Research had led him to his career of choice.
With a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from California University under his belt, he had accepted an entry-level job steeped in research with the British Library when he had returned to London the second time.
From there, he had worked his way up until he had secured a position as an archivist, sans the usual necessary postgraduate degree and with only a few courses he could easily balance with his then-girlfriend's fickle schedule.
Overtime, handling a plethora of documents from throughout the centuries, he had decided that he, too, would become a writer.
His then-wife, newly pregnant with their oldest daughter, had supported that decision.
Neither of them had known then the levels to which his novels would take off in the future, or that he would become an honored guest speaker at the same British Library where his career had begun.
All they had known at the time was that he had loved to write and, in writing, loved to research.
Research had been much simpler then, or perhaps it had been simpler in London.
The research he was presently conducting had hit a snag.
That snag had not been helped in any part by the president of the fertility clinic, who had left a voicemail response detailing her appalment at Dylan's hypothetical question.
"Frankly, how you could even question that of my facility is atrocious," she said. "I will direct you toward the numerous journal articles that have rated our facility as…"
Dylan had deleted the message.
People had clearly forgotten the meaning of hypothetical.
He sat through traffic, trying to get to Callie's game as the information Donna and David had told him scrolled in the way of a marquee through his brain.
That led to thoughts of his encounter with Gina the previous afternoon, when she had dropped in unwelcome to his office.
"I thought they sacked you," he had said, not bothering to look at her.
"I've come to get my stuff," she said. "I will be suing the company over this contract breach, I hope you know."
"Do," said Dylan. "I'd love to see the court's face when they learn that you were sacked for sexually assaulting your client."
"You have no proof of that," said Gina.
"I'll find a way," said Dylan.
"No one will believe you. No one believes you now. Your own wife doesn't even believe you. Maybe if you hadn't cheated so much, including on me and…didn't I hear something about you cheating on her, back when you were teens? With Kelly? Funny, isn't it; you cheating on me and Brenda, both with Kelly. No wonder Brenda doesn't believe you. She knew you would've done this eventually. If it hadn't been with me, it would've been with someone else. Probably Kelly. Old habits and all that."
"You don't know anything about my relationship with my wife. As you have been told, your services are no longer required, so do kindly get the fuck out of my office."
"Our baby's kicking," said Gina.
"Babies do that," said Dylan.
"Don't you want to feel?"
"I do want to feel, Gina." Dylan had clenched his stack of papers until he had been in danger of receiving several papercuts. "I want to feel my wife clench around me. I want to feel my wife dig her nails into my back. I want to feel my wife's breaths against my neck as she screams my name. I want to feel the taste of her tongue as I quiet her so we don't wake our daughters down the hall. Do you get the picture?"
"You're making a mistake, Dylan. You'll never have that with Brenda again, but you can have that with me."
"All I want from you is a maternity test."
"We already did the paternity test and it confirmed you're the father."
"Not a paternity test," said Dylan, "a maternity test."
"Those don't exist," said Gina.
"Oh, but they do," said Dylan.
"I am not putting my child and my body through another test."
"If the kid is yours, there's no reason why you shouldn't agree to a maternity test when he or she is born," said Dylan. "Now I will ask you to leave again, or security will do the honor."
"You're gonna pay for this, Dylan. I swear you're gonna pay."
"You can't do anything more to me than you've already done. Now get the fuck out."
She had stood there the entire time, without once telling him about her little run-in with Brenda.
Brenda hadn't told him, either.
He may not have been made aware of the encounter at all, if it hadn't been for Ruby Silver's penchant for gossip magazines and David's glimpse at the cover tossed onto his doorstep before his daughter had the chance.
Dylan took the bleachers two at a time, nodding a silent greeting to the other parents as he scanned over the crowd for Brenda.
"What'd I miss?" he asked, settling in beside her.
"Nothing," she said. "They're just warming up. You took longer than I thought."
"I took longer than I thought, too," said Dylan. "Brought you cheese fries." He held out the bag. "It isn't chip shop curry, but it'll do."
"Thank you," said Brenda as she accepted the bag. "I'm starving."
"Didn't you grab dinner?"
"Yeah, Steve took me to Jack in the Box, but I'm still starving."
Dylan permitted Brenda to enjoy her fries without further commentary.
He drew her back into his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"They're peeking through," he said.
"They can't be peeking through," she said. "I'm wearing a hoodie."
"Well, they are, and people might be wondering why you're wearing a hoodie on a nice evening like this. So I'll just keep my arms around you in case someone notices and tips off the paps before we've told the gang, should I?"
"I guess," she said.
The twins were peeking through; to those aware of Brenda's pregnancy.
That was a minute, unnecessary detail.
Dylan took the opportunity to snatch a whiff of Brenda's hair.
She had switched shampoos. He would have to commit the new scent to memory.
He tried to follow along with the score.
Soccer, unlike baseball, had never been Dylan's sport, but as his youngest was enamored with it, he had attempted to learn the rules of the game.
Brenda had picked up on it much better and Dylan used that excuse to get Brenda to whisper to him how Callie's team was doing.
"We're going to talk, Bren," he said when the teams had broken for their break.
"We did talk, Dylan," she said.
"You did the talking. It's my turn."
He gestured in the direction of the truck.
"We have fifteen minutes before the second game," he said.
"I suppose I can give you fifteen minutes," said Brenda.
He would have picked her up and carried her into the truck if she hadn't approved.
"You thought you had me, didn't you?" he said. "You really thought you had me; hook, line, and sinker."
"I don't know what you're on about."
"I know you ran into Gina," he said. "I know whatever she told you must be the reason for your little subterfuge today."
"What are you –"
"Don't lie, Bren. You suck at lying, if you haven't prepared first. Is there a reason you didn't tell me about Gina?"
"Is there a reason you know about Gina?" Brenda shot back.
"Our friends in the media," said Dylan. "Would seem Gina took her lies to print."
"The – the media knows about you and Gina?" Brenda paled. "How? We were able to keep that out of the press all this time and now…"
"Oh no," said Dylan. "No, no, no. The media doesn't have a clue about the lie Gina's spread about me."
"You said Gina's lies –"
"It's a different lie. But the lie isn't important because anyone with half a brain will know it's shite. What's important is the picture." Dylan took out the picture from where he had stashed it in the glovebox. "Let's examine who's in this picture. You have Gina, there's Val, I see Silver and…who's this? My wife? My lovely, normally forthcoming wife, who conveniently forgot to tell me she ran into Gina?"
"I – I didn't want to worry you."
"No, instead you tricked me."
"I didn't trick you."
