Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last Chapter. I truly appreciate all the encouragement. You make me want to finish this story. I think it is going to happen this time around.

Chapter 64: It's Time for Those conversations

XXXX

September 4, 2010, 12:07 PM London time

"Your food should be getting here in 30 minutes. Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Daniel asked his fiancée as he was preparing to take DJ to a football game.

"Of course not. You and DJ need your bonding time. Besides, Amanda will be here for emotional support." Betty really wanted her boyfriend to stay for this conversation, but DJ needed to spend time with Daniel and his friends. Especially this week after losing Justin to New York and Betty forcing him to go back to Mode because Lindsay is a jerk.

"I promise to take good care of our little churro," Amanda reassured Daniel from the couch. "I already have the fridge filled with chunky monkey. I'm so happy that there's more chocolate in the UK version. Actually, all chocolate is better in this country."

"I'm glad something good came out of this move," Betty said almost sarcastically. She's been questioning her decision to move here, especially after downsizing her staff this week.

"I know you're still upset about Lindsay, but a lot of good came out of this move. Mostly you two finally getting together. You regretting being here would be like me regretting sleeping with Daniel to keep him from rebounding with the wrong person." Amanda said, placing her hands on her stomach. "It brought us where we needed to be. You will be stronger for this once it's all over." Betty hoped Amanda was right.

"You're the only babies' Mama I could deal with." Daniel joked.

"Because I'm not a bitch like Charlie."

"No, you're not." Betty smiled at Amanda. "Go watch Football with DJ and your new best friend."

"I just like having friends who are also dealing with teenagers. Becks is for the baby stuff," Her boyfriend added.

"He really is. He has already baby proof my house."

"Probably because his daughter already lives there."

"Baby Becks called Candy "mommy can" this morning. Candy just thought it was cute."

"I don't know why my assistant can't say the B-word." Daniel sighed exasperatedly.

"Probably because she has a restraining order against her last boyfriend, and that's one of the main reasons she took the job here in London," Amanda explained.

"That makes sense," Betty said simply.

"I'm going, but I want a kiss first," Daniel said as he walked over to kiss her.

"Of course," Betty said before pulling Daniel to her to kiss him goodbye.

"Why are you guys always kissing?" DJ asked as he walked into the room.

"Because I love my fiancé," Daniel answered as he pulled away. "You'll text me when it's over?" Daniel asked.

"I promise I will."

xxx

Meanwhile in Manhattan

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay for this? I can tell Austin that I need to stay here." Justin asked as he was getting ready to leave for brunch with Austin.

"No, I'm an adult, and I have Bobby," Hilda reassures her son. "Besides, I know Austin's going to need you for the conversation he's about to have with Tyler."

"Yes, but you're my mom. I really want you and Aunt Betty to Work this out. I think you two exhausted Daniel this summer." Justin commented.

"He really does love your aunt?" Hilda asked.

"So much," Justin responded. "I was happy to see it this summer. I want to have a relationship like theirs."

"I think you will. This is why you need to get in the car and join your boyfriend for a family chaos brunch at Ross. I hope this doesn't end up on fashion TV this time."

"We all do."

XXXX

A little bit later

"He actually did Get you stuffed French toast," Betty remarked as she saw her sister pop up on the screen.

"And chocolate-covered fruit. However, I don't get that until after this Video call is over." Her sister pouted at that.

"No mimosas?" Betty asked.

"I wish, but I'm off alcohol for now." Betty raised an eyebrow at that.

"We're trying to get pregnant." Betty was surprised to hear that explanation. "So, the lack of alcohol is a precaution. Although I wonder if this is the right time to stop drinking."

"You guys are trying again?"

"Yes. The doctor gave us the all-clear a few weeks ago."

"That's so great. Why didn't you tell me?" Betty asked.

"This felt like the type of message that I shouldn't send through your fiancé," Hilda explained. Betty felt it was best not to point out that she should've just emailed her directly. She doesn't want this call to end early.

"Daniel might understand more than I do. He's been studying. We have our first childbirth class tonight." Betty explained.

"You seem excited."

