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

Happy birthday StilettoG!

Chapter Fifty-Five: MTV and Cravings

Thursday is a full day on campus and it's full of anxiety for the both of us. We know Iris and Val met this morning and we are wondering what that means for the both of them, and Christine didn't give a time that she'd call back if she was going to at all, it could be that Jonesy guy but either way we are anxious to hear from at least one of them. Brandon notices both of our moods as he approaches and sits on our picnic blanket at lunch.

"Well I thought I was getting stressed about the taskforce but on seeing you my dear sister I realise it's not me at all. Jones you're obviously freaking too. Bren you okay? Your blood pressure didn't flair up again?"

Dylan made me check yesterday afternoon and last night, I can see both of them are never going to trust that I'm completely back to normal- mother hen's the two of them. I roll my eyes, "it's fine. I'm fine." We had agreed to keep Suzanne and Kevin between Dylan and I, and I had promised Val not to inform Brandon about what was going on with her. It left only one topic that we could use to explain our current state, "Dad tried to convince Dylan to get Nat to take the deal, and when that didn't work he tried to get Dylan to let him and mum pay him-" I'm interrupted by Dylan's not so subtle cough. "Fine us back for your percentage. We think it's time to bring in the big guns."

"You think it's time for Grandma Walsh-"

"And maybe Uncle Allan."

He breathes out making a whistling sound, "Grandma will straighten Dad out but Dad's competitive with Uncle Allan, if he see's your guy's relationship with him-"

"Then it may spur Dad to try again." Even I could hear my tone lacked conviction on that one.

He shakes his head, "going that hard could backfire. Make Dad more stubborn, he'll then try and prove to all of them that he is right."

"And you see our predicament. We did want to talk to you about it, you are Switzerland-"

"Sis I'm not Switzerland at all, I'm always always going to be behind you. Remember we are twins, you two may share a soul." He points between Dylan and I, "but me and you share the DNA. If it blows up and Dad can't deal then he loses both of us."

"Mum won't be okay with that."

"No she won't though I'm surprised she's okay about missing out on this long with Art. She'll lose it with Dad if he gets too stubborn. Two estranged kids, a son-in-law and grandchildren, yep Cindy will blow her stack if this is permanent."

"Yeah but B she seems pretty much on Jim's side, besides for dragging him away at the bbq."

"I think that has a lot to do with her being petrified about Brenda's health, and then I think she's pretty hurt that she missed out on the pregnancy." He pauses and gives his brother an apologetic look, "Dylan it's not right but she bl-"

"She blames it on me, for not choosing Bren, for making her leave, for her being sick." I reach over and take his hand.

"Me being sick was no one's fault, and the rest well that's on me. She has to eventually realise that he would have been there immediately if I told him, I'd have probably never been allowed out of his sight let alone to another state." I ignore Dylan's mumbled damn straight unless I was going to. "Regardless of her misplaced anger she is only hurting herself, her grandson barely knows her and she's risking missing out on being apart of the two more I'll have."

A squeeze of my hand, a loud fake cough, and a clear at least five was Dylan's louder response this time. Brandon laughs at our antics, "struggling to decide on how large clan McKay will be?"

"No we know-"

I ignore the crazy man next to me, "Dylan's being a little unrealistic. You might need to tell him how hormonal I was during my pregnancy how I cried or yelled over weird things, it might change his mind."

"Yeah I'm not going there, and anyway Dylan holding your hand from the start, and me being there for the whole of it not just via phone well I'm sure the next pregnancy you'll love all the attention."

"Thank you B. See even our brother thinks five is not unreasonable-"

I roll my eyes, "he didn't say that dear."

"Baby he pretty much did-"

Thank god he is interrupted and I get reinforcements, "well hello family of mine. I need a break from all this unreasonable amount of learning. What are we talking about?" Steve falls down on the blanket.

"Thank god favourite brother you'll be on my side, my twin is being too neutral, and crazy man next to me thinks me having five more pregnancies is reasonable."

Steve laughs, "you being a baby Buddha five more times? I'm buying that shake company- you'll keep me rolling in money."

I give him a dirty look, "you're supposed to say that it's crazy and unreasonable."

"Yeah it is crazy and completely unreasonable. You guy's could barely keep your hands off each other to go to class back in sophomore and junior year. I imagine you sharing a house, a bed, and being back together, well I'm sure you'll be like rabbits… no way is it going to be just five more."

Brandon looks down and even through his look of disgust I can tell he is trying to not laugh, I don't even look at Dylan before I pull my hand out of his and whack him in the stomach. "Oww woman what was that for?"