"There I was, stood utterly gobsmacked that the woman I'd chosen years ago to commit my entire life to, to make the mother of my children didn't know me at all, when the whole time, you were proving just how well you do know me, baby." Dylan spoke closer into Brenda's ear. "You knew that if you poked at my pride enough, if you wounded it just enough, you would get me to cave. Because that was always our downfall, wasn't it? My pride. Except we're not eighteen, Bren. We're not twenty-three. And baby, I don't know what Gina told you, but whatever she told you, I can still promise it's a goddamn lie. You are my first choice; hell, you're the only choice. You are the greatest love of my life and I will never, ever accept a divorce from you. Ever."
"But you said –"
"I know what I said. I was under duress from my wife's performance. And then I got to thinking, Bren. I thought, does she really think any of that shit or was the whole thing just a giant act? But what I didn't consider was your diagnosis, the depression. And having suffered from depression myself, I know the shit the depression demons can tell you. I know how they get you to thinking things you never would normally, things you know are blatantly untrue but things they make you question anyway. So I choose to believe you don't believe anything you told me. I choose to believe you know you haven't competed with a ghost. You can try to divorce me, but I ain't signing those papers."
"I had hoped we could make the divorce process as smooth as possible, but if you're gonna be like that…"
"You bet your arse I'm gonna be like this. I ain't giving you up just like that, Bren, no matter how much you keep attacking my pride."
"I'll assume the arrangement's off."
"Oh, it's still on. I'll still stick to it, for now. I guarantee you that by the time these two are ready to come out, you'll be begging to be in my arms. Begging, baby. And I'll be right there, ready to catch you when you start to run home, because you and I? This marriage? We're irrevocable."
"I thought you understood that I don't want to fight with you, that I don't want to put our children through a messy divorce."
"The only way this divorce won't get messy is if you don't file for it. Because I'll fight, Bren. I'll fight like hell to keep that ring on your finger and to put my family back in our home. I'll fight to get you through your depression, the way you always fought to help me through mine. I didn't marry you on a whim, baby, and I'm not gonna let you divorce me on one, either. The day you became a McKay, you sealed us, and the sealant hasn't faded yet. It ain't ever gonna fade."
The end of the team's break signalled their return to the bleachers.
"I want to be clear that the only reason I'm allowing you to sit beside me right now is to put on a united front for Callie and the only reason I'm letting you hold me is to cover the twins," Brenda whispered. "There is no reason the press needs to learn about the difficulties between us and until we are ready to announce our split, we will continue to put on a united front in public."
"Are you asking me to act like we're still together?" asked Dylan. "Wouldn't that be lying? Aren't you so against lying that you've let an entire seventeen-year marriage become affected by one little lie?"
"If you'd rather the press find out and splash it across the tabloids –"
"A united front in public. Got it."
"If they're peeking out as much as you say they are, we will have to tell the others soon."
"Entirely dependent on your schedule. I'm pretty open."
"And I suppose you can be there when I tell the producers, to help with the façade."
"Just tell me the day and I'll put it on my calendar."
The first half of the game had gone well for Callie's team.
The second half, not so much.
Though Callie successfully scored a number of goals, she was the only one of her team to do so.
She stood out on the field; shoulders slumped, chin down, disappointment marring her normally cheerful features.
Having never been inclined towards competitive team sports himself aside from the brief time in his early childhood when he announced to his father that he would become a pro surfer, Dylan never understood Callie's tendency to choose to carry the weight of her team's loss.
"Cal's berating herself again," said Brenda.
"She shouldn't," said Dylan. "She was the best one out there."
"I'm going to go talk to her coach," said Brenda.
"Alright," said Dylan. "I'll be here."
He never engaged in small talk with the other parents.
He never engaged in any small talk, if he could help it.
His mobile vibrated in his pocket.
With Adrianna at the dance, Brenda stood out on the field before him, and Callie not far from her, Dylan didn't have any inclination to answer his mobile.
The vibration persisted, stopped, then started again.
Dylan pulled out his phone.
Are you with Brenda?
He ignored the text.
McKay! I asked if you're with Brenda!
Dylan McKay does not recognize text messages from people who have blocked his number and expressly said they will not communicate with him unless it is dire, Dylan texted.
He also does not accept messages from former mates who think he would put his kid in danger by becoming inebriated when she's sleeping, Dylan added in a second text. Regards, fuck you, sod off, thank you, and don't come again.
It's about Adrianna, came the reply.
"What happened to my daughter?" Dylan demanded.
"I've been trying to get through to Bren," said Brandon on the other line.
"She's talking to Callie's coach," said Dylan. "Didn't plan on talking to her this long, but they seem to have hit it off." His gaze settled on Brenda. "What happened to Adrianna?"
"You'll want to get over to Steve's, immediately," said Brandon. "Kel and I are headed over there now. She's talking to Val and I think Silver – is he with her, Kel? Yeah, Silver's with her. Donna's already over there."
"I'll get Bren and head on over after we make sure Cal's set for her sleepover tonight. Tell me what happened to my daughter."
The last time he could recall the arctic claws of fear gripping him that violently, he had been awaiting news of his wife and infant daughter after he had been shut out of the surgical room.
Fuck Brandon's bad timing for making Dylan be the one who had to tell Brenda.
"Cal's all set," said Brenda.
"I'm just – just," Dylan scratched at the back of his head, "I'm just gonna go – to Cal. Yeah."
"Dylan? What happened? Why do you look like you fell into a can of white paint and jumped out slathered in it?"
"I'll see Cal off," said Dylan. "Don't – don't look at your mobile."
"Why not?" asked Brenda, holding her mobile as she had prepared to do just that.
"Because even though – even though I don't want to – you, you gotta hear this from me," he said. "Don't look at your mobile. Put it in your purse and ignore its presence. Promise me."
"Okay," said Brenda. Her brows furrowed together. "I promise."
Dylan approached Callie more trepidatiously than he should have if he didn't want Callie to catch on to his muddled mindset.
"Daddy?" she asked.
"Have a great time tonight, Little Fish," he said. "You played a great game."
"But we lost," said Callie.
"Only by a handful of points," said Dylan, "and you were by far the star of the field. You know your mum and I love you whether you lose or win, don't you?"
"Of course, Daddy."
"And your sister does, too, even if she isn't the best at letting you know."
"Daddy…"
"Your mum and I have to get going, Cal, but I'll be by Christy's tomorrow to pick you up, okay?"
"Okay," said Callie. "Are you alright, Daddy?"
"Fine, baby," Dylan forced a smile as he bent down for a warm embrace intrinsic to his daughter. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Daddy."
