New City, New Life

[Demeter]

Mercedes peered over the edge of the bed to look at the poor, bewildered girl. She turned to look at Elise. "Nothing much. I just told her that I wanted to be around when all the fun started. That's when she fell of the bed," Mercedes looked down at the girl. "Pretty silly, if you ask me. Floors are fine and dandy but not all that great for having fun. Beds are so much better, wouldn't you agree?" She asked Elise before scooting up and kneeling in the center of the bed. She stretched before nudging Brielle's legs over the edge and sliding down to the floor herself.

Once she was down on the floor, Mercedes stretched out along side Brielle and smiled at her. She reached out one finger and stroked the curve of her cheek. "So pretty. Elise is pretty as well," she said to Brielle and half turned to smile up at the other woman. "We both want you, you know. The question is do you want both of us? On some level you're open to it but how well do you share? I would never force you, of course, but that doesn't mean I couldn't convince you to test things out," she said right before leaning over to kiss Brielle.

Up on the bed, Elise cursed. Mercedes didn't have any tolerance for wine and, thanks to the decade she was a slave, such things as wine and other impairing substances stayed in her system for far longer than they should while encouraging her to toss any inhibitions and common sense to the wind. She'd only seen this happen once before, when a old friends of Mercedes had been in town and they popped open several bottles of wine. The friends had gone back to their hotel room, pleasantly affectionate with each other, while she'd been left with Mercedes the drunken Octopus. It had taken considerable skill to pry the woman from her and Teacup had been enlisted to keep her in bed. By that point they'd been sleeping together as more than friends and she'd known that Mercedes would hate herself in the morning if she'd let things go on. Grumbling, because this wasn't going to pleasant, Elise climbed out of bed and went around the side to pull Mercedes away from Brielle.

Mercedes would hate herself if this was allowed to continue. She knew that the vampire would never cross the line but she might end up losing Brielle's trust if this unexpect advance continued. She pulled Mercedes away from Brielle, grunting when the woman wriggled about. "So very sorry about this, Brielle. She really doesn't mean to be so forward but she's still drunk. Can you do me a favor and run into her room for some pajamas and her cell phone?"

Elise remembered the morning after the Octopus event. Those old friends had shown up, both a bit gritty eyed and hung over. One of them had pushed past her and hauled Mercedes into the bathroom. And that is just what she did now. Struggling with the woman, Elise got her into the bathroom and stripped down to the skin. And, because she knew that if she didn't join her, Mercedes would try to crawl away, Elise stripped down as well. She shoved Mercedes into the large shower stall, took a firm grip on her arm, and blasted them both with cold water.

The howl from Mercedes could have woken the dead. Elise held the woman under the icy spray until she finally just went limp. Changing her grip to a more supportive one, Elise turned the water off. She lowered Mercedes to the floor and sighed as the woman just sat there. Shaking her head, Elise stepped out to see Brielle standing in the bathroom.

Inside the shower stall, Mercedes curled into a corner and sobbed. She would have never hurt anyone but the wine and how it affected her, well that didn't reason away her actions. She was sure she would have stopped if Brielle had forced the issue. Wouldn't she? Mercedes shook her head; this wasn't the first time she'd acted like this. Or had the decade she'd spent with the Neris turned her into just as much a monster as them. When Elise stepped back into the shower and wrapped a thick towel around her shoulders, the mostly sober Mercedes clung to her. "Romi. I want Romi," she whispered to her dearest friend. The Neri scion would be able to set her straight again.

[Maira]

The more Mercedes spoke, the more certain that Brielle was that she was still quite drunk. Brielle's hungover head was starting to pound, especially thanks to its contact with the floor, and she missed a lot of what Mercedes said to her. When the other woman nudged Brielle's legs off the bed and then crawled off to lay on the floor with her, Brielle just watched her curiously. She had a feeling where things were going, and Mercedes was right, Brielle was open to trying out a relationship with a woman. After a bit more talking, and some gentle caresses on her cheek, Brielle wasn't that surprised when Mercedes kissed her. What surprised her was her angry reaction to Elise hauling Mercedes off of her. She nearly hissed at the redhead when she started asking her to get some things for her and then dragged Mercedes off to the bathroom.

Grumbling as she did it, Brielle got some pajamas from Mercedes's room and her cell phone before heading back to the bathroom. She wasn't quite there yet when a howl slammed into Brielle's ears, causing her pounding head to explode in agony. She staggered a bit, leaned against the wall until she could get her bearings, and then finished the short trek down the hall to where she knew the other women were. She walked in just in time to see Elise exiting the shower.

The sight of Mercedes curled up on the floor of the shower, sobbing, broke Brielle's heart. She didn't know the history behind the woman's break-down and frankly, at the moment, she didn't care. All that mattered was that somebody she considered at least a friend, and potentially something more, was hurting and she had never been one to just be able to ignore a friend in pain. Brielle handed the pajamas and cell phone to Elise and then ignoring the fact that she was going to get soaked in the process, Brielle walked over and sat down in the shower with Mercedes and wrapped her arms around the woman. She knew she ran warm because of her lynx side, and she was able to borrow from Hellcat the ability to purr, so even though she wasn't sure it was the right thing to do Brielle kissed Mercedes on the cheek and let a silent rumble form in her chest. It always made her feel better when Akasha purred while sitting or laying on her so she hoped that maybe it would have the same effect for Mercedes.

Elise watched Brielle with Mercedes and smiled softly. Well that answered that question. Even though Mercedes had been drunk, Elise knew Mercedes had meant everything she'd said to Brielle because they had talked about it already. Apparently Brielle had caught the truth in the words as well and this seemed to be the younger woman's way of telling at least Mercedes she was interested. Elise would have to wait her turn and find out her answer later. For now she needed to call Romi and she hurried to find his number in the contact list. Normally she wouldn't leave Mercedes alone in her current condition but she was strangely certain that Brielle was up to the task of managing her and would inform her if anything changed. Walking out of the bathroom as the phone started to ring, she muttered quietly, "pick up, pick up, pick up," before Romi finally did just that and she blurted out before he could do more than answer, "Mercedes needs you, she's drunk, get out to Bayou House."

