Finding Hope

[Demeter]

They were killing two birds with one stone. This weekend they got to play on Asylum's stage tonight and tomorrow and the days would be spent looking for places to rent that included a spot to rehearse. James' grinned to himself as he helped to set up Tom's drums.

Everything was skating right along, he thought. They'd all be accepted into Cedar Valley and into their programs of choice, the band was growing in popularity, the local suicide prevention group had accepted what help he could give and he had a job lined up at a local restaurant.

Yep, things were looking awesome.

But there was something going on. James had that odd feeling of anticipation; like something big was about to happen. Shrugging it off as the excitement of moving out on his own, James left the stage and headed towards the club's front entrance.

He and his band mates were headed out to grab some dinner. As he made his way across the club, James noticed that the bouncers, wait staff, go-go dancers and bartenders were having their own meetings. He waved to each group as he passed but winked at a certain bouncer.

Kivan was hot, but sadly, he was he solidly straight. He'd asked the waitresses. Even though he wasn't ready for a serious relationship, flirting was fun. And teasing Kivan was even better. At their last gig at the club, it had been Kivan who'd caught him hooking up with a club patron. When the other man had wobbled out of the restroom on shaky legs, James turned to Kivan and asked him if he'd wanted to take a spin with around the stall with him. Kivan had turned red and escaped from the restroom at a run.

Kivan had been decidedly skittish around him since then. He couldn't decide if Kivan was a prude or depressingly straight. If it was the prude thing; well there was no denying that before Eric, he'd been a man-whore and now, after Eric, he limited his relationships to casual hook-ups. So, if it was the prude thing, well, that was Kivan's problem.

And if he was just distressingly straight, well James would just mourn the loss of an enticing man with the rest of the world's gay men.

James had a feeling it was the straight thing. So he teased Kivan mercilessly. The flirting, the flaunting his lovers in front of him and crooning love songs at the man was going to get him punched or kissed one day.

****

Even if she had to tie her up and gag her, Faith was going to drag her niece out of Trey's house. Faith stalked from her car to the kitchen door of the farm house. In the kitchen, she found Dru assembling a late night snack. "Where is she?"

Dru looked up from assembling the tray of nibbles he intended on feeding Trey. "Where is who?"

"Hope. I'm dragging her out into the real world tonight. She's bailed on me twice now."

Dru nudged a piece of cheese on the tray. "She's, uh, up in her room."

Faith snagged the piece of cheese. "Thanks Uncle Dru. I hope you have a good time with Trey tonight," she said before stalking into the living room.

She breezed through the room, only stopping at the staircase. She slowly turned and stared at the two women making out on the couch. She didn't want to know what Bella was doing to make Essence whimper and moan like that. Shaking her head, Faith turned and headed up the stairs.

She found Hope, half dressed for a night out on the town, sitting cross legged in front of her computer. Gift was snoozing away in his swing and Eli, ready for a night of clubbing, was flopped on the bed playing with his phone.

She crossed over and, not showing any mercy, yanked the plug to Hope's desktop computer out of the socket. "Come on, Hope, you are not bailing on me for a third time."

[Maira]

Kivan eyed the blond man as he walked out of the club with his bandmates. He'd caught James in a compromising situation with male club patrons on more than one occasion so he had no delusions about just where his preferences lay. Only when James started trying coming onto Kivan did the Shifter start shying away from him. There was no point encouraging the man, even indirectly, so it was better to just avoid him. And yet James still tried to make an impression and weasel his way into Kivan's attention by flaunting other men in front of him and flirting with him. There had even been a few occasions where James had been singing love songs and it was pretty clear just who he was directing them at which caused Kivan just to glare at the blond man and go back to work. Hopefully someday the fool boy would get the point that Kivan just didn't like men.

*****

Faith had been bugging her for quite a while, Hope had actually lost track of how long, to go out to the club with her. Finally Eli her boyfriend had teamed up with Faith and they had convinced Hope that it was time to get out and do something besides pour over her computer for hours after Gift had gone to sleep each night. Since Gift's arrival into Hope's life, she had been searching non-stop for her twin brother James. They had been separated years ago thanks to the foster system and now that she had a son she wanted nothing more than to connect with her brother. James deserved to know he was an uncle, and Gift could only benefit from having his uncle in his life. Not to mention, Hope just really missed James. Life since their separation hadn't been easy and she just really needed his support.

Even though Hope had agreed to go out tonight she was only half ready, despite Eli's prompting, when Faith burst into her bedroom and unceremoniously unplugged her computer from the wall. If it had been a laptop that wouldn't have phased her, but Hope's computer was a nice desktop and before she could stop herself she blurted out loudly and angrily, "What the hell was that for Faith?!" The squeak from the swing caused Hope to cringe and after looking to make sure Gift was not going to wake up again, she grumbled at her aunt, "If you hadn't noticed, our babysitter bailed tonight so that was not only totally bad for my computer, but totally pointless as well. I can't leave him here by himself and everybody else who lives here likely has plans to get laid tonight." To say Hope was a bit moody since Gift's birth was an understatement.