It may have been the first time he had ever lied to his kid.
He swore to himself that he wouldn't make a habit of it.
"I didn't look at my mobile," said Brenda as Dylan tore back over.
"Good," said Dylan. "Callie's off with Christy, so you and I are headed out."
"Ade said she'll probably stay at Ruby's, so I figured I'd go over to my parents' since both of the girls will be gone," said Brenda. "Dad; he's not your biggest fan right now, but I did get him to agree to be civil to you, for the girls. I'll feel out how he'll take the news before we tell them."
"You aren't going to Jim and Cin's," said Dylan. "We're going to Steve's."
"Steve didn't mention anything about an afterparty and I'm not up for more socializing tonight."
Dylan opened the door of the truck for Brenda and helped her up to her seat.
"Bren, listen," he said as he started the engine. "There – at homecoming, there was – an – an incident –"
"What kind of incident?" asked Brenda.
"I – I don't know; it would seem – would seem that Adrianna, that she might have – the – the kids took her over to Steve's; he – he has Ryan doing some tests –"
"Tests? Why is our daughter doing tests? Dylan!"
"Bren," Dylan waited for a red light to briefly turn and intertwine their hands, "I need you – I need you to try to not get too upset, okay? Because I know it'll upset you; I don't think I ever knew this shade of red existed until now, but our – our twins; they – they need you to – to somehow hold onto some pretense of calm…"
"Dylan!" Brenda yelled again. "What happened to our daughter?!"
"It would seem," Dylan gripped on tighter to Brenda's hand, "it would seem someone intended to roofie her, Brenda."
Brenda blanched until she lacked more color than a windowsill.
"What do you mean, intended?" she asked in a microscopic voice.
"They were only halfway successful," said Dylan.
"In what way?" asked Brenda.
"In the way that our daughter is high as the Burj Khalifa," said Dylan, "and according to what Sanders told your brother, we might need to buy that Shirazi kid a new pair of shoes."
She hadn't spoken a word since he had told her.
She continued to be absent of language as she thrust open the door of the truck, hopped down, and flew towards Steve's door.
Dylan had to practically leap across the driveway to keep up with her.
"I want to see my daughter," said Brenda as she burst in.
"Ryan's in with her now, honey," said Donna.
Spotting the other teenagers waiting, Brenda went to them.
"You did the right thing," she said as she pulled all the Walsh kids into a simultaneous embrace. "Bringing her here; that was the right thing."
"She is going to be okay; isn't she, Auntie?" asked Ruby.
"She is," said Dylan. "If I know my little girl, she'll bounce back from this in no time. Like Bren said, you did the right thing. Thank you for bringing her here."
"I just wish I knew what she'd been slipped," said Kai.
"We'll know soon enough," said Naomi.
"I wish I would've stopped her in time from getting something slipped to her," said the kid Dylan somewhat recognized as Shirazi.
"You did stop her from getting out of the car when she wanted to climb Grauman's," said Ruby.
"She wanted to climb up the stairs of Grauman's?" asked Kelly.
"Scale the building," said Naomi. "She was convinced it was the Eiffel Tower. We all stopped her, but –"
"Navid literally held her back," said Ruby.
Brenda shared her profuse gratitude with Navid, the kid Dylan had correctly identified by his surname only.
"Should we go, Mr. McKay?" asked Dixon.
"You can call me Dylan, Dixon; it's fine. And no, you don't have to go."
"Oh my God, Dylan McKay knows your name and oh my God, Brenda McKay is standing right over there," said a girl Dylan didn't recognize.
"My sister," said Dixon apologetically. "Be cool, Annie," he hissed.
"A fan, I take it?" asked Dylan.
"Probably your biggest fan on the planet," said Dixon, "and definitely Mrs. McKay's biggest fan; but now's not the time, Annie."
"Annie?" Brenda turned in their direction. "And did you say Dixon?" she asked Dylan.
"Friends of Ade's from school," said Dylan.
Brenda asked for the surname of Annie and Dixon.
"Er – surname?" asked Dixon.
"She's wondering your last name," said Brandon.
Wilson, Brenda was told.
"Is your mum Debbie Wilson?" asked Brenda.
Dixon and Annie confirmed that Debbie Wilson was indeed their mother.
"I'm going to need to ring her," said Brenda. "I'll need to explain why she won't be needed on set tomorrow, and I'll have to contact set to explain why I will not be there tomorrow."
"You don't have to do that, Bren," said Dylan. "I can do that."
"And we'll let our mom know," said Dixon.
"You just try to sit until you can see Ade," said Valerie.
"I can't sit," said Brenda. "I need to do something."
"Sit," said a harmony in triplicate.
"You and Val just agreed with Dylan," Kelly told Brandon.
"Is there something you aren't telling us?" asked Donna.
Ryan Sanders popped out of a room, causing everyone to spring to their feet.
"How is she?" asked Dylan and Brenda, as one.
"Adrianna will make a full recovery," said Ryan. "About what time would you say this occurred?" he asked the teenagers.
Around eight o'clock, said Navid.
"I suspect Adrianna will be riding out the high until morning," said Ryan. "I think she got the tremors out before I arrived," he told Steve.
"Good," said Steve. "Those terrified the kids. And me."
"Tremors?" Brenda shivered.
Dylan grasped her shoulders.
"I've given her something to help her sleep it off," said Ryan, "and she shouldn't be too badly affected by the remaining side-effects. You said she was hearing colors?" he asked Steve.
Steve confirmed what he had previously told Ryan.
"We want to see her," said Dylan, barely listening to the exchange between Ryan and Steve until Steve's confirmation registered in his mind. "Sorry, did you just say Adrianna was hearing colors?"
"Yeah," said Steve. "She was telling the kids all about how the colors sound."
"Scared the shit out of me," said Naomi.
"I didn't know blue sounds like caterwauling, but I guess that makes sense," said Kai. "Though Navid had to explain what caterwauling is."
"Yellow sounding like a submarine, though? Don't know if I buy that one," said Dixon.
"I like that purple sounds like music," said Ruby.
"Hearing colors?" asked David, looking straight at Dylan. "Ade – she – she was hearing colors?"
"Hearing colors," said Dylan. "She was hearing colors."
"That motherfucker," said Dylan and David.
"What?" asked Brenda. "What is it?"
"David?" asked Valerie. "What was she given?"
"LSD," said Dylan, at the same time that Ryan explained, "Adrianna's drink was laced with LSD."
"Oh God," said Brenda. Her hand flew to her mouth.
Dylan caught her as she teetered forward.