[Demeter]

Between the two women, they'd gotten Mercedes dried off and tucked into bed. With Teacup stretched out against her back, Mercedes waited for Romi to show up. Dispite the comfort and tender care of Elise and Brielle, it would be Romi's blood that burned out the remaining dregs of alcohol from her system. She sniffled and buried her face against her pillow. She hated being out of control like that. It reminded her too much of "that time."

Brielle and Elise were down in the house, straightening up and feeding the part-timers before those two hit the road back to New Orleans. And, bless her lucky stars, Romi was in New Orleans and heading up. After Elise had all but drowned her in the shower, it had been Brielle who'd comforted and calmed her down. Even if she wanted it, Mercedes would still have to aplogize to Brielle for jumping her.

It was Brielle who entered the darkened room, carrying a tray of tea and toast. Mercedes scooted up and looked up at her. "Your probably hung over as well. I'm sorry about this morning. I never intended for that too happen. Not like that, anyways."

***

Romi shoved his sunglasses up and stared up at Bayou House. He turned to Lucus and sighed. "She must have had a lot on her mind to get drunk enough to need me. Elise's blood would be strong enough to burn out a mild drinking binge but if she needs someone of the Neri line, and there are blasted few of us left who wouldn't reclaim her as a slave, she must have gone on a serious bender."

Holding Lucus' hand, he took the front stairs two at a time and knocked on the door. When Elise answered the door, she ushered him upstairs before taking Lucus back to the kitchen for some brunch. Romi knew where Mercedes' room was and he barely knocked before opening the door. He blinked at the sight before him. Logically, he knew that Mercedes was interested in women but there was something familiar about the young woman cuddling and kissing her softly. He blinked again when he recognized that young woman as Theiry the Theatre Hottie's daughter. "Brielle?" he questioned, still standing in the doorway.

[Maira]

After they had gotten Mercedes tucked in bed with Teacup, Brielle and Elise had gone downstairs to tidy up a bit and feed the other girls who were finally stirring. Once there was food, Brielle snagged a couple pieces of toast and some soothing tea and put them on a tray and took it upstairs to Mercedes. Elise watched her go and, though she was grumpy she had to deal with the part-timers instead of comforting Mercedes herself, she was glad that Brielle was willing to take care of her. Trying not to be rude, Elise made it pretty obvious that as soon as they had eaten the other two girls were to leave as Mercedes was ill. They had left only a short while before and she had just finished tidying up from breakfast when there was a knock at the door. She tossed the towel she'd been drying dishes with onto the counter and jogged to the door to let him in.

Lucas and Mercedes had met before, they were even on rather friendly terms. He had, however, never been to her home in the bayou. As they pulled up he couldn't help but gawk a little. It was a very impressive house and the grounds and surrounding bayou were nothing to sneeze at either. When they got out of the car, Lucas took Romi's hand in his to soothe the older vampire. They had been together long enough that most of the time he was pretty good at reading the other man and ever since he'd gotten that phone call from Mercedes's dragon (Elise was it?) Romi had been one big walking ball of nerves. He listened as his lover spoke and just squeezed his hand to signal he'd heard, and then let himself be dragged up the steps to the door.

The redhead that answered the door to Bayou House, Lucas was pretty sure, was Elise and when Romi just left him to go straight up to Mercedes, Lucas held out a hand to introduce himself. "I'm Lucas, nice to meet you." Elise smiled warmly at him and shook his offered hand. "Would you like some coffee or tea Lucas? They might be a while. I can show you around Bayou House while we wait if you want." Lucas nodded and answered, "Coffee and a tour would be great, thanks."

As soon as she had entered the darkened bedroom, Brielle had heard Mercedes scoot up in bed. She wasn't sure if she was happy the other woman was awake or if she'd rather her have been sleeping. Sleep might have made the time until her friend got there easier. When Mercedes tried to apologize Brielle scoffed, "There is no need to be sorry, I didn't run away screaming did I? Things never seem to work out quite like they're supposed to around me so I'm always used to surprises. Can't say I've ever had quite a surprise like you and Elise, but I've gotten very good at letting life take me where it wants. At the moment it seems I'm meant to at least get to know you two better, if something develops that's more than friendly then so be it."

While she had been talking to Mercedes, she had gotten the tray situated on the other woman's lap and then she had crawled up onto the bed with her. When Mercedes just stared at the toast for a moment rather than eating it, Brielle said softly, "You know, it does you more good if you eat it." Apparently that had been the wrong thing to say because Mercedes was sniffling again. "Oh hun, I'm sorry, don't get upset again!" Brielle shushed quietly and wrapped one arm around Mercedes and kissed her on the cheek and the temple and the shoulder trying to calm her.

That was how they were when the man walked in. Brielle had been distracted and surprisingly hadn't heard him even enter the room but when a familiar voice said her name, a question clear in his tone, Brielle looked up. "Uncle Romi?" she asked, just as curious to see him here as he probably was to see her.

[Demeter]

Romi would have to deal with the surprise that was Brielle later. After all, he was having a hard time imaging Theiry's little girl as the same person currently in Mercedes's bed. He shooed Brielle out the room, saying he'd talk with her later before turning to the woman on the bed. Walking towards the bed, Romi unbuttoned and rolled up the right sleeve of his shirt. He sat down on the bed and nudged Mercedes. "Go on a bender, did ya? Come on, let's get you fixed up." Romi bit his own wrist and waved it in front of the woman. The smell of blood got her attention and soon she was feeding from him.

And she must have starved herself, he thought when he pried his arm away from her. It would explain why things had gone this far with her. He got the woman settled and went downstairs. He found Elise, Lucas, and Brielle in the kitchen. He sat next to Lucas and held the man's hand. "She's sleeping for the moment but that should do the trick."

