Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back to upload a new chapter. This one was written a few months ago and I believe I wrote it alongside a chapter of "The Diary of Baby Rey". I wanted to write about the moment that all of the Ketchum children find out that JJ is actually their brother and the angel child that Ash and Misty miscarried rather than Jordan and Lynne's baby. It also mentions here how Rey has grown up just knowing that, rather than being told. I imagine that will give Ash and Misty come guilt knowing their youngest had to bottle up something so long without them knowing. I'd like to write about that in the future. But for now, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Ages:

Ash: 37

Misty: 37

Ben: 17

Katie: 17

James: 11

Jessika: 10

Rey: 7

JJ (Mentioned): 13

Disclaimer: I own the story and I own all of the Ketchum children with AAML-TAML :3

I bit my lip as little Rey held her breath and Ash and Misty's eyes were just as wide and frantic as mine. They begged of her, both of them almost visibly sweating. My raven haired best friend gasped, quickly and firmly holding onto his youngest daughter's shoulders. He looked desperate.

"Please don't Rey, just please!" he tried to plead with the dark chestnut haired little girl and was about to reason with her but it was too late. It was far too late.

She promptly gulped and darted away from both her parents hold, her cheeks red from trying to suppress her words. She then shook her head, her little pigtails bobbing about her neck with gusto as she ignored what they were saying. She didn't want to. She didn't like being that way. But it was eating her up. They could see that and I could too. I attempted giving her my own begging eyes. But it was so very late.

Before opening her mouth, she opened her eyes and her ocean blue orbs glistened as they took in each and every face of her siblings. Ben was looking completely clueless as to why her little sister was so hot under the collar. Katie was struggling to find the words to ask her what was wrong. James was looking so deeply concerned. And finally, Jessika was raising an unsure eyebrow.

After she reached the face of her last sibling, her eyes then wandered to a mirror. And she saw her reflection in it, looking hot and bothered. Her jaw then clenched before jutting in the air. Though they had been trembling before, her hands clenched into fists. She shook her head once again. She hated what the secret keeping was doing to her. She had to let it out.

"I can't keep this to myself any longer!" Rey announced to them all before shutting her eyes to try and cool her cheeks before she just came out with it. Misty took this opportunity to approach her little daughter and try and gently cover her hand with her mouth. But she saw it coming a mile off. She ran to the corner of the room to turn her back to everyone. And then after that, she finally blurted it out. "JJ isn't really Nanny and Granddad's! He's our brother!"

Rey's words came tumbling out in a hot and slippery mess and her tears did too. She didn't know why she was crying. She tried to keep them inside her closed eyelids but they had to escape. Like the secret she had been keeping since she was a little girl, her tears bubbled out.

Her outburst had been loud and obvious but, following that, came an icy silence. Ash and Misty had gasped upon hearing their daughter blab but since then, they didn't make a sound. They were as still as statues. They were far quieter than mice. Their complexions were as pale as snow.

The silence ensued. The silence lingered. Nothing seemed to happen for the rest of them. But my eyes widened. My throat went dry. I suddenly felt parched. Of course I had known that information. I had been there for it all, for when they found out JJ was theirs and I had supported them when they decided to let Jordan and Lynne raise him for a more consistent life. I had been there for it all. But I had kept that secret for as long as Rey had. I almost forgot that JJ was indeed a Ketchum.

But of course, Misty hadn't forgotten. And after her horrified silence, she suddenly burst into tears and covered her face with her hands as she was forced to take a seat in the armchair for comfort. I knew that the sound of her crying was going to jolt Ash from his thoughts, Ben too. And I was right for both.

Though my best friend's own chocolate orbs were filled with tears like his wife's and Rey's also, he shakily kneeled next to her and wrapped his arm around her. He raggedly tried to pull her close to him and comfort her. But I knew he needed reassurance too. So I didn't hesitate to hop onto his shoulder and nuzzle him.

"It's okay, Mist…" my best friend uttered to his orange haired wife, his tanned fingers clumsily combing her locks in an attempt to soothe the both of them. He didn't bother to scold Rey. He didn't bother to look disappointed at her. In fact, he tried to act like it hadn't happened and it wasn't true. He just focused on wiping away his wife's tears. "It's okay, Mist. I'm here."