"I'm calling a PTA meeting first thing Monday morning," said Donna, "and I'll be looking into how the distribution of LSD could be permitted at the dance. A group of us will ensure the superintendent is made aware of this and it'll never happen again, Bren; I swear."
"When you find out more information, Don, let me know, because I think this kind of thing is just what the paper wants to cover," said Brandon.
"Can both of you wait to jump into action mode?" asked Kelly. "Brenda needs comforting."
"I'm comforting her just fine," said Dylan.
Brenda reached out her hands to Brandon and Valerie, who took Brenda's hands respectively.
"I – I know you don't like to talk about it," Brenda started, attempting to maintain control of her voice. "Either of you."
Dylan continued to hold onto Brenda's trembling body.
"If it'll help Adrianna for me to relive when Emily laced my drink, I will," Brandon assured her.
"And the same for me," said Valerie.
Dylan thanked them both.
The adults congregated out of earshot from the teenagers.
"This shouldn't have happened," said Brenda. "Not to our little girl."
"She's going to be okay," said Dylan.
"You don't know that," said Brenda. "Adrianna's never done drugs before. She's never even drank before. She chose to refrain from both of those, because she knows the struggles you've had with them, and now she's given LSD? Of all the drugs, it had to be fucking LSD? What if she liked the high she experienced? What if she wants more of it? What if she wants to figure out what magenta sounds like, or fuchsia; periwinkle, violet? Fucking chartreuse; she might want to know the sound of chartreuse!"
"I'll bring her with me to one of my meetings if it'll make you feel better," said Dylan, "but riding out a trip one time doesn't mean Ade is going to become an addict, Bren."
"I want to know who did this to our daughter, Dylan. I want a name and I want an address. Now."
"The kids are convinced it was Ty Collins," said Steve.
"Not little Ty Collins from Naomi's preschool?" asked Kelly.
"The very same," said Steve. "That Shirazi kid says he saw Adrianna dance with Ty, and then after, she became like this."
"What is this; revenge for kicking him off the track team?" asked Brandon. "He purposely goes after your niece?"
"You kicked him off the track team?" Kelly asked Steve. "But he was such a sweet little boy."
"People change, Kel," said Brandon. "Not always for the better."
"It's gotta be more than that," said Steve, "or he would've gone after Ruby as soon as I kicked him off."
"He'll be dead before he tries to go after my daughter," said David.
"I don't care why he did it," said Dylan. "I care that he did it. Get me this Ty Collins' fucking address and then we're gonna drop in for a little midnight visit."
"That'll be difficult," said Brandon, looking up from his mobile.
"Maybe for you, Walsh, but there's no address I can't track down if other people can't," said Dylan. "I'm just a little busy over here right now to look it up myself."
"I just got an alert from the paper," said Brandon. "We were tipped off about an accident over on Mulholland."
"Do you normally get tipped off about accidents?" asked Brenda.
"We do when the individuals are related to prominent members of the community," said Brandon.
Dylan had to resist from throwing Brandon's phone.
"You're telling me this kid just happened to get critically injured in a car wreck immediately after he drugs my daughter?" asked Dylan. "No. That's too damn convenient."
"Adrianna's been drugged," said Brenda, looking at Valerie. "The person accused of drugging her is now in hospital –"
"With possible brain trauma," said Brandon.
"Of course he's got possible fucking brain trauma," said Dylan.
"And your husband allegedly knocked up Gina, which he is adamant that he did not do," said Valerie.
"But the test results say otherwise," said Brenda.
"You gotta tell him, Bren," said Val.
"Tell me what?" asked Dylan.
"I can't," said Brenda. "It's too much."
"Either you tell him, or I will," said Val.
"But you promised!" said Brenda.
"I didn't know Adrianna would get drugged at homecoming if I promised!" said Val. "Coincidentally with a drug that starts with an L!"
"We – we don't know that that has anything to do with why Ade was drugged."
"We also know there's a gigantic possibility that it has everything to do with why Ade was drugged."
"Are you getting any of this?" Steve asked Brandon.
"Not a clue, man," said Brandon.
"Tell me what?!" Dylan exploded.
Brenda played with the sleeves of her hoodie.
"There," she said, "well, you see, I've been getting – they didn't seem that big a deal, at first; I, I just thought it was another nothing burger; it certainly wouldn't have been the first time something turned out to be nothing –"
"Brenda, I'm going to need you to be more coherent than that," said Dylan, his patience balancing a thin tightrope.
"I've been getting these notes," said Brenda.
"What kind of notes?" asked Dylan.
"You tell him," said Brenda. "I can't."
"Someone's been accusing Brenda of stealing their life," said Valerie.
She explained the ticket Brenda had received in the movie theater and the message written across it.
Brenda drew out another message from her purse that she had not yet disposed of, the one that claimed LL's kitten claws were coming for Brenda's life.
"See now this; this is the kind of thing you tell the father of your children," said Dylan, "especially when said children live with you."
"I – I didn't want to concern you if it was nothing," said Brenda, "and until the ticket, LL largely seemed to be keeping the children out of this."
"Well, it clearly ain't nothing, Bren!" said Dylan.
"Right," said Brandon, "I'll get on it and figure out who this LL person is. Have they given you any clues, Bren?"
None, said Brenda.
"I've tracked down some of the world's most concealed terrorists," said Brandon. "A couple of well-placed calls and this should be a breeze."
"So you're telling me there's a chance that this Gina thing could be connected to LL," said Dylan. "Then I think someone owes me one massive apology," he announced to the room.
"You haven't been cleared just yet," said Brandon.
"I'm not apologizing 'til you are," said Valerie, as Steve agreed with her.
"What can we do, Bren?" asked Kelly and Donna.
Brenda told Donna to go ahead with the planned PTA meeting and discussion with the superintendent, to prevent future students from suffering the same ordeal as Adrianna.
"If you could just ask Erin – I mean, Little Silver – to look out for Adrianna whilst Ade is at school," Brenda mentioned to Kelly.
"Of course, Bren," said Kelly.
The McKays went in to see their daughter.
Finding her sleeping soundly, they both took a seat beside her.
"You should have told me, Bren," said Dylan.
"Like you told me about your drink?" asked Brenda.
"Are we really going to compare the two?" asked Dylan. "We don't know how dangerous this LL is!"
"You're right," said Brenda. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
She scraped her fingers through Adrianna's hair.
"I'd insist on you and the kids moving back in with me –" Dylan began.
"I was afraid you'd say that," said Brenda.