"For your cockiness and for laughing."

"You didn't even look at me-"

"I could feel it behind me." I turn and look at him, he still has the obvious signs of both his humour and conceitedness on his face.

He laughingly pulls me back onto his lap, and while I think he's just wanting to hug me it's not until I feel him kiss my neck and whisper, "you both like my cock…iness and feeling me from behind." He's holding my arms down in his fake hug, I'm unable to do nothing more than blush. "When you're ready I'm looking forward to showing you."

"McKay I don't want to know what you are saying to my twin to make her that colour but whatever it is cut it out." Dylan just laughs.

"I think they are planning on how my next nephew or niece will-"

"Steve! I take it back you aren't my favourite anymore."

"Hey you love my dirty humour-"

"Not when it's aimed at me."

He gives me an apologetic look, "okay okay… so Brandon whose the babe I saw you with near the chancellor's office?"

"Clare."

"She single and ready to mingle?" His dancing eyebrows has me shaking my head.

"Steve she's the chancellor's daughter."

"Okay so you're saying wine and dine, not pizza and beer. I can handle that. Got a number?"

My twin speaks slowly, I imagine thinking it will help Steve understand. "She's the c-h-a-n-c-e-l-l-o-r's daughter."

Steve gives him an I'm not stupid look, Brandon doesn't look convinced. "Yes Brandon I heard but I think she's my Stephanie-"

My twin groans, "at least twice a week you think you find your Stephanie… have I mentioned I hate that we have to call your dream girl that-"

"Twin don't mess with Stephanie, Axl loved her."

"Baby you aren't making sense again."

"McKay it's called MTV, you need to start watching it. Bren loves it."

Dylan leans over my shoulder and looks at me lifting his eyebrow it was rarely on in our home, "bedrest is boring there is only so many books, movies, and daytime soaps you can watch. MTV well it became my go to. I didn't need to follow a storyline and I could tune in and tune out, especially when your son decided he didn't want to sleep but rather bounce on my bladder throughout the night. Steve when he called would watch along with me. We had our favourite video clips."

"Steve how often were you calling my girl?" I squeeze Dylan's hand it's jokey but I know it bothers him that it wasn't him who kept me company during my bed rest day's. He called me often but he didn't get to hear about my boredom, trampolining ninja, or anything much about my life.

"Enough to know every film clip ever made."

"He exaggerates." Steve lifts his eyebrow, "what you knew a lot before we started watching." I turn to Dylan, "you might find this shocking but my blonde brother is not studious."

"Haha at least I have good taste in music-"

"Steve it wasn't me Art liked those songs-"

Dylan interrupts before Steve and I fall into one of our usual spirals of teasing. "What songs did my son like?"

"Your son had the weirdest list of favourites. What's Up by 4 Non Blondes, Informer by Snow, I'd do Anything for Love by Meatloaf, and Shoop by Salt' N Pepa. Bren would say he'd go full David Silver Christmas Dance style when they'd come on." As Steve had been speaking Dylan had crept his free hand under my top and rested it on my abdomen.

While Brandon asked how did Informer go and Steve attempted the rap making only sounds and not actual words, Dylan leaned down and whispered, "the next five my hand is not leaving here. I get all the stories, the songs, hiccups, trampolining ninja, I get it all."

I turn my head and capture his lips, when I pull back I look at him his hurt is shining through, I whisper for him only. "Yes, but it may need to leave that spot a little. You see while my nausea prevented me from getting any food cravings there is one craving I got while pregnant that I was unable to satisfy and…"

His pupils dilate, from my tone he understands what I was saying, "no one better have tried. How strong was this craving?"

"You'll need to eat for two to keep your stamina up."

He literally groans and leans in and kisses me again, it wasn't at all appropriate for our company or our campus location. Somewhere I vaguely hear Brandon say come on Steve their honeymoon stage is making me lose my appetite. Then a D remember you are in public with my sister. They didn't say anything after that and Steve's chuckles of rabbits sounded further away. When we eventually came up for air he looks at me, "marry me?"

I give him a confused look, "is that your proposal?"

"That's my wish. Marry me, be my wife and then let's start working on our next one."

I'm still unsure if he's being serious, "you want me to answer?"

He leans down and kisses me and then against my lips whispers, "not yet. B will kill me if I ravage you in front of the whole campus, and believe me when you agree I'll be fighting my own craving."

I smile against his lips, and then get serious. "I'm sorry I know it's a hurt that won't ever go away."