Though Ash wasn't looking at anybody except Misty, I couldn't help but glance over at all of the Ketchum children. And because Rey was nearest to me, my eyes stopped on her. My heart sunk. New tears were no longer flowing but she looked so very ashamed. She looked so very guilty. She looked so very broken. I didn't hesitate to jump from Ash's shoulder to hers after I gave his cheek a small lick.

But for once, she didn't look grateful. And for once, the little Rey of Sunshine looked almost depressed. Ben then laughed nervously, dragging me away from my thoughts before I could ponder them any further. He scratched his own cheek unsurely.

"Uh… She's joking, right?" he asked in a husky tone, looking right at his parents but not getting eye contact from either of them back. He then looked at me. I met his eyes but I didn't give anything away. He persisted with his own conclusion. "She's definitely joking. The little one is having us on."

Misty sniffed shakily upon hearing all of the children make their own noises as they reacted to the news but only Ben was saying any words. The orange haired female just stayed hugging onto her husband, for once having nothing to say. She kept her eyes shut. She didn't really want to look at any of them. If she did, she'd be forced to remember that there was a sixth one of them missing from their living room.

Katie was being one of the quietest of the children along with James and she resisted tugging out her phone to inform her boyfriend via text right away. Her aquamarine orbs were wide. Her fingers went to her own lips as she thought about what her youngest sister had said.

"Rey wouldn't lie…" she mumbled in a quiet breath, her eyes moving to little Rey to try and read her expression. But for once, she couldn't tell anything. And for once, Rey's face wasn't showing anything. Katie's brow furrowed as she uttered truthfully. "I did always find it curious how JJ stopped growing at age thirteen like it had been thirteen years since you first got pregnant."

Misty winced upon hearing this and more tears came to her eyes from behind her hands. But only I noticed this along with Ash too. However, the Ketchum children found it easier to read their father's expression. He shot Katie a look to be quiet. And they caught it all. They could tell it was a look to not only be quiet, but that she was right as well. Ben's eyes suddenly widened dramatically. He then did something most unlike himself and glared at his youngest sister. He almost squared up to her.

"What? You knew about this? And you kept it hidden from us?!" he flew at her but not in an angry or violent way, just in a deeply confused manner. He then quietened completely before glaring at his father when Ash told him off. He almost squared up to the fellow raven haired man then. "You told just her?!"

James was quickly beginning to wince at the situation going from finding out enormous news to becoming loud and unsettling. When he saw that Ash had moved away from his wife to answer Ben, he moved to his mother's side and gave her a tearful hug. She clung onto the little boy while her husband couldn't help but defend his little Rey.

"No!" he responded before he could stop himself, taking a step back afterwards and rubbing his forehead. He breathed out before taking a deep breath in. He shook his head at himself. He was the adult. He was the parent. He was the father. He had to be calm and honest too. So he gave that a shot, despite the secret emotion brewing in his throat. "No, Ben. We didn't tell Rey. She just simply found out."

This quietened the raven haired teenage boy but his brow remained furrowed with confusion. But despite this, he went to sit down on the sofa, giving Rey an apologetic glance as he did so. It didn't take her long to perch on the couch next to him, drying her cheeks and looking guiltily around the room. She caught Jessika's glance and I did too. She was raising an eyebrow.

"How did she of all of us find out?" she questioned while folding her arms from the adjoining kitchen, leaning up against the fridge. "Did you leave official papers lying around or something?" she asked before finally understanding. She couldn't help but show off an airy eye roll. "Oh, of course. Her voodoo powers."

Jessika was saying this lightly about her little sister but it caused Rey's cheeks to flush again. She had touched a nerve. She jumped up off the sofa, her blue orbs trembling with emotion.

"Don't be mean! You think I liked it? You think I liked knowing? I just have known for as long as I remembered. But after years of bottling it up, I finally had to let mom and dad know that I knew! It hurt my heart!"

It was so unusual for the Rey of Sunshine to have such an outburst but from the emotion on her face, you could tell how much it was eating her up. And in that moment, I was almost moved to tears. I swallowed roughly from her shoulder. I felt even more of an affinity towards her.