He turned to look at Brielle. "I'm surprised to see you here, Brielle. Your father said you were down here but I didn't expect to find you here, at Bayou House" he glanced between Brielle and Elise. He looked at Elise and pointed at Brielle. "Was it the same as last time with you, when she was Octopus-Mercedes?"

When Elise nodded and indicated that Brielle had been the victim of Octopus-Mercedes, Romi looked at Brielle. "I'm going to let Mercedes tell you here story but I'm warning you that it isn't pretty. What happened to her still affects her today, in many ways. One of which is that when she hasn't fed in a long time things like alcohol, cause her to be less inhibited. While I'm sure that whatever Mercedes had planned for you would have been enjoyable for you, she would have hated herself after words."

[Maira]

Brielle was still a bit in shock that Romi was standing in the door of Mercedes's bedroom when the man walked in and started shooing her out of the bed. Before she knew it she found herself out in the hallway staring at a closed door. After only a moment of awkward staring she turned and made her way downstairs to find Elise. She had figured that Elise would be in the kitchen but when she didn't find her there, Brielle just puttered around making her coffee and some toast for herself and then took a seat at the little table. She was just finishing off her first piece of toast when Brielle heard voices and Elise, accompanied by another familiar man, waltzed into the kitchen. Before he could see her, Brielle piped up, "Hey Lucas, you and Uncle Romi having a good visit to New Orleans?"

The older man stopped in his tracks and cocked his head to one side in surprise and curiosity. "Uhh... What're you doing here Brielle?"

Brielle couldn't help herself and laughed, "Uncle Romi was a bit shocked too, its okay. I work for Mercedes and she had everybody from the shop out here for a weekend getaway."

And, as if that was all the explanation that was needed, Brielle went back to her toast and coffee. Lucas just stared at her for a moment before turning back to Elise who was watching him funny. "What?" he asked the redhead quietly. When she just shook her head and wandered back over to the coffee pot for her third cup, Lucas joined Brielle at the little table.

It wasn't too long before Romi joined the trio in the kitchen and he started talking to both Brielle and Elise. Lucas didn't mind being ignored as it gave him a chance to watch how they all interacted. Clearly Romi knew not only Brielle but Elise as well, and the girls seemed at least somewhat familiar with each other though not nearly as well. He even sensed a bit of attraction between them but they both seemed to be trying to hide it so he just ignored it.

Once Romi turned his attention from Elise back to her, Brielle felt herself blushing slightly. "Uncle Romi, I don't think... I mean... Mercedes is my boss and my friend. Nothing more." The last, even to her, didn't sound exactly true. But as nothing had actually been talked over while both of them were sober she wasn't exactly lying.

[Demeter]

Romi resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at Brielle. "I'm not going to judge or say anything but I know what went on here and, since you are still here, I'm going to guess that you weren't too offended by Mercedes. Besides, friends with benefits are great fun," he turned to Elise. "Mercedes should be out for a few hours more. I'll take off now and just call me if you need any thing else."

He and Lucas left then, heading back towards the city. In a few hours, Mercedes, her hair a tangled mess and looking less put together then normal, shuffled out of her bedroom. She found the other two women out on the back veranda and talking about the brood. She crawled onto the cushioned porch swing and cuddled close to Elise. She sniffled once, her head aching from poor sleep and too much wine, and looked at the to women. "Well, I totally screwed up the weekend, didn't it? Sorry about earlier, Brielle, sometimes these things happen. I'll have to tell you about it later today."

Mercedes cuddled close to Elise and looked at Brielle. "I'm sorry this morning happened like it did. I wanted to tell you of my," Mercedes paused and looked up at Elise, "our interest in you."

[Maira]

The more Romi talked, the more Brielle blushed, and the bigger Elise's smirk grew. The brood/alati hybrid had witnessed Brielle's tenderness with Mercedes, she knew better than to believe what the girl was saying and from Romi's raised eyebrow he didn't believe her either. Hoping to ease Brielle's obvious embarrassment at the confusing situation, Elise slipped a hand to rest on the girl's arm in a show of support.

Lucas took the hint when Romi said it was time to go and got up and put his coffee mug in the sink. He then walked over to Romi, snagged the man's hand with his own and then waved goodbye at the women as Romi lead him out the door.

After the two men left, Elise and Brielle finished their coffee and toast and then just sat at the little table in silence for a while before Elise asked, "So, you wanna learn more about Brood?" Immediately Brielle perked, dragged from her confused thoughts about Mercedes and Elise, and turned to the other woman to answer, "Of course!" After that, the two of them moved out to the back veranda where they talked until Mercedes joined them.

When Mercedes shuffled over to where Elise was sitting on the swing and snuggled up to her, Brielle watched silently. She wanted to talk to the other woman alone but there was just something about her bearing that made it clear that wasn't going to happen right now. Instead she just waited until the older woman spoke.

Elise slipped her arm around Mercedes when she snuggled up next to her on the swing and she too waited to see what Mercedes would do. When she finally spoke, both Elise and Brielle listened carefully. Brielle wanted to object when Mercedes claimed that she had ruined the weekend but she couldn't really get a word in since Mercedes just kept talking. Then when Mercedes told her that she had wanted to talk to Brielle about her and Elise's interest in her, Brielle's skin flushed pink.

It took all of Brielle's self control not to look away from the two women on the swing, and what she saw in their eyes made her both nervous and curious at the same time. After a moment, and before she could think herself out of it, Brielle got up from the rocking chair she'd been sitting in and went to squeeze in on the swing next to Mercedes. She took Mercedes's nearest hand in her own and squeezed it gently before twining their fingers. She hadn't looked at either of the women while she took Mercedes's hand, but once she had she first looked at Mercedes and finally told her, "You didn't screw up the weekend Mercedes. Things happen. Gods know I'm normally the one causing problems." She couldn't help but smirk at the memories that surfaced with that confession. Then she shared her gaze between Mercedes and Elise and she told them, "I don't really know what is going on between us, or what I'm feeling, but whatever it is I'm not going to ignore it." Only after she spoke did Brielle's nerves catch up with her and she felt slight tremors start in her hands. She hoped that Mercedes wouldn't notice but at the same time she was certain that she would.