"- but if there is a possibility that LL may know where Val lives, then there is an equal possibility that LL may know where I live," said Dylan. "So for the time being, I will still agree for you to live elsewhere. If at any point your choice of location becomes uncomfortable, you have to tell me, Brenda. If you think it's nothing, you can pretty much count on it being something."
"I will," said Brenda.
"And we will need to find you a place that is equally as close to Sanders' as it is to mine and your brother's," said Dylan. "Val, too, if we can. I need the certainty that all the muscle in the gang is close enough to you and the kids if you need it."
Dylan stroked Brenda's arm with one hand as his other hand did the same to Adrianna's.
"This would not have happened if we were back home," said Brenda.
"You are not going to blame yourself for Adrianna getting drugged," said Dylan.
"You've said repeatedly how we should have never left London," said Brenda.
"People get drugged all over the world, Bren. It could've happened if we'd stayed."
"But it wouldn't have happened like this," said Brenda.
"I meant what I said. Ade will bounce back. She always does." Dylan looked at the time. "Why don't you try to catch some Z's? I'll wake you when our girl wakes."
"I don't think I'll be able to sleep," said Brenda as she concealed a yawn.
"Alright, on my lap," said Dylan.
"What?" asked Brenda.
"When you were carrying Callie, you'd always fall asleep on my lap," said Dylan. "Climb on."
Brenda hesitated.
"It ain't gonna bite you," said Dylan.
"I have to be further along for that to work," said Brenda.
"You might as well give it a try."
"This – this doesn't mean anything."
"It means the twins need you to catch some Z's and Ade needs you to be fresh-faced when she opens those beautiful eyes of hers," said Dylan.
"It means you're right where you belong," he added in an undertone as Brenda peacefully slept on his lap mere seconds after she had relocated to it.
As much as he had fought to stay awake himself, he must have faltered at some point, for Dylan awoke to see Adrianna staring at him.
"Hey, kiddo," he said. Tears caught in his throat. "How you feeling?"
"My head hurts," said Adrianna, holding her head.
"That's to be expected," said Dylan. "What do you remember about last night?"
"Not much," said Adrianna. "Did I bang my head?"
"I think – I think it's better if you hear about this from your aunt and uncle," said Dylan. "They, uh, have experience with this kind of thing. So – so do I, but theirs; it's different."
"Mum's on your lap," Adrianna observed.
"Yeah," said Dylan, glancing at Brenda, "she is."
"Does this mean you've changed your mind about letting her go?" Adrianna croaked.
"Ade, I'll never let your mum go," said Dylan.
He offered to fetch Adrianna some water before realizing she had a bottle beside the bed.
"Are you disappointed in me, Daddy?" she asked.
"How could I be disappointed in you, baby?" asked Dylan.
"Callie's the one who worries you and Mum with medical things like this," said Adrianna. "Not me. I'm supposed to be the healthy one, the one who's never broken a bone even when I got bucked off my horse and fractured my arm."
"You are the healthy one," said Dylan. He reached over Brenda to grasp Adrianna's hand. "You just chose the wrong person to dance with, that's all."
"The wrong person to dance with?" asked Adrianna.
Brenda stirred.
"I was just about to wake you," said Dylan, pushing Brenda's hair back behind her ear.
"How is she?" asked Brenda in her sleep-addled voice.
"See for yourself," said Dylan, lowering his arm.
Brenda hustled over to Adrianna.
"Mum," Adrianna cried on Brenda's shoulder.
"There now, sweetheart." Brenda rubbed Adrianna's back. "Mum's here. Everything is okay. You are okay."
"I'm sorry, Mum," said Adrianna. "I don't know what I did, but whatever I did that put me in this state, I'm sorry for it."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, love," said Brenda.
Dylan took a moment to watch his girls before going into the living room to retrieve Valerie and Brandon.
"Thanks," he told Steve, "for letting us crash here last night."
"Wasn't a problem," said Steve. "This place is plenty big enough."
"Did the kids go home?" asked Dylan, looking around.
"Just the Wilson kids," said Steve. "Kel brought them home. Naomi and Ruby stayed over. How's our girl?"
"She's o – o – she's okay," said Dylan.
He hadn't realized how close he himself had come to buckling until Steve held him upright.
Dylan sobbed against Steve.
"We could've lost her," Dylan sniffled. "Bren and I – we could've lost our daughter."
"But you didn't," said Steve. "The McKays conquered another battle."
"You gotta – you gotta let me know how I can repay Ryan," said Dylan, drawing back to wipe at his face with the back of his arm.
"Already offered," said Steve. "Ryan wouldn't take a payment for this."
"This doesn't mean we're good," said Dylan. "I'm not gonna forgive and forget what you told me when you heard about Gina."
"And I'm not entirely convinced you're telling the truth about her lying," said Steve.
"But you did help my daughter," said Dylan. "So I do owe you a tremendous debt for that."
"Don't worry about it," said Steve. "I was just being an uncle."
"The way you've been a brother to Bren," said Dylan.
"Just had to stop being yours in the process," said Steve, almost apologetically.
"If you felt you had to choose between Bren or I, I'm glad you chose Bren," said Dylan. "'Cause she needs all the support she can get right now."
He found Brenda sitting cross-legged in the hallway.
"Maybe shouldn't do that," he said. "They're really peeking through when you do that."
He hadn't fibbed, that time.
"Ade's in with Bran and Val," she said, stretching out her legs. "Val's talking to her right now, about Josh and Noah. Did you know about that, when you came back?"
"Learnt about it when you did," said Dylan. "I should head out to pick up Cal."
"Thank you, Dyl," said Brenda. "For last night. I – I don't know if I could've gotten through it without you."
"I'm your husband, Bren." The great love of your life, as you are mine, he added inwardly. "And Adrianna's father. It's my job." He squatted beside her. "You did the same for me, you know. I couldn't have gotten through it without you, either."
If one good thing had come from the disaster of the previous night, it was the way Brenda didn't flinch when Dylan ran the dorsal side of his hand against her cheek.
He thought she may have leant into his touch, if only for a moment.
"Where am I bringing Callie?" he asked.
"She might as well stay with you," said Brenda. "Ade and I won't be returning to Val's until Ade is given the complete, one hundred percent clear."
"Should I bring Cal by to see her?"
"I'll let you know if Adrianna feels up to it."
"I don't really want to leave her, Bren."
Or you, he again added internally to avoid initiating an imbalance in their pleasant conversation.
"You aren't," said Brenda. "I feel more comfortable with Callie staying with you than entrusting her to anyone else at present and we both know Adrianna will not want Cal seeing her like this."
"Any chance the quickening's happened yet?"
