had the Jeep today, the Mustang was my brother Brandon's who was inside. He asked then what I had been driving yesterday, I guess he assumed my mother's wagon was mine. When I said the Porsche he lifted his brow.

"The boxer Porsche?" I nodded. "It's a classic, very few left on the roads most people just keep them in their car collection too afraid to drive them."

"Well before his son it was Arthur's dad's baby, that and his bike. He's now a little more zen about the machines, the Porsche is only now used when one of us is out without the kids or out with just Erica."

"You guy's share a house and share car's, you do have your own rooms right?"

It was a joke but there was a hint of… well it couldn't be jealously it was too soon but of something similar. "Yes he stays in one room, I stay across the hall in another."

"Thank god for a moment there I thought you might tell me that the master bedroom is your guy's room." He was laughing I faked checking my bag for something to avoid lying- the master bedroom was technically ours.

He drove us to a little café famous for their desserts, I didn't point out that I could eat nothing here he obviously didn't remember about my restrictive diet, but considering yesterday after we discussed it I dropped a bombshell a few moments later it was understandable. He ordered a piece of chocolate cake in hopes of convincing me to have some even after I declared I was too full from lunch. Since my liver levels were still not coming down, my occasional mouthful of dessert and ice cream had on Friday also been removed from my menu list.

Apart from the occasional offer and floating of a fork in front of me in an attempt to get me to try some of the cake, the coffee date was good. We chatted about our childhoods, him growing up as an only child and me about growing up with Brandon. The butterfly was back and was flapping her wings a little more. By the time he was walking me up the driveway I was open to a third date.

"So are mum's allowed to go out at night, maybe for dinner and dancing?"

I smiled, "yes we are."

"Well can I take you out this week, maybe Tuesday night?"

Before I could answer we reached the front doorstep and I was instantly distracted by my son's loud cries. "Sorry that's Art, he doesn't ever cry like that I have to go." It was said with my back to him as I fished for my keys in my bag and then pushed them into the lock. I don't know if I closed the door or not but I was not thinking about Stuart or the butterfly, I was too busy running upstairs to get to my distressed son.

Art was out of sorts and appeared to have been like that for a while, he was being held by my mother, with my father and brother standing by. On seeing me he reached out and I instantly took the little guy into my arms holding him close to my chest so he could hear my heartbeat.

"He woke about an hour after you left, and has been distressed ever since. We have tried everything but he just wouldn't calm."

I looked at my mum, "did you call Dylan? He would be at home by now and he could have been here in ten minutes."

The looks between them indicated that this had been a heated conversation, Brandon looked like he had not won. I closed my eyes and shook my head in disappointment. "He's a baby who was in distress, I was uncontactable but his father wasn't. The fact that you would rather have your grandson like this than reach out to his Dad, I have no words. Brandon can you help me and grab the baby bag we are leaving."

My parents noise of babies cry and he was fine were ignored, when my Dad declared Dylan may not have been able to help I simply glared at him and walked out of the room. When Brandon and I made it downstairs it was to find Stuart still on the front porch, he gave me a smile. "I was hoping once the baby was calm you'd remember me and come downstairs, we haven't agreed upon Tuesday yet and we didn't get a chance to say goodbye."

Brandon looked to me asking what he should do, seriously my date was not a thought I had in my mind. "Brandon meet Stuart, Stuart this is my brother Brandon." My brother holding the baby bag moved it to the other hand so they could shake hands. My son was still buried in my chest and I wanted out of here quickly, I had never envisioned them being in the same room together and even without discussing it I knew Dylan would be angry. "Look we have to go but I'll call you, actually I don't even have your number." He reached into his coat and withdrew a business card.

He went to hand it to me but my hands were wrapped around my son, one holding him to me the other rubbing his back. I wasn't willing to let even one hand drop. Brandon reached out and took it for me. I smiled at my twin then looked at Stuart, none of this was his doing and he didn't deserve my coolness, "thank you for this afternoon, I had a good time. I'll call you later." Art started moving his head starting to get at my chest, obviously looking for the comfort nursing gives him. "Brandon can you drive me home, I want to sit with Art?"

"Of course, I was going to do it anyway, my brothers would kill me if I didn't."

As we began walking out Stuart tried to make small chat with Brandon, "Oh I thought it was just the two of you."