[Demeter]

The rest of the afternoon was spent as peacefully as possible. Mercedes, once she shook off the fog that had clouded her mind, spent it in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. The cooking calmed her and once she'd stuffed Brielle and Elise with calorie laden food, they gathered in the comfortably shabby living room and Mercedes told Brielle about her past.

She explained that things like alcohol and other mood-altering things affected her greatly because of her past and her inhibitions were lost. She even told Brielle that somewhere out there she had three children but she didn't know where they were and she wasn't sure she had the right to know where they were. She'd never tried to find them.

After the tale, Mercedes and the other two women just relaxed for the evening. She'd long since gotten over what had happened to her but she could tell that Brielle was having some trouble coming to terms with it, which wasn't surprising. So, Mercedes decided to try and distract her.

"So, you enjoyed what happened this morning?"

[Maira]

Brielle was familiar with the concept of people having a hard past. Many of the people either related to her or associated with her family in some way shape or form had hard pasts. But hearing about what Mercedes had gone through chilled Brielle more than she thought possible. She couldn't imagine having lived through what the other woman had and was grateful, not for the first time, to have grown up in the family she had. Even if they all seemed downright crazy at times.

The food filling her belly did nothing to distract Brielle from Mercedes' story and it wasn't until the other woman asked her pointedly if she'd enjoyed what had happened that morning that Brielle snapped out of the funk she was slowly slipping into. Quite against her will, Brielle's cheeks flushed a light pink and she heard Elise laugh softly off to her right. Brielle shot the dragon/alati hybrid a quick glared before turning her gaze to her now fidgetting hands.

"I'm not exactly sure what I think about this morning, honestly. It was flattering but its new territory for me. Like I said earlier, whatever it is I'm not going to ignore it." As she spoke, Brielle's words became more sure and by the time she was done she was actually able to look Mercedes in the eyes. Then, with another small surge of embarrassment she admitted, "I did like it when you kissed me."

[Demeter]

Mercedes grinned at the young woman. "I remember this morning. I enjoyed kissing you as well. Elise told me that she's enjoyed kissing you as well. I meant it earlier when I said that we were both interested in you and we share very well. We'll can move as fast or as slow as you want, if you want us as well."

****
They returned to the city, Elise included, the next day. On any given day over the next several months, Brielle could be found with either woman. One day she might have been doing a ritual with Mercedes or tagging along on one of Elise's photography assignments. The relationship between the Lynx and Mercedes moved slow but what they shared was deep. What Brielle had with Elise was very physical but the deeper, intimate connection was growing. Elise gad confessed that she had every intention of bonding with Brielle, if the girl agreed to it.

Then on a cold, wet January day, a call came into the shop from East Oregon. Mercedes had picked up and, curious, took the phone out to where Brielle was restocking shelves. Coming up to her, Mercedes ran a hand down her arm. She took the candle from her hand and replaced it the phone. "There's a lawyer from Oregon calling for you," she said and took over restocking the candle shelves.

[Maira]

Even though she was still more than a little confused at the direction her life had taken, Brielle was really really happy with it. She liked spending time with each of the women who had seemingly claimed her in their own ways, Mercedes as a serious girlfriend and Elise as a friend with benefits. Her relationship with each of the women was developing completely differently and Brielle was quite surprised. She'd never really thought about how different all of her relationships in the past had been but looking back now she could see just how different they all were.

On one of the days that she was working in the shop with Mercedes, the other woman brought her the phone with a slightly curious, slightly confused look on her face. When she told her that it was a lawyer from Oregon calling her, Brielle understood the mixed emotions on her girlfriend's face. She took the phone, greeted the lawyer and confirmed that she was indeed Brielle Sakura Mori, and then listened as the man on the other end turned her life upside down.

By the time she hung up the phone, Brielle was in a daze and just stayed sitting where she'd plopped in the nearest comfy chair. It took a moment for Mercedes to realize that Brielle was actually off the phone but once she did she excused herself from a customer and sat in the seat nearest Brielle's, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. It was the pressure on her hand that finally brought Brielle around. She turned to look at Mercedes and just as she was about to open her mouth to explain, the bell above the door dinged and in walked a cold, soggy Elise.

The dragon/alati woman took no time to realize that something was up in the shop. It took her only moments more to realize that the upset was pouring off of Brielle in waves. Not wasting any time, the redhead hurried over to where Mercedes was sitting next to Brielle, holding her hand reassuringly.

With the two people she cared about most right there with her, Brielle took a deep breath and then said in a rush, "Turns out that my biological father and his wife died in a car wreck two days ago, thanks to bad weather, and the lawyer was calling to inform me that I stand to inherit one third of the family ranch in eastern Oregon. The other two thirds are going to my older half-brother, and my younger half-sister." It was the last part that really shocked Brielle. Why she hadn't thought it even a possibility that her biological father might have other kids, Brielle wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was feeling strangely abandoned in favor of two other kid she'd never met.

As an after-thought she added, "I'm supposed to fly up to Oregon so I can either sign over my portion of the ranch, or actually claim it. If I do neither, my portion will go to the bank and since the last thing any grieving kids need is to lose part of their home to a stupid bank, it looks like I'm taking a trip to Oregon to sign some papers."

[Demeter]

Mercedes glanced at Brielle and Elise, She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that means that we are going to Oregon." She cast a sly glance at Brielle. "What's the weather like this time of year?"

While Elise made the travel arrangements, Mercedes arranged for a friend and her part timers to watch the store and Teacup, along with Akasha. With their flight leaving in the morning, everyone stayed at Mercedes' apartment. While Elise was experimenting in the kitchen, Mercedes sat with Brielle in the living room.