She was so gifted. She was so blessed. She had many unexplainable and unimaginable powers. But I was being naïve by assuming she enjoyed it every minute of the day and loved them all. Of course it would get to her. Of course there would be hard moments. And her brain soaking in information that was never openly told to her was a very difficult thing. A very difficult thing indeed.

I bit my lip, looking around at each and every member of the Ketchum family. My heart clenched with love and sympathy as my eyes took in each face. Misty was now showing off her own face, watery and exhausted. It had been so hard for her to accept JJ as her brother and not her son and she had put that behind her years ago. But now it was back in question, it was as hard for her to talk about as it was as hard as it was to give him up six years ago.

Ash was showing off the same emotion as his wife but of course, seeing as he was a different person; it was in a way that was unique to him. He was trying to be brave. He was trying to be open and smile at his children to help them through the confusion he too had faced years ago. But it was hard. It was so hard. Ever since he had given JJ up, he had wanted to snatch him back and raise him into the Ketchum boy he knew he was.

James was just looking so very very confused and so very worried. He hated seeing his mother cry. He hated hearing his little sister's outbursts. He just wanted to help them all. He just wanted to understand it all.

Jessika was looking guilty since her untimely playfulness towards her little sister but her eyebrow was still raised as she continued leaning against the fridge. She didn't get it. She just didn't get it. She had been told that JJ was her Uncle so of course she accepted him as that. She believed him as that. Why would she question otherwise? She always believed and trusted her parents.

Rey scooted towards Ben for comfort, her legs swinging off the sofa as she played with her own pigtails. She seemed almost breathless. It was not only a weight off her shoulders that the truth was out but it was also freeing to admit that she didn't always like her powers. I could see it in her face. It was times such as those that made her want to be a normal child sometimes.

Ben glanced at Rey as she moved nearer to him and like Jessika, his own eyebrow raised. But his eyebrows were knotted too. He didn't get it. He just didn't get it at all. He had always been able to see the similarities between JJ and James but he just assumed it was the Williams in them. He could never have dreamed that they were brothers. He could never have imagined that all of them were brothers.

Katie had always been very much opposite to Ben. As she sat on the countertop next to the fridge where Jessika was lingering, she was almost nodding her head. Her eyes were almost putting together every hint that JJ was her brother and accepting it as the truth.

I breathed out along with Misty. She still couldn't bear to look at any of her children but she was looking at her husband. And because Ash and I were so very close, she knew from his eyes that he could understand all that I was observing. She almost saw all of her children's different reactions and emotions through him and then through to me. Her eyes filled with more tears and this caused James to hug her tightly.

Jessika didn't like seeing her mother so broken either and she felt the same when she looked at Rey. She stopped leaning against the fridge and after taking a bottle of water out for herself, she bent down next to where the dark chestnut haired little girl was sat on the sofa. She pushed her stubborn streak away and breathed out.

"I'm sorry, Rey, okay?" she apologised to her as best she could but because Rey was so inwardly shaky from finally letting the truth go, she couldn't look at her big sister. This made Jessika then bite her lip. She looked at her wise little brother for what to do. She looked over at James with big aquamarine eyes.

The dark ginger haired boy was still tenderly cuddling his mother but he and Jessika were very very close in age. They were almost like twins, like Ben and Katie were. He knew when his sister was looking at him. He looked up and met her eyes. He bit his lip shyly but then he felt almost proud that he was the one being trusted to speak. He decided to honour that by giving it a go.

"Tell us the truth, mom and dad." He asked both of his parents and looked between them with round green orbs and because of the way he said their name and the solemnness in his voice, they found themselves complying.

I moved away from Rey after giving her a reassuring nuzzle to place my paw on one shoulder each of Ash and Misty's shoulder as they got ready to tell the story. They told all of their children the story of JJ.

My heart secretly thumped and clenched inside my chest as we all heard the tale of how Jordan and Lynne discovered him 'up there' and assumed he was theirs before realising the sad truth when his eye went brown. I shivered sadly for them when I remembered how after painful weeks and months, the decision to let the two angels raise the half angel was finally put into place. I swallowed emotionally as I noted the fact that, like Katie said, JJ stopped growing at the age of thirteen because that was indeed how many years had passed since Ash and Misty's miscarriage.