"Bren and I have adopted our friend Steve into our sibling set up, I felt she needed a comparison so she could truly see how awesome I am, and well Arthur's Dad has been my brother since we first met, even before they got together." I have to give props to Brandon he said it without a hint of putting Stuart in his place or without an indication of where his loyalties lie, it was said simply as if he was commenting on the weather.

As Brandon unlocked the car I climbed in and began organising Art into his seat, he began to complain and only settled when I sat and gave him my hand. Brandon could tell that getting my son home was the priority, everything else was not even registering.

After I closed the door to the back seat I turned and looked at Stuart, "we should go. My nephew is usually a happy little guy, until she knows what has him so upset she won't be able to calm down and she is not allowed any stress either. I'll pass on your card when she is more aware."

I didn't know the guy but even I could read his look of disappointment, having dated a new mum in sophomore year I knew the reason. My mind back then had been focused on the girl, to her I was second or third after Harvard in the thought process. Stuart, well he looked like he was used to being number one, unless he could adapt to sixth, seventh or eighth in the priority list then he wouldn't last very long at all. Though I'm not sure he will need to adapt when he learns that her kids and ex make up the top two, and that was chiseled in stone. I'm not sure that order will ever be accepted by him or any guy. Kelly certainly couldn't accept that she would never be placed before Brenda and that was before he knew about Art- soulmate, it was going to keep me laughing all week. The drugs he took back in the day must have really messed with his head.

As soon as we parked in the driveway at Bird Street Brenda had the complaining Art out of his car seat and was walking towards the house, I rushed to catch up with her. She moved immediately to Art's room not even stopping to acknowledge Dylan and Erica who were out playing soccer. Dylan caught my eye and moved to the back door. "B what's going on? She okay? That guy didn't upset her did he?"

His panic and anger was clear, "no nothing like that. Art woke while she was out about forty-five minutes before she got home. He was pretty upset when he woke and wouldn't calm down for any of us. She came home and could hear him from the front porch, when she found out how long he was upset for and that you weren't called… well let's just say I'm not sure my parents will be babysitting him again."

"Erica Sweetheart, I'm going inside to check on Art and Bren make sure you stay on the grass please. No wandering around the property." As we moved inside, "is he okay?"

"I don't know, he's too young to be teething right? Maybe he is coming down with something."

"Yeah he is too young, the baby books say six months." He stopped in the hall, "Brandon did yo-"

"D I tried to convince them but they insisted that they had raised two kids and they knew you couldn't do anything more than them. Mum was caving but Dad is pretty frustrated. In his mind you have taken the pregnancy, the birth, his grandson, his daughter and even me away from them, and that's even before the blame he has squarely put on your shoulders for her health. Being young made her more prone to the condition and well with what was going on with you during the pregnancy, you've been given god like all controlling status on this one. He needs someone to blame and Brenda isn't in the position to take that on."

"Yeah well he can blame me all he likes but he can't let that hurt Art or her. I'm not okay with that and I won't accept it." He moved into Art's nursery where Bren was now nursing and kneeled by the rocking chair, rubbing his hand over Art's head while speaking to my twin. "How's he doing?"

"He's out of sorts like he was yesterday. Dylan what if my medication is effecting him? Maybe my liver not processing it is putting too much into his milk."

Fuck that wasn't a thought in any of our minds, we thought maybe the start of a cold but not that. No wonder she had practically panicked when seeing him, the Doctor was monitoring her medication closely so Art wasn't effected but it was still a risk. "Baby I'm sure it's nothing like that but I'll go call your Doctor and get his advice, is he just out of sorts or is there anything else?"

"His stomach isn't great, nothing too bad, but his before nap diaper was a little messier."

The Doctor recommended that Art have a bottle feed for the next twenty-four hours and insisted that Bren come in for a blood test straight away, while his surgery was closed for the weekend he rang ahead to the hospital. He wanted her tested immediately, her last bloods had been run on Monday and if her liver had got worse well that could have meant her body isn't breaking down her current dosage quickly enough for Art. Dylan immediately called and asked Iris up to the main house to look after Erica, and then he calmly got Bren and Art sorted. He kept his cool the whole time but I could tell once she had been taken in for the tests that he was nervous. When they came to tell him the Doctor also called through with the request for bloods to be done on Art his nervousness escalated. He held him while the bloods were taken and rocked him till he had calmed down, by that stage Brenda was back from her bloods and Doctor requested ultrasound. We were sent home to wait.