She was squished into the corner of her L-shaped couch with Brielle cuddled up against her. While she half-listened to the banging in the kitchen, and wondering just what the hell they were getting for dinner, Mercedes looked down at Brielle. She'd be awfully quiet since the phone call. "Brielle, are you okay?"

[Maira]

Elise was a pro at booking airfare and hotels, thanks to her job, so without even being asked she just jumped right in and bought three open-ended tickets to Oregon as well as reserved them a three night stay (with option to extend) at a nice hotel in the town nearest the ranch. By the time she got off her phone, Mercedes was already talking to the part-timers about watching the shop and to some friends about watching Teacup and Akasha so Elise went back over to Brielle and sat on the arm of the chair she was in, sliding her arm around the girl's shoulders. "Wanna go get your stuff from your apartment Brielle? I think I overheard that Mercedes is calling in both of the other girls so that you can both leave and get ready for the trip."

Brielle looked up at her friend, still dazed from the phone call, and nodded slowly. Elise nodded once and then hailed Mercedes, "Hey, I'm taking her to her place to get her packed. We'll meet you at the apartment once she's done." At the nod of understanding from the vampire witch, Elise slipped off the chair and helped Brielle out of it, then lead her out into the downpour to her SUV.

*****

After she'd packed, and repacked, everything she'd need for her unplanned trip Elise had hauled Brielle's suitcases out to the SUV and then drove them both back to Mercedes's apartment. Elise had a bag of clothes always packed and ready in the back of her SUV, in case she had to travel on short notice for work, so she didn't even bother going back to her place. Plus, if there were anything else she might need she could get it from her stash in the corner of Mercedes's closet.

When the two women arrived at the apartment above the shop, Mercedes was pacing back and forth between the door and her bedroom as she packed and kept an eye out for them. Finally, when they walked in she abandoned packing for a few moments to get Elise started working on dinner of some sort in the kitchen. Brielle barely even registered the the other two women's actions and she just went to the couch and sat numbly on the edge of it. Apparently she must've looked in need of comfort because Mercedes came over and sat down in the corner of the L shaped couch and dragged Brielle into her to snuggle.

She wasn't sure just how long they'd sat like that, Brielle might have even taken a bit of a nap, but when Mercedes asked if she were okay, unwanted tears finally slid from her eyes and down her cheeks. She hid her face in Mercedes chest as she answered in a grief stricken whisper, "I don't know."

Brielle hadn't even known the man and his wife, didn't know their kids, and yet something inside of her felt broken. Was it that she'd never met him? Was it that he'd chosen his two other children over her? Was it that the first time she was going to be meeting her siblings was because their dad was dead and now the two of them were going to know he'd cheated on their mother? Something about the whole situation just felt wrong, and Brielle was pretty sure it was her own existence that was the cause of it. She'd not been wanted, she'd been a product of cheating, and she would likely get forgotten as soon as all the official paperwork was dealt with. After all, family was the people you wanted in your life and the people who wanted you in theirs and her biological father had clearly never wanted her as a part of his family. She'd never felt so much like an unwanted accident in her life.

*****

The morning came early and Brielle hadn't wanted to get out of where she'd snuggled between Elise and Mercedes all night. But the plane was going to leave with or without them and much as she was dreading going, Brielle really needed to be on that plane.

The flight was uneventful luckily and Brielle snoozed most of the way there. As soon as they were on the ground in Oregon and had gotten their luggage into the rental car, Brielle made a call to the lawyer and let him know. He was very pleasant and gave her an estimate on just how long of a drive the three of them had until they reached the town closest to the ranch. They made an appointment for the following afternoon so that Brielle could recover from travelling before being subjected to the mountain of papers than came with signing away her inheritance. In parting, the lawyer mentioned that because it was a transfer of property from her to her siblings, her older half brother would also be present to sign for him and their little sister. At that news, Brielle quietly mumbled, "Oh, okay I guess that makes sense," and then she'd hung up on him. Brielle relayed the conversation, and when her appointment was the next day, and then settled into the backseat for the long drive as Mercedes got behind the wheel and Elise rode shotgun playing navigator.

*****

She was already sitting in the lawyer's office lobby when a tall blond young man walked in. She didn't mean to eavesdrop but she heard him give the same name to the receptionist that she had only minutes before and she cringed. She was starting at her hands, wishing she'd let Mercedes or Elise tag along, picking off her nail polish, when an unfamiliar pair of feet stopped in front of her. She stopped picking at her fingernails and slowly looked up, the man was looking down at her and when he saw her face pain flashed through his eyes.

"You're her aren't you?" he asked shakily. "You're Brielle Mori?"

Brielle did her best not to cringe and look away in shame as she answered softly, "I am. You must be Mitchell Brown?" At his affirmative nod and barely audible reply, she nodded once in acceptance.

After a brief awkward silence, Mitchell sat down next to Brielle and started talking, "The lawyer said you were half Japanese, so I'm surprised you look so much like Celeste. She's like you but with lighter skin. Mom passed on her blond hair to me, and Celeste got her brown hair from Dad. Everybody always said Celeste looked like the little girl version of our Dad but you look even more like him. He was tan from working outside all the time so his skin was actually even darker than yours."

Hearing Mitchell's rambling words, Brielle smiled sadly. She'd always known she didn't look like her biological mother, she'd seen plenty of pictures of her. What she didn't know was that apparently her rambling when nervous tendency came from her father since Mitchell apparently had it too. When he realized he was rambling, Mitchell stopped and was about to apologize when the lawyer came out to get them.

*****

Back at the hotel, Brielle sat in shock once again. Only this time she was hopeful instead of feeling unwanted. Mitchell had convinced her to keep her third of the ranch and had invited her and her "friends" to dinner later that night. Celeste didn't really understand the situation, she was apparently quite young, and she was more interested in meeting her big sister than she was in the fact that her brother would now be her only parental figure because their parents just weren't coming home.