"Asking if the quickening's happened won't make the quickening happen any faster."
"Can't blame a guy for trying."
Dylan made Brenda swear that she would text him with any updates, however small they may seem.
Checking his mobile whilst waiting for Callie, he spotted a text that had fallen by the wayside.
I told Val, David had texted.
How'd she take it? Dylan texted back.
Man, don't worry about it, wrote David. I sent that before I heard about Ade. You can just ignore it.
Silver, say what you would've said last night.
She didn't believe me.
There's a lot of that going around. Want me to talk to her?
Let's let it go for the rest of the weekend, but if you could talk to her sometime this week, that would be great.
Because of how much you don't want Val? Dylan couldn't stop himself from texting.
I told you. She can help us, and I won't get another fucking juice cleanse. Did you tell Bren what Don and I told you?
Shit. I forgot all about it.
Easy to do. If Ruby had been in Ade's place…
How is Ruby? Steve said she spent the night.
She's pretty spooked, but...
Yeah. I'm glad the kids were around Ade. I keep thinking about what could've happened if they weren't.
It didn't happen, bro. Just focus on that. It didn't happen.
It didn't, but LSD still did.
LSD, from LL? That's got to be a first name L, last name L kind of thing, doesn't it?
That's the assumption.
Steve and David had both attempted to figure out what LL the McKays could know.
All Sanders could think of is Lydia Leeds, and we're like ninety-nine percent sure it isn't her, David texted.
Ninety-nine? Dylan texted.
The other one percent is because she's met Bren, so we know she knows Bren at least exists. But Lydia's pretty well-known herself, so she wouldn't be accusing Bren of stealing her life. Could it be someone Bren knows from London, or maybe someone she's met from elsewhere?
I thought of that, but the only LL's I know of are some of Bren's closest friends abroad and they have no interest in acting, marriage, or children, which is
Bren's entire life, David's text finished up Dylan's.
Whoever's accusing my wife of stealing their life, Dylan texted, I want them found and dealt with before they hurt another one of my girls.
I take it you aren't just talking about the kids.
You know me well, Silver.
Would you really do it, McKay? Would you really off someone?
If it's the only way to protect my family? Absolutely.
Same way I feel about mine, including Val. But don't tell her that, considering she showed exactly what I mean to her and I clearly mean very little.
Secret's safe with me.
Dylan acted as normally around Callie as he could.
The weekend dragged on, filled with constant texts to Adrianna and Brenda both.
Facebook came in handy with their video chat service that Adrianna had in FaceTime on her iPhone and Dylan lacked the ability to connect to on his Android.
Brenda asked if she should reschedule their appointment with the realtor. Dylan told her to keep the appointment.
"I think Adrianna's nervous to see you," said Brenda in their chat.
"What does she have to be nervous about?" asked Dylan.
"She feels like she let you down."
"Did you tell her she doesn't have to feel that way?"
"I tried, but it didn't help. Maybe you can drop in before we meet with the realtor."
"I'd like that. Other updates?"
"Are you going to ask about the quickening every time we talk?"
"Quickening means I have a greater chance of feeling them and when I start to feel them, I get to be around more as per our deal, so yeah; I'm gonna ask."
"They might be moving around in there, but I'm still not feeling it," said Brenda.
Though he had expected as much approaching their fifteenth week, he hadn't seen the harm in asking.
"Any more notes?"
"I've not been into work."
"But if you get them –"
"I'll tell you. I know. Learnt my lesson."
Callie was thrilled to reunite with Brenda, almost as thrilled as Brenda was to reunite with Callie and Dylan was to see Adrianna.
"Your mum says you're worried you let me down," said Dylan.
"I wish she hadn't told you that," said Adrianna.
"I meant what I said, Adrianna. You haven't disappointed me and you haven't let me down. What happened the other night; it was not your fault, in any way, shape, or form."
"That's what Uncle Brandon and Aunt Val said, but I drank those bottles, Daddy. No one forced me to drink them."
"Did you know they were laced with LSD?" asked Dylan. "Did you drink them with the sole intention of wanting to experience LSD?"
"No, of course not, but…"
"Then you aren't responsible," said Dylan. "Sometimes Brandon and Val latch on to wise words and in the infrequent moments when that happens, you should listen to them. Is this why you've not wanted me to come around 'til now?"
That had been more to do with Callie, said Adrianna.
"Could you try being nicer to your sister?" asked Dylan.
"If she tries being nicer to me," said Adrianna. "But I did tell Mum I'd try to row with Callie less."
"That's something, I suppose," said Dylan.
"I never knew Uncle Brandon or Aunt Val went through that," said Adrianna. "Were you around when they did?"
Dylan said he had been around for Brandon's, not for Valerie's.
"I took Brandon to one of my meetings afterwards," he said. "I could take you to one, if you; uh, if you think you could use it."
Adrianna said she would consider it and let him know.
"I love you, Ade," said Dylan. "There isn't anything you can ever do that'll make me love you less."
"I've never screwed up like this before, Daddy. Ever," said Adrianna.
"What did I tell you?" asked Dylan.
"That it wasn't my screwup," said Adrianna. "Yeah."
"I mean it, Adrianna. You did not fuck up. Okay? You didn't."
"I guess." Adrianna's response laced with more than a hint of doubt.
Having agreed to sit for the girls, Brandon and Kelly popped in with Naomi, the latter of whom immediately headed for Adrianna after offering a quick hello to her aunt and uncle.
Kelly went to check on Brenda.
"A couple of well-placed calls and it should be a breeze?" Dylan asked Brandon.
"Less of a breeze than I expected," said Brandon, "but I am working on it. It would help if I had some kind of inkling who this person could be."
"Bren assumed it was one of my overly obsessed fangirls, which is the excuse she gave for why she didn't tell me initially."
"You do have some scary fans," said Brandon, "but this sounds more like one of Brenda's enemies than someone connected to you."
"The problem is, I can't think of any enemy she might have other than maybe Emily Valentine," said Dylan, "and not only does Emily not have LL in her name, but I don't think even she would go this far. And as much as I detest Carson, he's not going to go around writing x's on notes. His style is much more direct."
"Plus he'd be accusing you of stealing his life," said Brandon, "not her."
"He has accused me of stealing his life," said Dylan, "repeatedly. But whatever else I can say about him, he ain't gonna target Bren like this."
Brenda had not been without her occasional career rival, but no one Dylan had met would have stooped to such lengths.
It frustrated him that his wife and children had been put into potential peril and he didn't have a clue who could have been causing it.
Whoever it was must have helped Gina.
He was certain.
