Authors Note: Having watched less than a dozen episodes post season four has meant Val is not a character I'm as familiar with but I do know her history. I'm writing her before she is involved in her father's death and with a renewed and stronger bond due to Brenda's calling on her old friend for help in season three and four. I think that would have been a stabilising influence on Val, a character who was so alone and who had experienced such horrific trauma. I also think that having a family connection, being accepted by Bren for exactly who she is would have made her even more loyal and less likely to hide behind the illusion of a sweet as pie character on arriving in Beverly Hills. She didn't need to worry about feeling accepted after losing all family in Buffalo (hasn't happened yet), therefore she could arrive in LA and just be Val knowing she had a ride or die BFF in Bren.

I'm writing them as Larry Mollin described, "being friends the same way Brandon did when they were young kids in fact she might have even had a closer relationship with Val they might have been a dynamic duo… it could have been them against the world." Beverly Hills Show Podcast (May 21, 2020)

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

Chapter Thirty-Six: Fan Club

And with that opening I joined Steve in the Val fan club, though from the way he was looking at her I joined for completely different reasons. This woman was a true friend she'd have my girls back forever, she knew the exact worth of Bren- my girl was priceless. I held out my hand, "nice to meet you Val?"

She eyed my hand and looked up at me with a mix of disgust and hostility, "you've been tested yes? Debugged, checked for rashes, had a new tetanus shot?"

Bren raises her eyebrow and stares at her childhood friend, "Val be nice to him."

Val turns from me and looks at Bren with a very innocent expression, "Bren I'm simply making sure I don't catch anything. A girl has to be safe and sleazy over here has been around."

Bren roll's her eyes and looks ready to intervene again but this I was guessing was between Val and I, "yes I've been tested. In November and again in February, though since meeting Bren in sophomore year I've always been safe." She looks at me like I'm an idiot and Bren actually tries to hide her laugh with a cough, "okay I thought I was always safe until New Year's Eve. This is a weird way of introducing myself."

She takes my hand and shakes it, "this isn't an introduction I know everything, my twins keep me well informed, and if you think this is weird just wait till I start actually testing you." She drops my hand and turns back to Bren, "now Brandon only gave me a brief overview of today's shit show. I'm assuming from your off energy on my flight over here you haven't kicked this girls ass yet?"

"Val she may have been that good that she deserves a callback. The only thing I can kick her ass for is lying about it."

She looks at Bren and then snaps her fingers at her, "snap the fuck out of it. I know how traumatic this year has been for you, more than even your twin and the new blonde brother know. I know how prepared you were not to be here, not to be around to raise Art. I even know you had to contemplate what that life would look life for your son being raised by potentially Mr Sleaze and Miss Wants Everything You Have, but Bren that has not happened and you need to move past that trauma." What the actual fuck? I look at Bren who was not looking at me, I looked to our brother he gave me a sheepish look this wasn't news to him. She in her head thought that Kelly maybe involved in raising Art if she had died in child birth, she had thought I'd let that happen. I knew she had given instructions the guy's had told me on New Year's Eve but no one had ever clarified what they were.

"She has been single white femaleing you since you arrived in LA even before the movie made that an actual thing. This is just another step in the process of her trying to take what's your's or if she can't do that corrupt it so it's ruined for you. Now I've listened to you take the honourable road to not call people out on their shit, but enough is enough. You either step up or I do, what's it going to be?"

"It's not that bad, we all get along most of the time-"

"Except when she put you in hospital in January, set your parents off that same month, discussed in your crazy female class in February how women who make men trapped with families they don't want are the worst kind- and do not tell me that was innocent." Again what the fuck? I looked to Steve, he was mad this was news to him as well. "From the looks on their faces you have been keeping the guy's in the dark-"

"I may have been over sensitive in that class, we were discussing the differences between tribal familiar relationships and modern America. Her comment probably wasn't aimed at me."

"Andrea asked if you were okay at the end knowing that it was directed at you, though it didn't make her or Donna publicly intervene and blow the girls want to be intellectual garbage out of the water. This girl barely tried in high school and now she is some academic want to be, it's hilarious that she is only drawn to subjects about how to be a better manipulator or how to harness your female seduction power."

Bren gave her a curious look, "that's not from me?"