As I heard it all, my paws tingled with sorrow for them all. It was so unfair. It was so very unfair. And it was confusing too. I had seen what it had done to both Ash and Misty and they were grown adults. I couldn't help but be fearful of what it might do to all of the Ketchum children. But when I looked at little Rey, I understood that it had to come to light. For not only her, but for JJ too. Everybody should tell the truth. No matter how sad or scary or uncomfortable it is.

After every little detail in the story of Jordan Junior had been told, I assumed that all of the Ketchum children's reactions would be different. But nothing could have prepared me for Ben's. He didn't do anything to shocking. It was his words that were far more brutal than his actions.

He continued raising an eyebrow and swinging his legs off the sofa. He used his fingers to comb through his raven locks after he took his hat off. He shrugged.

"Did you keep it from us because he's the oldest? The first and the best? Did you know that none of us could compete after that?"

I winced heavily upon hearing his words and looked even more hurt when I saw the innocent look on his face. He was just being honest. He was just saying his truth. And that made it worse. Did he really think that parents were incapable of loving more than one child? Surely not.

Misty's eyes quickly filled with tears upon hearing this and Ash looked broken, as if Ben's musings were his fault. But before either of them could answer him, Katie stopped just looking appalled and spoke in a tone that was the same as her expression. She couldn't help but move closer to give him a light but warning whack.

"You really are so needy." She told him simply but sternly, her nose then sticking in the air as she moved over to where James was with Misty. She decided to stick with the gingers when she believed they were the most level headed despite the stereotype. She continued. "They kept it from us to protect us, of course."

Both Ash and Misty nodded gratefully to their eldest daughter upon hearing this but before they could agree with her, like Ben, Jessika couldn't help but pipe up. She tapped her own cheek as she pondered aloud. She moved closer to her raven haired brother.

"I think if anything, it's the angel thing." She mused and after Ben rolled his eyes and mumbled 'it's always the angel thing', she continued. "I think they didn't think we could handle it. Or they wanted him to stay angelic. That's why Nanny and Granddad kept him under their wing."

Jessika was too dense to notice the impressive pun she had made and Ash and Misty were too busy listening to how wrong both their raven haired children were. But before they could shake their heads, Ben rolled his eyes again. This time, he stood up. He was clearly hiding his feelings of unsettlement and insecurity with bratty behaviour.

"Oh, of course, it's always the angel thing." He repeated and after he put his cap firmly back on his head, he put his hands on his hips. He couldn't help but add. "You roll your eyes at James being googly eyed for an angel but you let it happen. And you let him be all over our Nan because you're all over angels too. That's why you kept JJ all pure and untainted!"

"Oh would you be quiet?!" Misty finally snapped at her son and Ash jumped but she wasn't yelling. She had simply had enough. She really had enough. But she felt bad for snapping at her eldest son and felt even worse when he tried to leave and her husband had to tug him back. She recoiled into her arm chair, rubbing her arm. She breathed out. "Please stop coming up with all of these ridiculous ideas. We love you all equally, okay?"

The orange haired female tried to tell her children this sincerely but she was feeling very weary, especially with Ben and Jessika. She couldn't believe that they were being so clueless and I couldn't either. But like her, I just pinned it down to being completely shocked and surprised. They were young. All of their reactions and emotions and beliefs were not going to be perfect or ideal.

After Ash seated Ben back down and gave him a look, he then sat back down with his wife. When the raven haired male was giving his wife the tender comfort she needed and deserved, James finally moved away from her after giving her a shy kiss on the cheek. He joined the rest of his siblings on the sofa.

There was Ben sitting on the far right side of it, his hat backwards on his head and his legs swinging. Rey was on his left side and James was sat on the floor in front of the sofa, directly in front of his dark chestnut haired little sister. Katie was sat on the sofa with her twin and younger sibling, perched on Rey's left side. Then at last, Jessika was sat next to James on the floor, on his left side also. And as my eyes were taking this in, Misty was too.

It didn't surprise me when she suddenly gulped and her eyes pooled with tears. I nuzzled her and fought back my own watery eyes as her hand went to her heart. She shook her head at herself as she imagined JJ being her son and their brother and sitting on the sofa with her.