She had just gotten Elise and Mercedes caught up on what had happened at the lawyers office and they were both staring at her. Brielle couldn't tell what either of them were thinking so she prompted, "Well... Will you guys come with me or not?"

[Demeter]

Mercedes could only blink at Brielle. "Pffft," she said, "of course we will come. Like I am going to let you go out there by yourself. For all we know, this Mitchell character could be plotting something. I can't believe you'd think that we'd even for a second consider letting you go alone. Remember this morning, Brielle, you practically had to lock us in the bathroom to keep us from coming with you."

She plopped herself down next to Brielle and wrapped her arms around the woman. "Sweetheart, we are here for you. Whatever you need of us, we'll do it. Besides, maybe now we'll get some answers to the source of your magic."

Later that evening, when the trio pulled up to the ranch house, Mercedes glanced over at Brielle. "I suppose one if us should have asked this sooner. How much does he know about us?" She circled her hand to indicate the three if them. "I mean, are we just friends or what? Wouldn't want to scare the man and have him thinking your influence could corrupt his baby sister. Though, I'd enjoy it if you were to corrupt me."

[Maira]

Elise snorted at Brielle's silly question and nodded her agreement with the answer that Mercedes gave. Why Brielle thought they wouldn't want to come with her just baffled Elise. They'd come all this way to support her, why wouldn't they go meet her new family? Mercedes plopped down on one side of Brielle, and Elise flopped on the other. After Brielle nodded her understanding of what Mercedes said, Elise added, "We love you, Brielle, and no matter what happens we've got you."

*****

As they arrived at the ranch house, Brielle eyed the place warily. That was the house her brother and sister had grown up in, that was actually also the house her father had grown up in if Mitchell's story had been true. It was their family home, and she had never been a part of that. As much as she tried to relax and not dwell on the feeling of being abandoned and unwanted, it was still lurking when Mercedes asked how much Mitchell knew about their interesting relationship arrangement. Elise snickered and Mercedes's last comment but Brielle missed it entirely.

Brielle bit her lip for only a moment, trying to get her brain to focus on something besides her sore feelings. After just a moment Brielle answered Mercedes, "I told him that Elise is my best friend and that you're my girlfriend. He only balked momentarily when I used the word girlfriend so I think maybe it surprised him but he wasn't offended. If he was, I don't think he would have still invited us out here for dinner."

Elise nodded her agreement to Brielle's assessment of her brother and asked, "Well, are we going to get out and greet the man standing on his porch, or are we just gonna sit here all evening being creepy stalker girls?" With that, all three women looked toward the ranch house again and Brielle waved nervously at Mitchell before getting out of the car and walking toward what was likely to turn into a very nervewracking evening.

*****

The meeting had started out a bit awkward, Celeste wouldn't come out of her bedroom and Mitchell kept apologizing for her being so antisocial. Brielle tried to reassure him that she was used to weird kids and that Celeste was just another in a long line of them that she was related to. After that, they'd all laughed and the evening had relaxed incredibly.

Once dinner was ready, Celeste came out of her room and immediately glomped onto Brielle. Elise, sitting with Mercedes on the other side of the table, just stared at the little girl sitting in her big sister's lap. Brielle had said something about Mitchell mentioning that she and Celeste looked alike, but the resemblance was uncanny.

Seeing the shocked looks on both Mercedes, and Elise's faces, Brielle asked, "So he was right huh? She looks like me?"

Elise laughed, and told them, "Go look in the mirror, if I didn't know better I'd say she was yours Brielle."

Brielle snuggled Celeste and asked her, "You wanna go see if they're fibbing to us or tellin the truth?" Celeste's musical laugh was answer enough before she scampered out of Brielle's laugh and tore off toward the bathroom. Brielle scampered after her laughing too. Only moments later, the four-year-old's little voice yelled, "Whoa! They were right!!" The quieter, "Yeah I guess they were," was obviously from Brielle.

Turning to talk to Mercedes, Elise noticed a strange look on Mitchell's face. She couldn't tell if it was relief, or pain, or a strange and unexpected combination of the two. It wasn't really her place to dig into the feelings of a man she barely knew and who had just lost his parents but that didn't mean she wasn't seeing some red flags, something was up.

[Demeter]

Elise and Brielle had been taken captive by Celeste. After dinner, they'd been dragged into her room for playtime. The little princess hadn't taken no for an answer. This gave Mercedes a chance to wander the house. Brielle's mother had been straight up human, nothing special, but the question of the source of her magic remained. Did the ability come from her father or was it a random gift?

She'd tried to help Mitchell clean up from dinner but he'd shoo'ed her from the kitchen, saying that the routine helped. So instead of cleaning, she wandered. It was a good sized house, in good repair and tastefully decorated but it was obvious that most of the money was spent on the horses and their upkeep. As she could find no fault in that, especially since the recently departed were also raising two children, Mercedes shrugged it off. 

She wandered through the house, taking note of the school books and laptop in the living room. Mitchell was a college student, he'd told them that over dinner but hadn't gone into too much detail. What where his plans now? The funerals had been a few weeks back and he'd been staying at the house since then. She knew from what he said that there was someone coming in to care for the horses and to look after Celeste while he was in class but how long could Mitchell bear up under it all. His school was hours away and when he got home, he had to study as well as care for Celeste. Anyone would crack under that schedule. 

She was almost through the house when she came across the door to the basement. It was locked and warded. Those things made Mercedes smile. Someone in this house had magic, she thought as she turned and headed back towards the main rooms. She checked in Celeste and her captives, barely managing to swallow a giggle at the sight of Elise. She was being used as a dolly, Mercedes thought when she saw her friend in a frilly dress that was too small for her, ribbons in her hair and some pretty wild make up. Brielle was wielding her phone's camera and snapping photos of a unhappy dragon. 