"What? I speak to my husband from time to time and while he is another Walsh that doesn't like to gossip he at least will answer my questions directly, I can put two and two together. He also sent me his ex bed companions course outline, that course should be retitled how to rule the world through your-"

Bren cuts her off, "okay we get the picture Val. Thank god our closest neighbours are no where close to hearing distance. Let's move this tough love session inside, I'm sure you probably would love a tea after your trip."

As Bren swings her arm around Val and begins to guide her inside, "I'm assuming there is nothing harder?"

As Steve and I follow with her luggage I answer, "sorry Val, Bren and I keep a dry house. You'll have to drive down to the guy's place for that stuff."

As she walks into the main room she looks around, "that's okay this place looks like it has other perks. Bren is that seriously your view?"

"Yeah it's incredible both at night and in the daytime."

"It's beautiful and I can't wait for a tour but I'm guessing my little munchkins are sleeping, we can wait for daylight so they don't get disturbed."

As I come back from dropping Val's bags in the den and move to the kitchen to get the drinks, I look to Steve who was obviously fascinated by this ball of energy of a woman, it was then that the gate buzzed. Brenda moves to the intercom and from the one sided conversation I'm guessing let Brandon in. When he comes in Val for the first time becomes a bit more reserved, hugging the male twin and thanking him for calling her out here. Bren walks over to me, noticing my observation she whispers, "he calms her. Even as kids he was able to do that, her edges get softened."

As we wait for the water to boil I wrap my arms around her from behind as we both observe the two of them catching up. "You think there is anything there?"

"Honestly, I know Val would like that but I'm not sure Brandon even feeling a hint of something more would mess with their dynamic unless he was sure it would go somewhere. She's too important to our family, he wouldn't risk it and he wouldn't play with her feelings like that."

"So Steve…"

"Yeah let's not get involved in that, Val knows he is important to me so she'll play nice and won't lead him on unless she may like him too but if she thinks there maybe even a chance with Brandon well..."

It sounded like a lot of potential minefields and drama. "Thank god we don't have to worry about all this anymore."

She spins in my arms and looks at me, "you aren't going to miss that?"

Hell no. I smile, "I've lived a fair bit for my age, I know what I've got here I'm not interested in risking that again for some butterfly that will die a quick death. You though?"

"Are you worried that you'll be my only serious guy?" I shrug slightly, it was a concern I had. "I didn't know if I'd get this time. Honestly Val's right, the pregnancy the approaching birth were scary, add to that my hormones being all over the place and still not settled… well that time has maybe made more scars than I care to admit. But one thing it has done is made me know that life is too short to waste on things that aren't real or could never be real." She leans up and rubs our noses together, "I trust now that we are real, I don't need to test out others to know I love how we are together." She still hadn't told me she loved me but she was getting close to it.

I pull her closer and as I go to respond there is a loud clearing of a throat just behind Bren. "Okay so you guy's have chemistry I'll give you that." My girl and I smile, she was absolutely right we did have that. "Brandon and Steve just warned me that I should get used to all your guy's touching, that you aren't even aware of it. I guess this week I will see what you guy's are like together." As I move to turn off the boiling water I smile, hopefully she'll see how committed we are to each other and be completely supportive of our relationship.

With Brandon around Val was playing a little nicer, but I knew tomorrow would not go so smoothly especially as I had my first rehearsal in the afternoon with the callbacks. I hadn't reached out to Kelly but neither had she, Dylan though had heard from David at their meeting. David had questioned his sister's sudden interest in the theatre. A small part was one thing but to try out for the lead had him baffled, especially as she had told him before the audition that her motivation for even going was to build a better relationship with me. He had questioned her on why she was doing the opposite now doing something that would cause a bigger divide, he wanted to know what had changed. She had hidden behind the fact that Roy had recommended that after she had waited nearly the whole day to audition why not try for both. David was still confused by his sister's change in objective and told Dylan he wasn't sure if she was just flattered by the famous director's attention or if there was another motivation maybe a knew love of acting. If David's suggestion's were correct it didn't explain why she hadn't called on Saturday evening and let me know about the change or called to let me know since finding out she was on the callback list.