"And I know while Kelly is not an issue my ability to lie to you back then will always sit uneasy in you. That's okay though, the sand that irritates makes the most beautiful pearl. We know what it's like to lose our way, it's not going to happen ever again we aren't going to let important moments in our life slip through our hands, and we aren't going to risk damaging us our family again."

"No you're mine."

"Yes I'm yours, and you're mine." He kisses the tip of my nose, "now tell me all about this pregnancy craving that was thankfully left completely unsatisfied."

"Baby I never said completely." His eye's flash jealousy, shit "no. Remember even a man touching my hand made me feel wrong."

"Then?" I give him a shy smile, as his jealousy clears he understands and then gets a wicked look on his face, "oh. When I asked for every detail of your pregnancy at new year's you did a horrible job of explaining, I'm expecting you to make up for that now. Every detail, I want every detail."

"Dylan!"

"Oh it started by you imagining me even better."

For the rest of our lunch break he kept his hand resting on my abdomen while I eventually caved and gave him a brief overview of my craving whilst trying not to blush furiously because of the public setting this conversation was taking place in. Dylan though was having none of it and where my detail was too brief he was very very happy to fill in the gaps, taking great care to bring out his obvious talent for scene description and understanding of my body. By the end of lunch I feel like my cheeks had been sunburned they were that painful from my blushing. As we part ways for class he kisses me and then advises he was very much looking forward to hearing more in bed tonight and maybe even a demo-

I walk away before he can finish his thought. My attempt at getting him to be more realistic about family size had obviously backfired, and I suspect his number had definitely increased now, especially based on his enthusiasm for our lunch story time. Tomorrow I definitely needed to call my doctor and make a decision on birth control. We may not have needed it yet but I knew we were slipping awfully close to it, even if the weight of yesterday had resulted in us needing more comfort from the other last night rather than fighting a raging need. Even comfort had resulted in a worshipping, albeit slowly and with a different type of connection than we had been sharing since Saturday night.

By the time we get home having collected Erica from school I have an hour before I need to head back to campus. Erica disappears outside to water the farm as we've told her with Iris away it had yet to be done. It gives me time to organise her snack plate while Dylan presses play on our answering machine. Christine's colleague rang leaving only a name and a request for an immediate call back, Dylan looks at me in devastation.

She didn't get J Jay Jonesy to call, it means that we are right. It means they aren't what they claim to be and they are known to the FBI. Dylan's emotions are completely understandable it's the difference between a slight highly unlikely hope and no hope at all. We stared at each other while Iris' voice advises she'd call back this evening when I got home from rehearsal, I would have been concerned by the briefness if it wasn't for her saying all was okay. The last message was from the Sorority President advising that the printing was starting next week.

He walks over to me, "are you okay if I say fuck the calendar? It seems irrelevant in light of the other things." I nod, "mum said it's okay- she doesn't lie you know that." I nod again, "the other…" he wraps himself around me and buries his face into my neck. I can hear the emotion as he talks into my neck, "treachery. I should have realised from the start. You did you were nervous when I told you at new year's. Bren if you hadn't been by my side, if I didn't know that we had a family… I don't think you know how lonely I was, how much I missed you, us, me knowing I belonged, where I belonged. I hadn't felt it since that wedding, your dad's office made me even doubt it had ever been real."

I hold him and rub my hand through his hair, "shhh even when I said I hated you you always had a family in me- and I don't mean because I was unknowingly carrying our son. Baby since that locker you know, I know we belong to the other. Art or not, pain or happiness we always belonged to the other. You just lost your way for a bit, and had to find your way home."

"Treachery, she came into my life to trick me to play on my weaknesses-"

"But she didn't count on us being so much stronger together. We know for sure now and we can make this right. The moneys protected now it's just-"

"The kids and us." He pulls back and looks at me with his red eyes, "she doesn't get to get away with this, she doesn't get to raise our little girl in that environment."

"No she doesn't. Baby, Arthur's asleep go make the call and I'll make sure Erica stays outside so she doesn't hear. Talk to this guy but make it clear, our kids both of them, their safety is the priority."

"Go full Papa Bear?"

"The grizzlier the better." I kiss his lips and then bring Erica's plate outside. We sit together dangling our feet in the pool while she chats to me about all the happenings at school. By the time I'm getting ready to leave I given her a task she needs to consider what she wants to do for her birthday. It's coming up right after the play ends and with how busy the next seven days will be before opening night I don't want to risk her feeling forgotten, I also want to keep her focus solely on her birthday in case she hears whispers between Dylan and I. Let her think it's a birthday surprise, I had already begun purchasing plenty of those anyway.