Shaking her head, Mercedes made her way to the dining room to retrieve her own phone. Surely Elise would have a harder time destroy the evidence if it was on two separate phones. That plan was dashed, though, when she saw that the table was still covered in dirty dishes. Sighing, because she'd probably never see Dolly Elise again, Mercedes started to scrape and stack the plates. She carried them into the kitchen. Mitchelle was there, braced against the counter with his head hanging down. She put the plates on the counter and went over to him. The young man jumped when she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and he looked around, coloring when he saw the stacked dishes. "You don't have to do that."

Mercedes opened the dishwasher and peered into it. The contents appeared to be clean. "It really isn't a problem. Mitchell, how much sleep have you gotten lately?"

The young man scrubbed his hands over his face a d through his hair. "Not enough. Fell asleep in a lecture the day," this was said with a one shouldered shrug while he looked away. 

"I thought as much," Mercedes said. When he blinked, she tapped her lower eyelid. "You've got some pretty big, shadow bags there, Mitchell. Why don't you sit and let me do for you. I really don't mind it."

The kitchen was silent except for the sounds of running water and dishes clinking together. Mercedes unloaded the dishwasher and found where things sent by trail and error. By the time she'd finished the dishes, Mitchell had fallen asleep at the table. Mercedes covered his shoulders with a tablecloth and went in search of her friends. 

Mitchell wasn't the only sleepy one, she thought, watching as Elise and Brielle guided Celeste through her nighttime routine. Leaving Mitchell a note with their phone numbers and a message that they would return tomorrow, the three women left, locking the door behind them. 

With Elise driving the rental, Mercedes sat in the back with Brielle, her arm around the younger woman's shoulder. She'd been unnaturally quiet since she'd received this news about an inheritance from her biological father. Mercedes could only imagine what Brielle was thinking and feeling but she'd do her best to support the woman. 

When they returned to their hotel suite, Elise handled Brielle, dragging her into the main bedroom for a cuddle and some mindless tv watching while Mercedes took care of a few things. They may have reserved a suite with two beds and a pull out sofa but this was a small town and there would be talk if two out of the three beds were unused. Talk is exactly what this family didn't need right now. 

First she showered the travel grime away in the bathroom off the main bedroom. While she dried her hair she could tell that things in the bedroom had progressed beyond simple snuggling. Elise was distracting Brielle from the current situation. So, she had a soundtrack of breathy sighs and moans as she prepped for bed. 

She supposed most people would fly into a jealous rage when hearing their girlfriend sleeping with someone else but their relationship was different. It wasn't a triad but friends with benefits. Brielle was exploring her newly discovered sexuality with Elise while developing a deep, intimate relationship with Mercedes. The two older women had very different views on sex, Mercedes mused as she flossed. With her past experiences, sex was supposed to be something special between committed people. Elise had a looser view; she didn't encourage complete strangers but she didn't need the deep connection that Mercedes needed. And that just sounded mean, she thought. She loved Elise but she just wasn't in love with her...that sounded mean too. 

Mercedes huffed out a breathe and rolled her eyes. Simply put, Elise was an important part of her life and Brielle's life and if she could get the other woman to think about something else for five minutes, more power to her. Mercedes couldn't give Brielle the distraction she needed right now so she was thankful for her presence. 

She passed through the bedroom and stopped to stare at the two women writhing on the bed. She smiled at Brielle, gave her a little finger wave, before flouncing out of the room to take care of messing up the other beds.

When that was done, she flounced back into the bedroom, stripped down to just her panties and scooted into the bed on the other side of Brielle. She gave the woman a squeeze and kiss before leaning over to give Elise the same treatment. 

[Maira]

Brielle had decided, almost immediately after Mercedes and Elise mentioned they both wanted to pursue her, that waking up between the pair of them was probably her favorite thing in the world. She was coming to love them both in different ways and waking up surrounded by those she loved was truly wonderful for Brielle. After the stress of the last few days, Brielle finally woke up feeling a bit more clear-headed. Not really wanting to, Brielle slipped out from between Mercedes and Elise and then grabbed clothes for the day before making her way quietly to the bathroom and the shower.

Once she was clean and dressed, Brielle poked her head back into the bedroom and discovered that the two other women were still sleeping. Elise had actually snuggled up behind Mercedes and was mumbling something softly in her sleep. Smiling, Brielle backed out of the door and went to poke around in the little kitchenette. They didn't have anything in the way of food, but there was coffee so Brielle went about getting that started before she slipped out of their hotel room, phone and keycard in hand, and went in search of their complimentary breakfast.

After finishing off her second apple fritter, Brielle gathered up a few items to take back to their room for the other girls, and then slipped outside to the park on the other side of the hotel's parking lot. It was small, and not exactly quiet thanks to the busy roads on either side, but it was still somewhere away from people. Finding a comfortable looking place to sit, Brielle plopped down at the base of a tree and settled in as she pulled out her phone. She needed to talk to Mitchell.

*****

Celeste had been up with the sun and when Mitchell's phone rang he was only startled because he honestly didn't think anybody else could be awake at such an ungodly hour. When he saw who was calling, Mitchell was equal parts worried and relieved. He needed to talk to Brielle, wanted to ask her a few important questions and possibly one gigantic favor. Her answers had the potential to fix all of his and Celeste's problems and that made him nervous.

*****

The conversation had not gone exactly as Brielle had expected. She got her questions about her magical heritage answered, but then Mitchell started asking her mountains of his own questions. It honestly felt like she was on a job interview and it had been making her leery until he dropped the biggest question of all, "I know its a lot to ask, especially since we barely know each other, but are you in a place that you'd be able to take Celeste?" She didn't give him a concrete answer to that question, she just begged off that she needed to talk to a few people first, and then they had said their goodbyes with a promise to meet for lunch at a place in town.