"I am. I can't wait till the babies are here." Betty really was looking forward to it.

"I'm glad, but I remember that wasn't something you wanted with Henry."

"Because it wasn't right. Also, this was my choice and essentially my idea." Betty worded her statement carefully since Amanda was just offscreen eating a turkey burger with fried pickles. "Amanda is my friend, and I want to keep her safe. I realize that DNA doesn't mean as much as I thought it did before."

"I'm glad you're learning."

"I also think that taking care of DJ and Justin this summer made me realize that I don't have to choose between parenthood and my career," Betty confessed.

"I am pleased you figured that out. So how do we start this conversation? Do I just apologize for being a bitch all summer, or..." Her sister trailed off, not entirely sure how to complete that sentence.

"I feel like you did that with the balloons. They were very nice balloons." Betty joked.

"I thought about getting you flowers, but Marc said not to." Bless Marc. Of course, Amanda told him about the flowers.

"Because Victoria keeps sending Amanda death threats via flowers. If we see a bouquet, we just throw them in the trash now without even checking." Betty explained.

"I feel like it would be more appropriate to turn them over to the police, but I'm not sure how that works in London." Betty looked over to see Amanda nodding her head in agreement.

"You might have a point. They might not be in Victoria's back pocket over here." Betty sighed.

"It is something to think about if it happens again."

"I understand why you behave the way you did." Betty decided it was best to take the Band-Aid approach to this. "You were scared and afraid I would push you away because we have different dads now. So, you pushed me away first."

"You know me too well. That was exactly what I was doing. I really am sorry about that. In hindsight, I realize I should have explained what was going on. But at the time, I just wasn't ready for it." Hilda explained.

"Trust me, I get that."

"I'm not sure that you do. You've always known who you were. You have wanted to be in the magazine industry since Justin was a toddler. I've never had the same direction. Who am I now that I'm not Ignacio's Daughter?"

"You're still his daughter because he's the one that raised you."

"I realize that now but it took a while and several nights of baby-free drinks with Marc before my alcohol sabbatical."

"I'm glad Marc was there to help."

"He made me realize that biological parents really don't matter. You know he has a restraining order against his mom?"

"Daniel told me. He and Marc talk a lot because of work and Amanda. I usually just get text messages of baby pictures and instructions on how to care for Amanda. I think Marc and my boyfriend are friends now. At a minimum, he has no objections to Marc being in the wedding party on my side."

"Who else is on your side?" Hilda asked.

"Justin is my best person. Partially because DJ is Daniel's best person. I hope you're okay with that?"

"That's fine as long as I'm still part of your bridal party."

"You are along with Marc and Christina. Daniel has Amanda, Monique, and Becks. Alexis Junior is, of course, going to be the flower girl because the others are going to still be too little, but they will be in the pictures."

"That makes sense. Although no Alexis or Tyler? Also, I'm surprised he went with Monique Over Breanna."

"Breanna said no, and Monique was the one who helped us get together. Her sister Mercedes was considered because Daniel has known her since high school, but we felt there shouldn't be more than one ex-girlfriend in the party."

"Smart,"

"Daniel and Tyler aren't there yet in their relationship, but he is, of course, invited. If Alexis is up to it, she'll take Monique's spot. But Daniel doesn't want to plan for her to be in the wedding because..."

"She may not be around next year." Hilda supplied for her.

"Yes, and that's not something Daniel wants to deal with."

"Considering what you just said, I assume Daniel isn't off to the side listening to this conversation?

"He's at a football game with DJ and some of their friends."

"I'm surprised he scheduled this when he wouldn't be here."

"That was my choice. Although Amanda is off to the side with emotional support chocolates. I'm certain she's live texting this entire exchange with Marc."

"Actually, Cliff, because Marc is still sleeping but on Marc's phone because he was sleeping in Cliff's bedroom again," Amanda said as she moved to sit behind Betty. Betty and Hilda just looked at each other and started giggling.

"They are as bad as you and Daniel."

"Daniel and I never got to that level of denial." Amanda and Hilda started laughing hysterically at that point.