He dropped me off at my parents to collect my car but I simply jumped in the stang and then followed them back up the hill. When I arrived I called Steve, he would be mad as hell if he was kept out of the loop, and on impulse I rang my parents. They were distraught both for not realising the potential issue and from the fact Bren wasn't ringing herself. My twin was on autopilot she was registering only Art and Erica's needs, both were currently sitting on the couch with her; Art in her arms and Erica by her side reading a book to the little guy, I tried to explain it wasn't personal.

When I walked into the kitchen Iris was organising dinner and Dylan was making her tea. "Steve's on his way, he insisted on coming up. My parents well they may turn up even though I've said there is no need that I'll call them when we hear."

"They are welcome as long as they don't upset her, they'll always be welcome until she decides that they aren't." I give him a look of shock, that wasn't what I expected. "B in a few weeks Jack has been gone a year, as rubbish as he was as a dad I'd love a few more minutes with him. I'd love to introduce him to Erica and Art, for him to have officially met Bren. Your parents are going through a lot, their life has changed since arriving in Minnesota at Christmas and the plan they had made since then has been derailed by me. I'm mad as hell at them for not calling me today, and for making this harder on her but my emotions on this don't count- if she needs them then they are welcome in our home. When I say she is what matters I mean it." At that he picks up the tea and moves to give it to her and then sits on her other side, within minutes she is leaning into him, I'm not sure she is aware that she has even moved.

"He's grown up. Judging him by the Dylan he was three years, two years, the Dylan he was even two months ago isn't fair to him. He has always been so restless, even as a baby he was always looking for something, there on that couch he's found it. He's finally calm. Brenda was who he was always searching for but he was so scared to trust it, to trust that he could finally be happy, that she'd stay. He trusts it now, he knows that they are bonded through Art and even Erica, he knows that he'll get her for a lifetime. He's just not sure if he'll get all of her."

"She's not sure either, but…" I point in the direction of the couch.

"I know, I'm not even sure they see it. They move differently with each other, they look at the other with different eyes, they are in sync."

"She told me he called Kelly his soulmate not in a romantic way, but it's a hurt she is struggling to get past. I can't see how he could ever see that."

"His coping mechanism for a long time was to escape; Booze, drugs, surf, when Jack was arrested he escaped then as well refused to come see me, instead he began selling his stuff to keep the fantasy of his old life alive. Kelly was just another escape, another way for him to pretend everything was okay. Though like he is with alcohol he struggled to find the correct dose to make the fantasy functioning."

"You didn't see them together, they never found the dose, he wasn't capable of functioning in that relationship. He was a horrible boyfriend to her, but then again she was also… well I'm not sure Kelly even knows who she is, she seems like she is constantly playing a part."

"Hopefully, she finds herself soon maybe then she'll leave my daughter and son alone." I hoped so to but the Kelly since that summer was a different girl I had known, or maybe I had been under an illusion in sophomore and junior year as well. Back then, she did forget Steve's birthday and leave Bren on the beach that day, she did date Chucky even knowing the history of him and Steve. Regardless the moment she went after Dylan and broke best friend ranks, well it wasn't honourable and it was a hurt she had never been truly apologetic for.

Steve's arrival brought some much needed laughter to the house, he made my twin laugh with some inappropriate jokes. When he asked if the guy was that bad to fake a medical drama, she looked at me with shocked eyes. When I clarified that she had jumped in the car without so much as a goodbye Steve lost it and finally Dylan cracked a smile, until Bren clarified that she was too focused on getting Art in his seat to notice. Dylan's mood instantly changed.

"He was around Art?"

She instantly became apologetic, "not intentionally, I thought he left when I went inside and upstairs. When we came down he was still there. I kept Art to me and I don't even think he saw his face. I'm sorry it-"

With his arm draped over her he began rubbing her shoulder, "baby relax I'm sorry I just wasn't prepared for that."

"Believe me either was I." He kissed her head in understanding.

As we were just finishing up a late dinner the phone rang. My twin who had been adamant as a teen to hear the diagnosis from her Doctor over her lump looked now to Dylan. He quietly got up and squeezed her hand and then answered the call.