When Elise finally found Brielle, the younger woman was still sitting at the base of her chosen tree and she was staring off into space, her phone cradled in her hands which in turn rested in her lap. Not wanting to startle the feline half of Brielle, Elise made sure to make sufficient noise as she approached, before crouching down next to her. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked quietly.

Brielle didn't bother to turn and look at Elise, she'd known as soon as the breeze shifted that the dragon was nearby. "I think Mitchell just asked me to take Celeste home with me to New Orleans."

The news shocked Elise so badly that she fell back on her butt, and "oof" escaping her as her back hit the tree. "You're gonna clarify that right?" Elise demanded gently. When Brielle only nodded, Elise scrambled up to her feet and then offered Brielle a hand up.

Brielle shook her head, declining the help up before telling Elise, "I need to call my mom. Saiyuri is technically my step-sister, but she adopted me when I was Celeste's age. I think if nothing else she'll be able to tell me if I'm crazy for really wanting to do this. She's my baby sister, and he's my big brother, if I can help make both of their lives a little easier right now then why shouldn't I help?" Growling her frustration and confusion, Brielle finally looked up at Elise and continued, "I'm not really -doing- anything. I'm working and I'm involved with you and Mercedes. That's all I really have going for me. Maybe I should be going to college but school was never really my thing. Mom knows that. She'll understand that maybe school isn't for me, but that loving my newly discovered baby sister is."

Running her hands over her face, Brielle took a deep breath and finally held out her hand to Elise for the offered help up. Elise was happy to help Brielle up, and as soon as the other woman was standing she wrapped her in a tight, yet tender, hug. "I know you want to do what's right for Celeste and Mitchell, but you need to take care of yourself too you know. Lets go talk to Mercedes, she's a bit more level-headed and business oriented than either of us." Brielle was about to object and Elise stopped her, "As much as this is about people and family, it'll be a big business-like decision too. There will be money involved you know, and you need to find out from Mercedes if what you make working for her will support you and Celeste."

Not to mention, she thought to herself, if Mercedes is up for being a mother or not. Elise had a good feeling that whatever happened with Celeste, that it would be permanent and if Brielle and Mercedes were as serious as they seemed to be about each other, if Brielle adopted Celeste, that meant that Mercedes would essentially be the girl's step mom. It stung a little, knowing that she didn't really factor into the "family" equation that Brielle would be going over with Mercedes, but she knew that now really wasn't the proper time to dwell on that.

The two women walked back to the hotel, Brielle giving Elise her donuts that she'd snagged for her from the buffet, and talking quietly some more about the whole situation. When the reached the room, Brielle was happy to see Mercedes awake and she immediately handed over the remaining donuts and as the older magic user chomped on yummy pastries, Brielle relayed her early morning conversation with Mitchel to Mercedes.

Luckily Mercedes didn't choke on her donut, she was just very quiet. When there was no answer immediately forthcoming, Brielle asked, "Well, do you think I'll be able to handle her? Will my salary work, and will you mind dating a girl with a quasi-kid?"

[Demeter]

Mercedes gave the two women A Look. Brielle may have been in the dark about her past but Elise knew about the three children she'd brought into the world. Elise knew, thanks to a night of being tipsy that Mercedes loved children. "I think we can fit Celeste into our lives very easily and if you would just move in above the shop already, you wouldn't need to worry about room and board expenses."

She sipped at her orange juice while the two gawked at her. "What? The building is paid for and there's room enough for you and Celeste to have your own bedrooms if you wish. I mean, Teacup might have to give up her room and sleep on the couch all of them. And I spend more on my dog's Raw diet then on food for myself. Elise, what do you think? After all, you'd also be involved with a woman who has a quasi-kid."

While the Brood choked on her doughnut, Mercedes came around and sat on her lap. Elise looked more then a little startled. "Don't look at me like that. I'm sorry that I can't give you what you need," Mercedes paused and stoked the curve of Elise's cheek, "and I'm sorry that I don't have the right biology to give your body what it will eventually demand but you are much more then a sister or friend to me.

"I've read up on the Brood, you know. The bonded partners and their chosen life mates tend to help raise the children of the Brood and visa versa. I'm also not blind and have an idea on how the relationship between you two is developing. She can give you what I can't.

"Now, what do two of you say to the three of us raising that little girl together?"

[Maira]

With a lap full of Mercedes, Elise stared dumbfounded at the woman. She knew that Mercedes could never be her bondmate because of her past and Elise had never thought to pressure her into it. Yet somewhere along the line she had come to interpret Mercedes's emotional inability to make that magical tie between them as a lack of a desire for that sort of relationship. Had Mercedes just said that she actually wanted her that way after all?

Elise was still reeling from that revelation, trying to puzzle through her dearest friend's words, when she added more confusion to the mix. She had altogether lost track of the fact that she'd been eating a donut and when it tumbled out of her hand to the floor she didn't even notice. Looking with wide eyes first at Mercedes, and then at Brielle, she asked the younger woman, "Would you want that? Would you want both of us to be your family and help you raise Celeste?" She couldn't keep the sound of hope from her voice, even if she'd wanted to, she had wanted Mercedes for years and was developing more than just a physical attraction to Brielle. If she could have them both, and get to be a mother in a roundabout way, nothing would make her happier.

Looking at the two women she loved, one calm and collected the other on the verge of dethroning the one in her lap to jump for joy, Brielle just laughed. It was soft and short lived, but it was a truly happy sound. The laugh clearly confused poor Elise, so Brielle nodded her head and answered aloud, "It sounds like a perfect idea."

Elise squeezed Mercedes tightly, then gently shoved her out of her lap so she could bound the few steps to Brielle and sweep her up into an equally tight, twirling hug. She set Brielle down and released one of her arms only to grab Mercedes and drag her in to pepper kisses one both of the smaller women's faces. Still disbelieving, she asked them both, "We get to be a family?"

"Yes, we get to be a family," Brielle said as she stretched up to kiss Elise on the chin and then turned and kissed Mercedes on the cheek as she whispered, "I love you, thank you."