He purposely made the hunt for Brenda's new house difficult, pronouncing the first house too quiet; the second, too cacophonous. The third lacked a pool.
"We don't need a pool," said Brenda.
"The girls might want a pool," said Dylan.
The fourth had too many floors.
"What's wrong with a multilevel?" asked Brenda.
"Do I need to remind you how much you struggled with climbing our stairs when you hit your thirty-fourth week?" asked Dylan. "Do you really want to be running up and down the stairs reminding the girls to get their laundry done when you get to that point now?"
"A single-level, please," Brenda told the realtor.
The fifth didn't have enough bathrooms.
"You aren't sharing a bathroom with the girls," said Dylan.
Brenda asked why not.
"Because in your twenty-fifth week," Dylan began.
Brenda cut him off.
"I'll need at least two bathrooms," she told the realtor. "Three would be ideal."
The sixth didn't have enough bedrooms.
"The kids will be cramped," said Dylan.
"Now you're reaching," said Brenda.
The seventh; the seventh, Brenda declared was perfect.
"No," said Dylan.
"It's a single-level, isn't it?" asked Brenda.
"Yeah, but –"
"And it has a pool, doesn't it? Two bathrooms?"
"Not enough bedrooms."
"Says there's three."
"There can't be three."
"Three, and space to add on a fourth. It's equi-distant from you and Brandon, close to Val and Steve, nearby to the girls' schools. It isn't too quiet, or too loud."
"Well no, but it's…"
"You keep asking me to come home. This was always home."
"Bren, you can't live here."
"It's for sale. It meets all your criteria. It's closer to the studio than all the other homes we viewed today. And I lived here before."
"Yeah, but so did –"
"Kelly and Toni. I'm aware. Donna even lived here herself at one point, didn't she? And I'll assume you probably had Val in here, too."
"There are plenty of other houses for us to check," said Dylan. "You don't have to find one on the first day."
"And you'll probably come up with just as many objections to those," said Brenda. "If this was good enough for you, why isn't it good enough for me and the kids?"
"We broke up here," said Dylan. "I told you I cheated here. We fought over my fucking bike here, which we never would've done if I'd known then that you didn't actually hate bikes, instead of learning so years later. Why would you want to live here?"
"Because this place has history," said Brenda, "the girls' history. And it has character. Did you know it was built in 1909?"
"Yeah, so? Our old home was built in the sixteenth century."
"My great-grandmother set sail from Cork for Minneapolis in 1909," said Brenda. "It's almost like this place was meant to be. And for all the bad memories, there were plenty of good, too."
"Too good," said Dylan. "Like when we made out there." He pointed. "And hooked up there." He pointed to another area of the room and began to walk through the house. "There, there, there, over there, in there, under there, and on top of there…right proper shagging over there…it's amazing you didn't get knocked up from the one we did over there…"
"I always loved this place," said Brenda. "It was my place before it was any of the others'. And I'm taking it back." She called over the realtor. "I'll take it."
"Where am I supposed to sleep when I drop in overnight?" asked Dylan.
"In the living room," said Brenda. "You probably spent many nights in the living room."
"Most of which were with you."
"Then you're perfectly accustomed to sleeping in the living room," said Brenda, unfazed.
"Much more accustomed to sleeping in the bedroom, also with you," said Dylan.
"So you'd rather I sleep on the futon in the living room and you sleep in the bed?"
"Very funny. You don't have a futon."
"I could buy one and put it there, for old times' sake."
For all his objections, Dylan didn't hate the thought of his family living in the old bungalow where he had been given his first opportunity at domesticity.
What he hated was that they would live there without him.
Temporarily, he told himself. It's only temporary. Brenda and the kids will be back with you in no time.
You know she's only buying the bungalow as payback for all the half-assed objections you made to the other perfectly fine places.
Well-played, Mrs. McKay. Well-played.
She might think she has control of the board, but I know which of her weaknesses are easily exploited.
"I don't remember the back garden being this nice," said Brenda, leaning against the open screen door.
"It wasn't," said Dylan. "Previous owners must've fixed it up. There definitely wasn't a pool."
"Your bike sat there," said Brenda, gesturing to the porch.
"I could put another bike there," said Dylan, gathering Brenda's back against his waist. "Get one for Ade."
He dropped his lips against the nape of Brenda's neck, in neither a kiss nor any sort of romantic gesture so that his lips only rested against her skin.
"She's – she's wanted one," said Brenda in the voice Dylan knew she got when he was turning her on.
"But how would you feel about that?" he asked, moving his lips to the other side of her neck to repeat the same non-action. "Our girl getting her own bike?"
"As long as she practices safety and doesn't go too far on her own," said Brenda. "She'll need a motorcycle license, of course, but if you want to start teaching her to drive, I don't see a problem with that."
"I'll take her to get her permit when she's up for it," said Dylan.
He moved his lips up to Brenda's ear.
Her hand jumped to her side.
"What?" Dylan instantly removed his lips. His hand linked to Brenda's.
"Just a little ligament pain," said Brenda. "I'll have to get used to this again."
"Twofold," said Dylan.
"Don't remind me," she said.
"Sorry," he said.
"I'm gonna get way bigger than I was with Callie, and I was already massive then."
"Better than being underweight, like you were with Ade. And you'll still be increasing in beauty each and every day, as you have since the moment we met."
"Don't say things like that."
"You want me to be honest; that's honest."
Kneeling before Brenda, Dylan slid his hand along her curve to see if he could pick out each twin.
"You still aren't gonna feel much," said Brenda.
"I know," said Dylan. "Can't feel them yet, but I can tell that they're there."
"They should be," said Brenda, "otherwise my boobs have gotten fucking sore for no reason and fuck, this hoodie is warm."
She unzipped her hoodie, displaying the shimmering silver camisole she wore underneath.
"You've got some nice cleavage going on there, babes," said Dylan. "Would be a shame if it wasn't properly admired."
He tucked his face into her cleavage, again leaving it perfectly still.
Brenda froze.
Keeping one hand on her abdomen, Dylan slowly rolled his other hand up Brenda's body until it settled against her chest.
Just as he had expected, her heart had hopped onto a travelator and her eyes longed to take flight – with him.
"Mrs. McKay? I have the papers here. If you just go ahead and sign them, we can put in the offer."
"Yeah," said Brenda, shifting her eyes away from Dylan as she zipped her hoodie back up, "yes, let's, uh; let's do that."
Brenda offered an earnest payment to the realtor.
"Will that be cash or card?" asked the realtor.
"Cash," said Brenda, pulling out more than several thousand dollars from her purse, cash she had earnt on her own accord.