"No, you two were so much worse. At least Marc and Cliff are aware they are in love with one another. They're just not sure if they should add sex to the relationship while dealing with a six Month-old daughter."

"That seems fair," Betty commented.

"You two were in such denial that I had to sleep with Daniel to make sure he didn't rebound with the wrong person. Which is how I got pregnant, but it's okay. When I'm not dealing with baby back. Seriously, you're trying to end up like this?"

"Yes, and I do remember baby back being the worst. But at least I won't be pregnant and trying to muddle my way through algebra this time around. Those chairs were horrible."

"But there's still childbirth. I accidentally got a video of baby pudding pop being born. I don't think it makes a difference. My va-jay-jay hurts, and I will have to go through this twice." Amanda commented.

"You know you can go into another room. I think I have this." Betty said, looking directly at Amanda.

"No, you don't because you guys keep going into tangents about other things. When you really need to be talking about why you were ignoring each other all summer." Amanda interjected.

"Amanda has a point," Hilda remarked reluctantly.

"Although let me say I'm glad it wasn't me. I was worried I ruined everything by getting preggers."

"You didn't. I love the twins." Betty said genuinely.

"Of course, you do. You are their other mommy. You're going to make sure they end up sweet and kind, just like Ignacio made sure that Hilda ended up a good person."

"Exactly," Betty added.

"I know this is hard because it was hard for me to find out I was adopted. I may have gained 30 pounds. I was terrified I might've had sex with my half-brother." Hilda snorted at that.

"I am glad that didn't happen," Betty commented.

"Everyone is. Since I know from first-hand experience how hard this is, I came up with some questions to help you have a conversation." At that moment, Amanda pulled out a notepad.

"You're right. We need help," Betty reluctantly acknowledged.

"We are horrible at sharing." With that, Amanda began her list of questions.

"Question one, how did you feel when you realized that Ignacio wasn't your biological father."

"Like the entire world fell down around me," Hilda answered truthfully.

XX

Meanwhile, in New York

"You look good," Austin said as he walked up to his boyfriend and kissed him. It felt good to do that in front of his foster mom. He never could do something like that in front of Tiffany.

"I wanted to impress the other sibling. I assume we're waiting on him?" Justin asked as he took the seat next to Austin.

"Tyler, just text. They're about 5 minutes out. Traffic was bad." Matt answered.

"It really was. How are we doing this?" Justin asked.

"Quickly once the food arrives. It's always best to have a distraction. I will do most of the talking, though." Vivian explained.

"I am grateful because I don't even know how to begin this conversation," Austin added as Justin squeezed his hand in support.

"With his few details as possible." Victoria added. "Although the staff knows not to bring up anything alcoholic."

"Very smart," Justin commented as he took a sip of the water.

"Wilhelmina also decided that this was a grandma morning. She won't be arriving until after our departure."

"Also, smart."

"I thought so. While we're waiting for the others, tell me about your summer in London. I've heard bits and pieces from Austin, but it seemed very beneficial for you. Maybe this is something that Antonella can do next year." His foster mom suggested.

"It really was a great experience." Justin began. "My boss Charlotte was the absolute best, and I learned a lot from her. I'm still emailing her constantly. I just wish Austin could have been there with me."

"Well, he'll be there with you in October. Antonella is going too. I would join, but I'll be too busy with work. However, Matt has graciously agreed to be your chaperone." So that's how they're planning to get Matt to London for the birth of the twins.

"We both know the truth," Justin said before Austin could say anything. "Just say this is your excuse to get Matt to London to be there for Amanda during labor. Which you should be there for." Justin looked directly at Matt.

"Oh, thank God. Does Antonella know?" Vivian asked.

"We haven't told her yet because we didn't know who we could tell," Austin answered.

"You can tell her, but I prefer you wait until after the plane leaves."

"I like that idea. Although it feels like everybody's going to know but Amanda. I know your mother is unstable, but I don't think this is fair." Austin agreed with his boyfriend's words. It wasn't fair.

"I know." Matt sighed. "We are going to tell Amanda once the babies are safely delivered. She's doing better now that she's in London, but the doctor is still concerned."

"That's true. Daniel still isn't sure if the doctor will let Amanda go to fashion week in Paris." Justin explained. "At least you're not planning to maintain the lie long term because that can be traumatic or, so I've been told." Obviously, his boyfriend was talking about his own mom. Justin told him all about that Tuesday.

"Does Daniel's mother know?" Austin asked.

"Claire is aware something happened to a previous Hartley mistress, but not that it was Tiffany. She doesn't know about the switched DNA tests, and neither does Tyler. Daniel doesn't want them to know. Especially with the Alexis situation." Matt explained.

The room stayed quiet until Claire arrived with Tyler a few minutes later. Austin was familiar with Claire Mead. He has seen her around the office and spent time with her last month at Marc's baby shower. He's also heard stories from DJ about his grandmother. However, Austin has not spent much time at all with Tyler. He was at Monique's wedding, but they didn't talk. Tyler was too busy keeping Matt from acting like a complete ass.

"I'm so glad that you invited us to brunch," Claire said as she walked over to Vivian to kiss her cheek. "It's great to spend time together outside of a charity setting."

"It really is. I'm surprised we haven't done brunch before. I hope you don't mind that I invited Matt so he could spend more time with Tyler."

"Not at all. It's good to see you again, Matthew. Although I was hoping to see some of the grandbabies."

"Unfortunately, not this time," Vivian said regretfully. "Jamie isn't ready to venture to the restaurant, and unfortunately, this is Chad's weekend to visit the kids. They felt it would be best to do that at the hotel where they're staying."

"I hope there's a court monitor there," Claire commented.

"Along with the attorneys." Vivian clarified. "Mercedes is in the room next door trying to distract herself with Jamie."

"I hope that goes well. Although please tell me you brought pictures."

"Of course, I did." Vivian was pulling out her purse because she still had hardcopy photos. "Also, Monique promised she'll bring the baby up to the Mode offices soon. Maybe even next week."

"I look forward to it," Claire said just as their server walked in to tell them they would be trying Chef Carlo's new Brunch tasting menu. Per Antonella, Gio has decided to spend more time with Jamie. Therefore the team decided to permanently hire his parental leave replacement. Austin is hopeful that the four-cheese omelet will keep this from becoming extremely awkward.

XXX

A little later, elsewhere in New York

"Okay, that went better than I thought it would," Hilda said as she disconnected after surviving Amanda's 20 questions.

"I'm glad that it did," Bobby said as he wrapped his arms around her. Much like Amanda, he listened the entire time to provide emotional support. "I'm sure Amanda's questions helped."

"Yes, they did, but I'm not telling her that. I was a good girl, so do I now get the chocolate-covered fruit?"

"You were a very good girl," Bobby Said as he wrapped around her. "Your fruit and wiped Cream are waiting for you in the bedroom. I want to eat it off your stomach." Hilda felt his lips on her neck.

"Lucky for you, I'm ovulating." Hilda tilted her head to kiss her husband Before leading him into the bedroom. They took a vantage of Justin spending the night with his boyfriend.

Xxxxx

A little later, back at Ross.

Claire wasn't 100% sure why her co-president's mother invited her and her youngest son to brunch this Saturday. She mainly was hoping to meet the grandkids that have been terrorizing the closet for the last few weeks. She wanted to see them but never had the time. It was too bad they were with their father, but she saw pictures as they waited for their food to arrive.

Vivian also suggested that Tyler apply for a position with her foundation. They ran a few programs that focused on substance abuse recovery. The foundation always likes to have people with first-hand knowledge work on those projects. Tyler promised to think about it.

However, the job offer and baby pictures were just a distraction for the real shocker of the morning. Immediately after her omelet arrived, Claire was informed that her ex Cal Hartley had another love child. Which on its own would cause her to choke on her omelet. The fact that child was sitting in front of her, and dating her son's future nephew could cause heart palpitations. Claire really wished there was something else in her glass other than orange juice at that moment.

"I shouldn't even be surprised. I remember hearing rumors about what happened to Cal's assistant in the 90s at the club. But back then, I usually ignored everything related to Cal." Usually with a massive glass of wine. However, Austin did not need to know that. Neither did Tyler right now.

"I know what Victoria did to my mom. She decided it was better to pretend she had a miscarriage and leave so she could raise me somewhere safe." Austin explained.

"She made the right choice." A better one than Claire did.

"Back then, maybe. But I haven't received one postcard from Tiffany since she decided to hide in Chicago." Austin supplied.

"She just wanted to keep you safe, Austin. She realized it was best for you to be with me." Vivian said as she gave Austin a reassuring squeeze of the hand.

"And you can protect him from Victoria Hartley?" Tyler asked. It was the first time he spoke since Austin explained who he really was.

"I am our best hope. She's afraid of me."

"She wants to be part of your circle," Matt added. "She tried to set me up with Mercedes before she even filed for divorce."

"Until my daughter suggested you would be the perfect third to keep the marriage going." Claire is sure that wasn't a joke. "I doubt she will react well when she sees you with Cory Monday." She won't, and Claire is very thankful that she's not on the guestlist for that charity event.

"I just realized I'm the token heterosexual among all my siblings," Tyler commented.

"Yes." Matt, Justin, and Austin answered simultaneously.

"Matt and Austin, are you planning to tell your father the truth?" Claire asked.

"No," Austin answered simply.

"Cal has already shown us that he doesn't want to deal with his obligations. He rather have me do it, and that's fine. I much prefer having Tyler and Austin as family."

"I feel like I'm a better person than your mother and father," Tyler remarked.

"You really are. I never thank you for getting me out of jail after the fight with Marc." Matt told his brother.

"That was more your aunt, but I was glad I could help. Are you doing better?" Tyler asked, genuinely concerned.

"I am. Besides, I have to keep it together for everyone else."

"You're doing a good job with that," Vivian commented.

"I know it's weird to find out you have another half-brother. But I really would like to have a relationship with you as well." Austin offered.

"We can try. It also helps that you're in New York."

"Aunt Brianna and Alexis Senior will be back on the 15th for the fashion show and the black and white ball." Matt supplied.

"I know. We're planning to have dinner together on the 18th before they go back to Ohio." Claire added. She was definitely looking forward to granddaughter time. Since Monique will be attending some of the shows, Claire might actually have time to see Alexis Junior.

"I think I'm invited to that. You are as well." Austin said, turning to his boyfriend. Justin has been holding onto Austin's hand the entire time. They really were a cute couple.

"Of course, I'm joining you. I'm not going to turn down spending an evening with one of the greatest Fashion minds of our generation."

"I'll tell her you said that."

"DJ has told her that many times." Claire reminded herself to ask Justin more about his summer with DJ and Daniel. She really wants to know how that went.

"Tyler, do you have a passport?" Vivian asked.

"Yes. I have one from when we visited Alexis and DJ in the spring."

"Monique and I want the kids to get more overseas experience. They're going to mode Paris and London in October. Matt will be their chaperone because I'm unavailable, but you can go as well. I will take care of all arrangements. I'm sure you want to see your nephew and other brother again."

"You don't have to." She knew that Tyler was uncomfortable accepting large gifts, and this was definitely an enormous gift. Especially from someone he really didn't know.

"I want to. I'm willing to do anything to help Austin get to know his new family members better. Being away from New York might help with that."

"It would be great to have someone else with us," Matt added. "I'm going to be working half the time. Part of the reason I'm going to London is to see if Player will be workable in the UK as a web edition."

"That's right. Monique mentioned that." During their check-in meeting the day before. "She doesn't want to do hard copy magazines anymore because she feels that the market is changing, and that's not where we'll be in 10 years." Claire had a feeling that Monique might be right.

"My daughter has always been ahead of the curve," Vivian said proudly.

"Tyler, you should go. Besides, that's about the time the babies are due. You should be there to see your nieces and nephews. I would be there if I could." Claire seriously doubts that she will get to London before Christmas.

"I'll consider it," Tyler responded simply as he returned to his omelet.

To be continued…