As we sat around on the couches catching up, Dylan excused himself to arrange Arthur's dream feed. I was completely off Arthur's nighttime schedule expressing at different times. It wouldn't be hard being off medication to step back in again, though Dylan wanted me to wait till I had the all clear giving me the month to still sleep well. Art had also begun experimenting with some solids like mash banana, by the end of the month we would hopefully be weening from purely a liquid diet to a mix, our little guy was getting bigger. Val clocked Dylan leaving the kitchen with the bottle and once he had disappeared down the bedroom hallway she made a comment, "is Sleaze still being an amazing Daddy?"

I shake my head at her nickname, I had learnt as children if she knew something was bugging you she would do it more Dylan would lose the nickname faster if we ignored it. I smile, "yeah as I've been telling you for four months he was made for this. You may have to start believing me soon." I give her a challenging look, she found any complement of Dylan hard to accept. As she told me, he had been an almost perfect boyfriend in my letters in sophomore and junior year, he either had to have had a total personality rewrite or I looked at him through rose colour glasses. She felt I might be wearing the glasses once again.

"McKay really is, he's hundred percent loving the family life. He's been a homebody for years but now it's less because of his love of boring books and unfun things, and because McKay is kid hog. Always wanting to feed Art, make dinner or play with the kids, don't even get me started on his inability to share Bren's time."

"I think Steve most of your complaints are referred to as good parenting."

"Brando don't pretend you haven't had to demand more than once that he hand over the Water King for Uncle bonding time. He is a family hog."

I stop their ongoing complaints, both men felt that Art and Erica needed more Uncle time. Steve still had soccer with Erica as their thing to play and of course his crawling lessons with Art, and Brandon had just his calming presence with the two of them, often spending time with Erica at The Pit in the afternoon and reading hockey articles to Art to get him familiar with his future sport; neither Dylan or I had the heart to tell him our baby was not engaging in such a dangerous past time. "He's not that bad we do share our son with others but yes at first he was a little less into the sharing. He missed the first three months and for the first few weeks of us being out here he wasn't sure how much daily access he would get. Since moving up here and us having a set routine with them both he's a little more zen."

"Okay so he isn't a jerk when it comes to the kids, what about Sleaze and the blonde?"

Brandon jumps in before I can respond he was still trying to shield me from our past, "Dylan doesn't engage. He's not rude but when he heard about Brenda being accused of liking that Jack died so she could support him, and then observing the subtle digs, well he-"

"Doesn't think that behaviour is acceptable." Dylan having startled us all, begins moving back into the room, back to the couch next to me and putting the empty bottle down on the coffee table before picking up my hand again. "Bren has done nothing and for her to be blamed for my actions, all of them and by everyone, I actually don't understand it. I'm the one who cheated, I'm the dishonest one, I'm the selfish asshole who wanted her to remain a part of my life, my family, my best friend, even after the park- yet I'm not blamed she is." His confusion is evident in his tone.

"Oh McKay we blame you."

"Damn right we do, hell you were number two on my list for a long long time."

This wasn't something I wanted to discuss, it was just approaching midnight and this conversation was best left in the past. "Okay I've had enough of this memory lane, I'm not keen on dredging it up. Dylan and I have made peace with it and well I'd like to move past it."

"That's the problem though, you've both made peace because you shouted, cried and worked through it." Dylan gives me a look, understanding that Val was my confident and knew a lot more than he thought, hopefully he wasn't upset by that. "You just haven't called the other's out on blaming the wrong person. I mean in what messed up world were you responsible for his lying, her lying, their scumbag behaviour towards you? It seriously doesn't make sense, even if Mr Sleaze and Miss Immoral were meant to be, why are you at fault for his and her dishonest behaviour, why were your feelings ignored and seen as unfair? Why was the blame on you? And don't tell me they compare your three day romance in Paris as the same thing- you gave him the out straight away and Mr Boring was not Dylan's best friend, nor did it go on for weeks pre and post-"

Throughout her rhetorical questioning she had got more and more worked up. "Val, calm down we don't understand either-"

"Brandon don't tell me to calm down, I didn't hear about you calling Andrea out on this or Donna. David, well he is her stepbrother that's a weird place to be and while on the wrong side of this he at least had his new sister's back from the get go. The guy who never had siblings before, in the space of three months gets what sibling loyalty is, you on the other hand lose your seventeen year memory of it."