Dylan recalled their first flat together and how Brenda had insisted on figuring out how to make ends meet to pay more than half of the rent herself, despite his ability to pay quadruple the entire rent and her inability at the time to secure a steady acting gig.
He wondered what his twentysomething self would think of him now.
Dylan dropped Brenda off at Valerie's, satisfied that he had tortured Brenda to an equal or greater degree than she had tortured him.
"How'd the house search go?" asked Valerie.
"Did you just – did Valerie Malone just speak to me without throwing out an insult?" asked Dylan.
Valerie fake laughed.
"Just want to know how long I have left with Bren 'til she moves out," said Val.
"She put in an offer on the old bungalow."
"I can't have heard you right. Did you say Bren put in an offer on your old bungalow?"
"It was available and she wanted it," said Dylan. "Hence the offer."
"So she's moving on from you," said Val, "and she's chosen to live in your old place?"
"I'm glad you've noticed how illogical that is," said Dylan.
And that Bren's only done it to torture me, Dylan told himself.
There was always the possibility that the owners would accept a different offer and Brenda would resume scheduling appointments with realtors.
A possibility indeed, but her name did carry plenty of recognition and for all Dylan knew, the owners could have considered themselves Brenda's biggest fans.
"Almost as illogical as the shit David spewed," said Val.
"Would that be what I asked him to do?"
"You expect me to believe you asked him to fake it with a woman you profess to not like whatsoever?"
"If he convinces Gina they're in love, she's more likely to open up to him," said Dylan. "The more Gina spills to Silver, the more likely the truth will come out and when the truth comes out, I get my family back and we McKays are one again. It's really quite simple, Val."
"So David wasn't pulling my leg," said Val. "And I'm supposed to keep this from Bren why?"
"Because we both want Brenda to have as little to do with Gina as possible, don't we?"
"Fuck yeah we do. The woman is nuts and there's no reason Bren needs to be around her."
"Okay, so now imagine if we do tell Bren and she runs into Gina and Gina starts getting confrontational…"
"Yeah, Bren would probably let it slip. But I could easily let it slip, too."
"Silver was no longer gonna do it unless he could tell you."
Valerie asked the reason.
"Do you really not get how he feels about you?" asked Dylan.
"Don't start," said Val. "I've already been through this with Bren. How exactly am I supposed to help David with this whole Gina thing? Pretend David and I are a thing so it drives Gina mad with jealousy?"
"Silver was convinced you could help. I'm sure you'll think of something. And do it fast, Val, because my wife is pregnant, our daughter was given LSD, the guy I should've been able to shred to pieces for doing it is in fucking hospital, and I need to know what Gina knows about this LL who's set their sights on my family. I need LL taken care of, yesterday, and it seems Gina holds the key to LL's identity."
"I guess I'll see what I can do," said Valerie.
"Gonna head out," said Dylan.
"But you don't want to."
"Of course I don't want to. It's what Bren wants and I'm respecting her wishes, for now."
"For now? So you think she'll change her mind."
"I know my wife, Val. She's obstinate, she's hardheaded, she gets these ridiculous ideas like convincing herself she's able to separate from me. May take weeks, may take months, but at the end of the day, Bren's gonna change her mind. Just wait and see."
"Awfully confident there, McKay."
"Val, if the universe wanted Bren and I to sever our relationship, she wouldn't be knocked up again," said Dylan. "Between that and the girls, I have the perfect excuse to be around and the more I'm around, the more Bren will realize how much she longs for me: mentally, physically, emotionally."
"We'll see," said Val. "Might be a better idea if you try to move on."
"Except I ain't ever gonna move on from her, and if the bungalow is any indication, Bren ain't gonna move on from me, either. She'll accept that. In time."
"As long as you're aware you may be setting yourself up for disappointment."
"Just get Gina to spill everything."
It wasn't until later that night that Dylan realized he had, once again, neglected to tell Brenda what he had been informed about Gina.
About her stay in a psychiatric institution and the inquiry that had begun to gnaw at Dylan of whether Gina had met LL within that institution, neither of which David nor Donna had known the name of.
Gina's threat came flying at him, a threat that in all the chaos he hadn't considered since she had made it.
His mind jetted off.
Had Gina been responsible for Adrianna's drugging? Had she targeted his daughter to get revenge on Dylan? Had she asked LL for help enacting her revenge?
Were there two mentally unstable women working together, with their sights set on his family?
Would those two women live to see the day if they directly came after any of his family again?
Was he becoming a bit more like his departed father than he would have liked to be?
Could his excellent research skills help him to determine the identity of LL when Brandon's connections had thus far failed to do so?
He had to figure out which institution Gina had been in and somehow gain access to its records.
If the press could do it, why couldn't he?
Could the press do it? Should he work with his mortal enemies to save his family?
How could he go about contacting the press without drawing attention to Brenda?
He would start by hiring a private investigator to follow Gina around and use the press only as a last resort.
No one who drugged Dylan's daughter and harassed his wife would get away with it, even if that meant following in the much-loathed footsteps of the calculating Jack McKay that Dylan had sought his entire life to sand over.
No one.
-x
I just love the idea of Bren taking back the bungalow, ha. Of course, there's always the possibility that another offer will come through and she won't get it...
NEW-ISH BD VID UP AT WISHUPONADREAM91 ON YT, IG, AND TIKTOK.
Sources: Google, Google Images and the websites for American Addiction Centers, CAMH, FRANK, iMumz, Mount Sinai, Tommys, Zillow (ironically, I wrote three bedrooms and two bathrooms prior to confirming that the real home of Casa McKay does indeed have three bedrooms and two bathrooms.)
(Shout-out to KJ to express my continued gratitude and appreciation, as well as those of you whose review I could respond to directly. Thank you, KJ! Since the ninth season made a point of showing Dylan's nightmares were only about Toni despite having lived with Brenda in London for over two years, you know he would've had to have some about Brenda, eventually. Absolutely! I think Ade is most excited believing the twins can bring her split parents back together, but she'd also like a less annoying sibling and she believes she'll find it in the twins. That social media conversation took off as soon as Steve mentioned the word Facebook and Ruby told him no one uses it! Lmao then it was like, okay, what is the gang more likely to use? The only one that got left out is Tumblr because that's probably more one of the teens' thing than the gang's, though I could somewhat see Dylan on Tumblr. And you know he probably had a Livejournal. Great job guessing it was Kai! I love the idea of Val and Steve strengthening their bond through that and I frequently picture Steve as a single father. I don't know why; I just do. That doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a love interest waiting in the wings for him, though...)
Thanks a million! x