"We just wanted to protect you all okay? Truly." She told all of her children with a sniff, her hand covering her mouth emotionally. After I kissed one of her cheeks and Ash did the other, she found the bravery to go on. She whimpered. "On top of it being best for him – we didn't know if he would have to go back up at the same time as my mom and dad or at different times – we just wanted to protect you. We thought it would be easier for you to witness an Uncle going up and down rather than a brother. We wanted to save you from the pain."

I nodded my head upon hearing Misty telling the truth and I looked into the children's eyes so they'd see me agreeing with her. Of course, Ash nodded his head too. The truth was finally being told.

And upon hearing the truth being said aloud, the children nodded their heads. Katie sniffed seeing and feeling the emotion and she nodded her head slowly. James held onto Jessika's hand for comfort and nodded sadly. Jessika held onto James' hand to support them both and nodded painfully. Rey swung her little legs and rested her head at the back of the sofa while she nodded. She could feel the pain both visiting and leaving her heart at once.

They all were nodding. In different ways and feeling different emotions but sharing the same pain, they were all nodding. We were all nodding. But Ben wasn't. He too of course could feel the emotion but he couldn't help but furrow his brow. He still didn't get it. He still didn't understand. He blinked back the tears pricking his eyes and almost scowled.

"You didn't save us from anything." He responded and upon hearing this, all of his siblings said his name in disbelief. But before his parents could as well or look hurt, he continued. He had answers to get out and points to prove. "It doesn't matter if he's our Uncle or he's our brother. We miss out on him every time he goes back up. The world still has to be without him and we do too. It doesn't matter if he's a Williams or he's a Ketchum. You haven't been honest with us for so many years. And because of that, he hasn't been able to be honest with himself. He's never been true to himself."

This was a lot for Misty to swallow. Though she knew her son was just being truthful, she felt deeply pained and she blamed herself. She believed she did this to JJ when in fact; it was a decision between many many people and based on many many factors. But like always and like it had been a common thing since the day they met when they were ten years old, Ash stepped in. And he held the situation beautifully.

He nodded his head at his son, gently moving away from his wife after squeezing her hand to kneel in front of him. His chocolate orbs met his child's equally soft and brown ones. He continued nodding.

"You're right, Ben, in both ways." He told him and Ben breathed out in disbelief just as much as his other siblings did. My best friend continued with tears in his eyes. "You are so right. Williams, Ketchum, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what JJ is and it doesn't matter what we are either. Because we are family. And we fight and we make mistakes and we say stupid things and we do stupid things and wrongly, sometimes we don't tell the truth. But we stick together and love one and other and listen to one and other. And we never give up on one another. Because we are family. It doesn't matter what any of our surnames are. We are in this together. And we can get through anything together."

I am surprised to say that after hearing my best friend's sublimely worded and moving speech, I could see each and every Ketchum face past the tears in my eyes. Ben's eyes had changed from remorseful that he had stepped out of line to inspired once again by his father. Katie's eyes were shining with pride that her dad had said something worthy of being in one of her favourite movies. James was emotional; his green orbs sparkling with tears that he came from such a loyal family. Jessika's aquamarine eyes were filled with disbelief. Everything had seemingly gone so wrong but then, all of a sudden, it had gone so right again. And little Rey's ocean blue orbs were dancing. Whether she was seeing into the future, I didn't know. But they were happy. They had seen her family crumbling to being built up again all in one day.

And then I looked at Ash and then I looked at Misty. And then I looked at them together. My best friend had joined his wife on the arm chair again and he was holding her in his strong arms. And the way she was looking up at him with adorable and love and comfort told me many things that day but one thing stuck out for me in particular. I nodded my head as I realised.

Misty had saved Ash the day they met by pulling him out of the river. But Ash had saved Misty every day since. And as long as they stuck together, both of them and all of their children, there was nothing that we couldn't get through. We were all family. And we were the strongest family in the world.

The End.

There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 This was a lot of fun for me to write. It was interesting pondering what the children's different reactions would be and why. I definitely need to write more about this subject and JJ finding out that everybody knows, not just Rey. I like writing stories involving Rey, not just in the format of my story that goes up on the 28th but in this one too :3 Thanks again and I will be back next Wednesday with another chapter so see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :3