Rewrite

AvalonReeseFanFics

A/N: Happy Friday my wonderful readers! We're getting double chapters tonight! Or you're getting one tomorrow, depends on how quickly I can type and edit. I'm shook I missed Wednesday cause this chapter was done and ready to go. I just… I unno, school, work and co-op are killing me right now. Anyway! We're almost there. We have one more chapter attached to the Valentine's Day episode and then we're moving right on to the fun stuff. In this chapter I've got a surprise for you guys, we have a character returning briefly. So AJ if you're out there, here's the return of the character I created for you. Hope you love her appearance in this chapter. One more chapter before the drama! Are you as excited as I am? Don't forget to leave a review and I'll see you guys on Monday.

Chapter 245

They had all exchanged their horror Valentine's Day stories over the last four days. Starting with Grover who actually forgot Valentine's Day, then to Chin who was left butt naked except for a towel in a hotel lobby when his date ran out of him and he forgot the key to the hotel room in the room. To Danny who didn't sign love Danny on a card to Melissa and started world war three with her. But no one could get the story of how Steve got a black eye out of him. He just refused to let it go.

But with their Strangers on a Train case finally solved and closed, the team gave Steve no choice but to open up to them, he just didn't want to do it at the hospital where they had to arrest their murderer. Or… well… one of them anyway, the only one left alive.

They had gone to Kamekona's to share a drink and some shrimp and listen to Steve's tale, which… well… was both sad and embarrassing at once. It was a story he just really didn't want to share.

When they got there, they found Jerry all dressed up as if he were waiting for a date, which, as it turned out, that was what he was waiting for. The mystery lady had not wanted to do the whole tacky Valentine's Day date, so they agreed to meet up late. The problem was he didn't know if she got off work and he wouldn't know until he got a text.

Once they got off the topic of Jerry and his date, which Steve was hoping they wouldn't do, he was forced to open up. It was only fair, all of his friends had told him about their nights. So he told them about the morning and how it went. He tried to downplay how freaked out he had been that the sweater had been worn by someone other than Rowan, especially when it was really the only thing he had left that still smelled of her.

But that didn't explain the black eye that he was sporting and it made him acutely aware of how pathetic he was where it came to Rowan.

At least the black eye didn't have anything to do with her. Just Lynn's bad aim and Steve's delayed reaction, that lead to him getting a high heel to his face. He purposely left out that he had called her Rowan and then lied about who Rowan was, that was very much a just him and Danny conversation.

The team laughed at the story, and Steve tried not to be annoyed, and to remind himself that he had laughed and teased everyone else about their stories. Luckily he wasn't in the hot seat for as long as everyone else, as Jerry's date finally showed up.

"Hey Jerry!" AJ called leaning in to kiss him. "Sorry I'm late, they kept me at the office for a briefing I really didn't need to be a part of."

AJ smiled to the table. She was in a white pant suit with a pink shirt. She had straightened her dark brown hair, and had put make up on, so she was definitely trying to look her best for this date. She was already muscling in on the spot that Chin was in, which was right across from Jerry who was beaming. He handed AJ the box of chocolates he had purchased her, while she handed him a file.

"You get to read it and then I take it back," she said. Wow she was really giving him a going above and beyond on the whole Valentine's Day gift thing this year. He had never known her to be that thoughtful.

"Ajax!" Steven cried getting up to give her a hug. "I didn't know you were in town!"

"Cause I wasn't here to see you. I'm here for 48 hours best. And I'm spending it with Jerry, thank you very much. Clear off we want privacy."

She let Steve hug her, but that was all the group needed to realize that it was time to go. They all splintered off to go home. But they were all very surprised to find that Adam was waiting for Kono. They didn't know he was coming down and they were surprised he didn't want to sit at the table with them.

Steve knew that, since Rowan leaving, they had all been very sensitive on the topic of including people. Rowan had always felt like an outsider with them, and he figured that all stuck with them, that they thought that she hadn't reached out to them because she thought them his friends before hers.

Out of everyone, Kono did not have a disaster story to tell everyone. Her and Adam had had a wonderful night. They too had gone to Morimoto, something that had annoyed poor Grover to no end considering he had tried to get a last minute reservation and failed. Adam had gifted her with new gun, a specialty gun with pearl inlay, more for decoration than use, and Kono had gotten his favourite watch completely redone as it had originally been smashed with Gabriel had been torturing them.

They had retired back to his place where they waltzed to slow music, and eventually went to bed for some more private entertainment.

So yeah, nothing to tease about there.

When they noticed Adam they all went over to say hello and once the pleasantries were out of the way Adam looked to his wife and asked: "Did you show them the video?"

All eyes swung to Kono whose eyes were wide, because clearly she had not shown them the video and she hadn't wanted to. "No, remember, we agreed that we should keep the video to ourselves," she reminded him between grit teeth.

A soft glance in Steve's direction, meant to be a clue to Adam to shut up, was the tipoff that whatever that video was about, it had something to do with Rowan.

"Show me," Steve ordered immediately.

"Boss… it's really not… it's not…"

"I don't care, show me," he repeated and Kono sighed.

"Alright, but… don't take it the wrong way."

She fiddled with her phone for a bit, obviously looking for the video to show him. "It's not a nice video, you won't… you won't like it," she said to him as she handed him the phone. The still was just of Rowan, standing on a bar, a bottle already to her lips. She was in the same dress she had been wearing on her Birthday, her hair was pin straight, her make up was glitzy and sparkling, and she was in those red bottom heels still. She looked lovely and already he was having a hard time with this.

Kono winced at the face he was making. "It's why I didn't tell you about it…"

It was nice of her to try and warn him, but Steve didn't listen, he pressed play. Immediately there was a clamour of noise.

The whole bar was chanting two words, over and over, in a punctuated beat. Fuck Steve. Rowan stood on that bar chugging something green from a bottle. She had a crowd of men around her feet. Of course she did they were probably trying to see up her skirt. She finished the bottle, threw it down to the ground where he was certain it shattered, to a cacophony of cheers and applause as if she had just won award. When she was done, she just turned and dropped, where one of the men below her, the one in the leather jacket, caught her with relative ease.

Steve hated how mirrored that position was to one that he always called theirs. Stupid really, to think that she wouldn't want other men to carry her in the same way, that bridal style. But to watch her arms wind around that man's neck, her face closing in on his so she could kiss him… well… she might as well have shot him in the heart, it hurt so much.

Steve stopped the video but did not return the phone to Kono. "When did you get this?"

"Last night, round 9ish," she whispered. Okay, so if Colombia was about five hours ahead, that meant Rowan had been out drinking round three or four. So… now she had a wild partying streak? Or had she always had it and pretended she didn't for his benefit? Because he sure as hell wasn't in the party phase anymore but Rowan was… well… Rowan was almost a decade younger than him. What if she had waned to go out and… he hadn't… he couldn't give her that life. "I... I didn't want to tell you. It was just so weird and it's not the nicest video… and I unno… I just thought you..."

She thought he'd react badly. Well good assumption he definitely wasn't taking that video positively. Not that he could. Steve pulled up her text conversation and found that she had a conversation from a blank number. Just like all the others. "It just came out of nowhere, you know?"

It had started with just texts.

Happy Valentine's Day, I hope you're having fun with Adam.

I'm really glad I got Wo Fat to pay back his debt, cause you were supposed to be crying right now cause he was gonna go to jail. He's not in jail right now right?

Oh my god I miss my bitch so much. Wish you were here!

Wanna see what I'm doing?

And a couple minutes after that the video came in.

Steve finally handed her back her phone, where Danny then snatched it up so he, Chin and Grover could watch it themselves. Steve didn't want to see that video again, and he cringed when the chant of Fuck Steve started up again.

"Thanks for showing me," he said, already moving away from his friends before they could ask him if he was alright and he'd be forced to lie to them. "I uh… I have plans with Lynn… well… she wants to come over anyway, so I'm gonna…"

That wasn't really all that true either. Originally he had told her he was too tired to hang out but now, now he wanted company. Maybe he'd make his own Fuck Rowan video except he'd be having ex with some random girl and send it off to Kong to send to her. See how she liked that.

Damn Steve hadn't been this mad at her since he found out she had lied about being in contact with Wo Fat after the man had shot her. He kind of wished she was there so he could yell at her.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

It had been four days since she and Conejo had slept together the last time. After their initial discussion to stop there was only one drunken slip up, but for the last couple of months they had been very good. Their last time had been her birthday, but that was drunken birthday sex and they both decided that it had meant nothing. It almost surprised her that it had happened again, except for the fact that she knew the catalyst was Valentine's Day and her unwillingness (according to her mother/shrink) to let go of her feelings for Steve.

What was worse was that Conejo had pulled away. He didn't want to talk to her, he didn't want to be around her, or at least, that's what it felt like. She was flummoxed as to why, and like a truly desperate girl she clung to him, afraid to lose the last little bit of comfort she had. Not because she had feelings for him but because she really didn't want to be alone.

Especially since Wo Fat was still gone.

Usually Con would be there when she woke up, or at least be outside the door. But today he was nowhere to be found. She went first to his room, which was across the hall from hers, but he wasn't there. Then she went to the kitchen, and he wasn't there, and then she went to the patio. Not there either.

She finally found him in the courtyard though, talking with JC. He was in a nice black suit, his hair was gelled back baring the forehead she swore she had never seen before because Conejo liked his hair shaggy and he had a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"Where are we going?" she asked, hopping onto his back like she usually did when she wanted to annoy him. Conejo usually would wrap his arms around her legs to support her better, knowing that if he didn't she'd wrap them around his stomach. Then he'd give her a bit of a piggy back ride.

Today he grabbed her arms and twisted until she let go and dropped to the floor. She yelped loudly at the slight pain he inflicted. He had never intentionally hurt her before. Not true he had tackled her once, but it was to prove a point. He had never been physically malicious before.

"Hey!" she cried but he ignored her.

"I have business today," he snapped. "You're staying here with JC."

"Business?" Rowan echoed as one of the black cars with tinted windows drove up. "What kind of business?"

"The kind of business that's none of yours," he growled.

"But… can't I come with you? I'll just stay in the car, I won't be any trouble at all."

"Yeah right," he snapped finally turning to look at her. "Look we both know you won't just stay in the car. And besides I just want to be alone today, okay? Can I have that? Can one day, for once, not be about you?!"

Rowan blinked her eyes, she hadn't expected that. Sure she had never really gone into the reason as to why she didn't like to be alone with him, but he had always respected her reluctance to be alone.

She really didn't like the idea of being alone with barely anyone she knew in this mansion. Well, except for JC, but things hadn't been the same since they slept together.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and for a moment it looked like Conejo would relent.

"I'll be back before dinner," he said instead and Rowan nodded. As the car drove away JC approached her.

"Hey, I'mma swim some laps, maybe grab your guitar or maybe your bathing suit if you wanna swim with me?"

Rowan nodded trying to feign that she was alright but she wasn't. Not really. Conejo had been acting weird for weeks. And she wanted to know why. She knew it wasn't all her fault. She was fairly certain it wasn't all about the incident where they had slept together four days ago. And with JC swimming and all of Con's lessons in self-defence and self-preservation at her discretion, she knew that she had the skills to follow after him without being spotted.

Today Rowan would figure out what had Conejo acting so weird. She'd just have to get dressed first.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Lynn had been surprised when Danny called her, especially because she hadn't know that Danny had her number. She knew very little about Danny except that he was Steve's closest and most annoying friend. The two times she had met him, one double date with Danny and his girlfriend Melissa, and one work event at a bar, the two of them had done nothing but argue.

It was kind of worrying the amount of marital bickering the two did. Between Danny and Catherine, Lynn had been worried that the scraps of Steve's emotions were all taken up by them and all she truly had to offer him was sex. But that was an unreasonable worry, and she had refused to voice it or hold onto it that tightly, in fact she sort of chose not to think about it.

But now he wanted to talk to her and she had a feeling it had to do with the ring she had found four days ago. Something she and Steve hadn't really discussed but then again he had been super apologetic and romantic the night after and she had clocked him with her shoe. Then he was on a case and the discussion just never happened.

She smiled when Danny sat in front of her in the coffee shop that he asked to meet her in. She had her coffee and he had his. And he didn't look like he was about to chew her out for clocking his best friend with her high heel or for causing an issue with that ring.

"I'm gonna be quick, cause apparently you're going over to see him tonight," he said which was news to her, because as far as she knew Steve was tired and didn't want to see her, though she did have an unchecked text from him, so maybe that's what that was about. "I heard what happened on Valentine's Day. Uh… nice aim with the shoe."

"I didn't do it on purpose," she said with a scowl but Danny was chuckling, alright so he found that funny. She figured that was a good sign. Maybe this wasn't going to be that kind of talk

"Yeah, yeah, but it was still funny," he said. "No, I'm more a little worried about the morning's events…"

"I was just a little surprised to find out that he was going to propose, you know? I don't want to be a rebound."

Danny took that in. "And there wasn't… anything else weird about his behaviour?"

"Well I mean he freaked out about the sweater, but I figure its Catherine's… I mean it was with the ring. Right on top of it actually."

Danny nodded. Was this really about the sweater? Yeah she had thought it weird that he was so frantic to get it off of her, that he seemed to go catatonic once he had it back, but she had been focusing on the ring and how she felt. It was a just a sweater after all, what could have gotten him so worked up about a sweater?

"He… uh… has he told you about Ro yet?"

It was the way he said it that her narrowing her eyes. "Yes. Ro is just a nickname for Catherine, cause her last name was Rollins."

"Huh."

Oh, well that wasn't good, now was it? "That's not it, is it?"

"I didn't say that," Danny said quickly. "I'm just trying to figure out how much you've been made aware of."

Yeah like that wasn't ominous. "He's never mentioned a Rowan?"

"Uh… yeah, after I hit him with the shoe he called me Rowan… but he said that was a coworker of his. Is that Ro? Is there someone else I have to worry about?"

"A coworker?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead. "Sure. Sure we can call her that. Look, no you don't have to worry about her, she's gone… and she's not coming back." She opened her mouth to argue but he shook his head. "Look it's not my story to tell, but Ro broke him okay? You're not a rebound, honestly. He's actually trying really hard. He likes you, we all know he does, so just please… please give him some time, he's trying really hard to deal with it."

"Wait? That's it?" Lynn asked sensing that the conversation between them was clearly done. "But… so… who's Ro? Is Ro Catherine or Rowan?"

"I told you, this isn't my story to tell," Danny repeated. "This should all come from him not me. I'm just asking you to give him a chance to tell you."

Lynn seemingly realized that that was all she was going to get from him. She thanked Danny for his time and then left it there. Danny would just have to pray that it would work. Steve needed the distraction. He wasn't sure the man could take yet another girl leaving him.

H5O-H5O-H5O-H5O

Conejo didn't like being here, but whenever he was in Colombia he came to visit them. And he always tried to be here on the anniversary or close to it. This year he got the right date, got himself all fancy and bought an expensive bouquet to take to them.

He walked carefully through the tombstones to the desired plot. He put the bouquet into the vase, taking the old dried up ones out, before kneeling down in front of the tombstone.

He always visited Mari and Emil first, he'd visit his mom and sister later. He was often told to just talk to them, that talking would make it better, but he didn't know what to say. Mari would have been so disappointed at what he had become, of the things he had done.

Most of the time he'd just sit there and stare at them, thinking of what he used to have and wishing for that bright future he thought he'd have. But this time he wasn't alone.

He groaned when he spotted her, bouquet in hand dropping them in the vase with his flowers. Conejo sighed as Rowan knelt down beside him.

"One day. That's all I asked for. One day without you smothering me. One day on my own."

It was a cruel thing to say, he knew that she was concerned for him, he knew that out of everyone he interacted with that she was the most observant, would notice the changes in him. Just as Rowan knew that he hadn't asked for much but she couldn't help it. He had been acting so weird and she was worried.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay… and well… no one should ever have to come to a cemetery alone," she said. She looked down at all the names. She didn't know who any of these people were. Sebastian Falcon-Gonzales. Marisol Garcia-Rodriguez, and Emilano Falcon-Rodriguez.

They all died on the same day. Today actually. February 18th 2010. Emilano was barely three.

"Is this your family?" Conejo sighed at her but nodded. He gave her nothing else. "Your brother?"

"I don't like talking about it, Rowan," he answered and that should have been the cue to let it go. But Rowan never listened to him.

"But they all died today… and you're obviously sad… I could help you…"

"Help me what?" he thundered, turning on her. Conejo rarely yelled at her but there was something different about this outburst. "That's not going to bring them back? Is it? Me telling you what happened and crying about it is not going to bring my son back! So let it go! Okay?"

Rowan took that in with wide eyes of surprise. It wasn't often that Conejo yelled at her. She looked back at the tombstone took in all the names and all the dates. Sebastian would have been their age if he was alive so he couldn't have been the son. So that meant…

"You had a son?" she asked and then blinked her eyes. Understanding dawned on her and she turned back to the headstone. "Your name is Sebastian?" Conejo groaned clearly frustrated with her and she winced. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'll be quiet."

They were silent for two seconds before she couldn't hold it in anymore. "So… but… what happened to them?"

Conejo groaned again and she started to apologize when he finally turned to her. "If I tell you, will you shut up?" he asked her and Rowan nodded. "And you won't tell anyone?"

Rowan nodded eagerly.

Conejo sighed. "Alright. Fine. Yes. My name is Sebastian Falcon-Gonzales. My dad was uh... a drug cartel enforcer, my mom was a drug mule. She uh… took me to the States when I was three and left me there, wanted me to have a good life. I uh… bounced from foster home to foster home instead. Some were fine some weren't so… fine. My uh… my favourite was in Texas, got to ride horses every day…"

"Oh so that's why you like country music!" Rowan cried and he nodded, almost smiling.

"Uh… when I got old enough I went looking for my mom, found her when I was 19. She was a little better off but not by much… my older sister… Maria, she recognized me right away, she uh… she's the only who gave me my nickname. She always used to say: Rapido como un conejito."

"Quick as a bunny," Rowan translated. Secretly she was touched that he had given her a nickname that belonged to his family.

"I uh… I met Marisol that year. She was uh… waitress at a local bar, fell head over heels for her."

"Aw I bet she was pretty," Rowan said with a dreamy smile and Conejo smiled almost sadly as well. "Wait. Marisol… Mari! You called me Mari. You meant her!"

"Yeah, sometimes you kind of remind me of her. She never took my shit either," Conejo said with a wry laugh. "Anyway… I uh… I fell in love with her, so I moved out of Texas and moved down here, in with my mom to help out and stay with Mari. I worked at the bar with her, as a bouncer and bartender, finished my university down there. Then I… uh… applied and got into law school down in Colombia…"

"Really which one?"

"Sergio Arboleda in Bogata," he answered. "Uhm then you know… I was starting Law school when Emil was born and I was happy, but law school and babies are expensive and I needed more income so I… I joined a cartel."

Rowan was wincing at him and he just sighed. "Yeah, I know, stupid. But you know. I just wanted to give my girlfriend everything she deserved and my son everything I never got…" he whispered. "It wasn't much to begin with. Was just a bouncer, watched doors to make sure no one interrupted meetings, I mean I eventually graduated to a bag man, just you know, picked up and doled out bribes. I didn't really feel like it was a real you know… bad thing."

"But it was wasn't it?" she asked.

"It was. I was finishing law school when it happened. Marisol… she had found out where I was getting the extra cash from and she said… you know… we didn't need it now. I'd be a good lawyer, I was a good man who'd help people so I… I agreed to get out, but getting out is hard and he didn't want to let me go and… I mean, he said it. He said, families are dangerous things to have, because it leaves you open to heart ache, and I told him, I'd end him if he touched my family, that I had enough evidence to put him away forever. So we agreed, one more job and then I get to leave, and of course, I'd hand over my evidence."

Rowan nodded like she understood, like she knew where this was going to go and she did.

"So I did the job, handed over the evidence and went home. But… when I got there… they were all just in the front entrance waiting for me, left there like garbage. My mother, my sister, Marisol, and Emil. All laid out in the foyer of my home. Throats slit," he said. "There was all this blood everywhere and… I mean… I knew who did it but they wouldn't… I knew the cops wouldn't… they'd let him get away with it."

Rowan nodded. "Okay. So… if that's you…" she said pointing to the grave with his real name carved into it and Conejo scoffed.

"I needed the element of surprise. Blew up my car with one of his drug pushers inside, no one gave a shit, they didn't even question it," he whispered. "And then I… I got my family justice."

"You did?"

"I did. I mean, I used to hunt, I grew up in Texas I knew my way around guns. I thought I'd have problems… killing people… killing children, but I put on the rabbit mask…"

"Oh that's when that started?"

"We all needed an alias, I chose Conejo, he used to tease me about it but… I wanted him to know that it was me, even before I took the mask off."

"Wait so you killed the children?"

"All three of them, yes. I uh… I started with his relatives, you know? The nephews and uncles he had working for him. I killed his elderly parents. His sisters and their husbands and kids. But those were all sniper shots or car bombs or other such accidents. I was distanced from it and I think that helped. Then when he was truly afraid, when he understood someone was pick his family off one by one, I went for his family. He took them somewhere safe, some nice compound like Armando's as if that was going to stop me. I took out his guards, killed his wife, and his three daughters, and just like he did to me, I left them in the front of the house for him to find. Except… when he found his family, when he pulled his eldest daughter into his arms to see if he could shake her back to life, I showed up, took off my mask, let him know it was me and why this had happened and I put a fucking bullet in his head."

"Okay… well… I guess… I mean… that's a little twisted…"

"I thought I'd feel better but no one told me… no one told me it wouldn't go away. So there I am surrounded by death, my vengeance is complete and the pain was still there, still suffocating me, still burning in my chest and… I couldn't… I couldn't make it go away," he said. "But I was good at this and I was angry so I pushed everyone away and just started… killing… except kids, I can't do kids anymore."

Rowan thought about it a moment. "Well… you know… that's a perfectly reasonable reaction," she said to him and Conejo turned to her surprised. "I mean… look at what Wo did to Riku Sato, I mean, I know I'm not supposed to know about it, but I heard what he did…"

"That wasn't grief. He wasn't mourning you. That was unbridled rage."

"Okay fine, bad example. Okay, Batman! Batman never got over the loss of his parents and became probably the creepiest super hero on the planet!"

Conejo laughed at that. "Yeah except I'm not a superhero."

"You are to me."

That seemed to startle him. He stared at her in shocked earnest like he had no idea she would say that to him, that she would think that of him.

"You're a year older than me," she said suddenly. "You're 31."

"I was twenty four when I stopped living. Technically Sin Nombre is 7…"

"Who cares about that! You're only a year older than me! I swear I thought you were older."

Conejo turned a dry glare onto her. "Yeah. Thanks for that."

"How old were you when Emiliano was born?"

"Twenty-one… why does that matter…"

"And Mari! I bet she was super cool!" Rowan cried. "Tell me all about her, was she super pretty? OH! How did you and her meet? Was it romantic AF?!"

She was so animated and excited that Conejo almost forgot that he was supposed to be sad. He realized then that she was doing it on purpose. She was getting him to talk about the good things and he almost burst into tears right then and there. Because he didn't deserve a girl as special as Rowan, but she had definitely acknowledged that his family deserved something more than his silent vigil and new flowers.

So, as Conejo was used to doing, he indulged her.