Brandon's voice is apologetic and calming, "it's… I didn't know the full story-"

As kids pretend ignorance never went over well with Val and from the steal in her voice it still didn't. "Did you know that he took her best friend on a date within hours of them breaking up? If Steve had done that with Nikki would you have been cool about it? During that time weren't you angry at Andrea's boyfriend and at Andrea for dating him, even when you guy's had never been together? Your sister dating Sleaze for two years and then her best friend going out with him raises no feelings for you except fucking indifference, oh and some charming sarcastic digs at her being too dramatic over it. You though can decorate the family Christmas tree and are entitled to bitch the whole time about Andrea's ex boyfriend of a few months." Shit she remembered every part of my letters.

"Even his playing around with them both before Christmas didn't get you to call your friend your brother out for it. Sleaze was treating your sister, your twin, your supposed other half like a doll to pick up and toss aside whenever he wanted and you still stayed quiet. Seriously, you didn't think that leading them both on for months was disrespectful to well both of them? Your supposed moral compass that made Bren and I accountable for every cuss or stolen sweet as children now chooses to lay dormant. What the hell happened to the man who loved his sister, who thought she was his best friend-"

She was getting even more worked up while Brandon was gradually looking smaller in his seat. "Val that is enough!"

"No Brenda this is exactly what you should be doing. With Sleaze you have done this, you've worked this through but I know you have let these two off for treating you like shit before the park. Steve had different loyalties back then but your twin well even Brandon needs to be called on his behaviour. He abandoned you and chose friends of two years over you. You have never needed a man to fight your battles but your twin should never have cheered for the other side. All the care and loyalty he has shown you since doesn't mean he should get a free pass on those months."

I give her a look begging her not to mess with all my relationships, I didn't need this it would be too much. "They rang me and I came straight away because this passive let me just survive mindset you have been stuck in had it's place but it's over now, you're nearly back to normal. Hell if I'm not making your blood pressure rise then I'd say you are all better. It's now time to change this survival mindset and get back to you. We don't let people walk all over us, and a lot of people have been not only walking but dancing all over you. It sounded like in your senior year it became the sport around here, let's hate on Brenda. If you don't put an end to it call them on it I will, they'll just keep doing it otherwise and we are not fucking victims!"

Dylan had kept a hold of my wrist checking my heartbeat for most of the Val type bitch slap we all just received but he hadn't intervened. I looked at him curious about his quietness, he had previously shutdown most of the drama fearful of any potential spike that could set back my health. "Your brother told me before Thanksgiving how he had chosen wrong, how he carried guilt for this, how he misjudged it all. Val is not saying anything new to me. Your brother also told me not to step between the two of you. I'd fight all your battles for you, you know that. And I know I'm the one who dumped you in the middle of the battlefield, the field I created, but I'm not sure if I should be the one to get you out of there. You've never needed a white knight, support yes but you aren't a damsel needing me to make it better. I don't think Val needs to come to your rescue either."

"You're saying you agree with Val? That I need to figure out where I stand with everyone."

"You have always stood your ground, you did with me on our first date and that afternoon after our missed date-"

"Say it with me- the date you stood me up on."

He smiles, "yep no problem calling me out for my shit. It's one of the reasons I knew you were real that it wasn't the money and reputation that you were after, you were willing to walk away from me even with our connection if I didn't treat you well. Now I'm saying just bring that authenticity back into your other relationships, and if people don't like it well that's on them."

I turn to my brother who was leaning forward studying his hands. "You okay twin?"

He looks up, "Dylan's right, Val said nothing new to me but it's stuff we haven't said to each other. You ready now?"

I sigh, "nope but Val's shock therapy isn't giving us more time, is it?"

"Great, then Sleaze and new brother can show me the pool while my twins finally hash it out." As Val stood she lightly squeezes Brandon's shoulder, it was her way of making sure they were good. Brandon reaches up with one hand and covers her hand and squeezes it back.

He may never make the list but Val was Val she would be honest with him even to the point of pain, and if anything she expected more from him. Our loyalty to each other was supposed to be guaranteed. I knew from her letters during that time, his apathy had confused and concerned her. If he could do that to me he could do that to her. Val didn't like ambivalence when it came to loyalty, you either were loyal or you weren't there was no shades of grey there.