[Demeter]

Faith gave her niece the fish eye. She could think of half a dozen people who had no plans to get laid tonight. Without saying anything to Hope, Faith pulled out her phone and punched in a number. She smiled when her brother picked up his phone. "Wrath! Dearest, sweetest, most-awesome big brother in the world, how would you like to watch your grandson for the night?"

After a few more minutes of conversing with Wrath, Faith clicked off her phone and dropped it into her purse. "Done. Baby-sitter acquired," she said while tossing her keys at Eli, "Go and put his seat in my car, would you? I'll get the baby gear packed up and you," she pointed at Hope, "finish getting ready."

"You'll like the band that's playing tonight. Apollo's Luck sounds really good and the lead singer..." Faith fanned herself, "If he didn't seem to have a preference for men, and if I wasn't married, I'd jump him. Hoo boy, but the tattoos on that man."

It took a couple of hours but eventually Hope was ready, Gift was having a sleepover and they'd laid claim to a table near Asylum's main stage. The band wasn't due to go on yet so Faith was out dancing to the music provided by the D.J. While Eli and Hope chatted with friends they'd bumped into.

****
Backstage, James and the others were getting ready to go on. Lana, their keyboardist, was freaking out because her hair wouldn't behave. Lana could write incredible songs but she was a little nutty about some things.

James checked his own appearance. His hair was carefully styled and he'd used a coating of stage make-up to keep from being washing out by the lights. His everyday wristbands had been replaced by studded leather cuffs and he was shirtless. His low riding leather pants looked as if a prayer held them up were secured by one of his three belts. The upper half of his tattoos peeked out over the waistband of those pants.

When the stage manager signaled, they took their places and Tom counted them into their intro. They sang a mix of their own music and covered popular songs. And, as usual, the club was rocking. He could make out the people in front of the stage and those at the tables but everything else was a blur.

It was during one of Jack's solo that he spotted her. It was hard to not notice her since she was shoving people out of the way to get to the stage. Since Jack's solo was winding down, and the girl was intent on getting as close as possible, James crouched down to sing directly at her.

And he honestly didn't know how he kept on singing because he was looking into a pretty version of his own face. Somehow, he made it through the rest of the first set. Heart and mind were screaming that the girl was Hope.

Between the two sets, James snagged Kivan on his way back from kicking someone out the backdoor. "Kivan, hey, Kivan, do me a favor. See that pretty blond girl at that table? The one talking to the guy? Can you bring her backstage for me?

[Maira]

With minimal grumbling about a meddling foster sister turned aunt, Hope managed to get herself ready for the club and Gift ready to go spend the night at Wrath's house. Wrath hadn't gotten to be much of a father to Hope, but he was taking full advantage of being a grandpa and if that meant Hope needed a sitter for his favorite little man, then he was more than happy to watch him. As soon as Gift was in Wrath's arms, Hope felt herself start to relax bit by bit. By the time they reached the club, she actually almost felt like a normal person again. Almost.

When they walked in the DJ was playing, nothing terribly thrilling but it had a good beat and was good for dancing. Hope wanted to join Faith on the dance floor but some friends of hers and Eli's had stopped them and invited them to sit at their table. She watched Faith enviously for a good fifteen minutes before Eli finally leaned over and whispered at her that she should go have fun. Not waiting for him to change his mind, Hope excused herself and hurried out to join Faith.

As was normal for her, Hope lost track of time once she lost herself to the music and she had no idea just how long she'd been dancing with Faith when the band finally took the stage. The first few numbers were covers, and while the lead singer's voice really was amazing, Hope wasn't terribly interested in stopping dancing. Only when they started doing some of their own material did she stop and listen.

Faith had left her a while ago to go drool over the singer so Hope wandered over to join her. When she reached her aunt, Hope found herself staring at the shirtless man belting out the lyrics. The tattoos were definitely a sight, as were the piercings, but what Hope was looking at was his face. She knew that face. She'd been searching for that face for the last six months! The shock made Hope momentarily unsteady on her feet and she felt herself bump into Faith. The other woman caught at her and looked at her with worry, "You look like you've seen a ghost Hope, are you okay?" Faith asked.

Hope recovered quickly and the biggest smile split her face open as she exclaimed, "Thats him Faith! Thats James! You were drooling over your nephew!" This last was said with a hearty laugh as she shoved her way into the crowd closer to the stage. She needed to see him, she needed to be close to him, Hope needed to be with her brother.

And as she approached she knew he noticed her. He sang directly to her and he was looking her straight int he face the whole time. She saw it in his eyes, the battle in his brain as he tried to decide if she was who he thought she was. She just smiled at him like a fool and when the song was over she winked at him like she used to when they were kids and then she slipped back into the crowd. She'd talk to him later, right now she needed to tell Eli that she had finally found him!

*****

Kivan, as normal on concert nights, was doing security at the edge of the stage. At one point during the first set some idiot had tried climbing up on stage and when Kivan had told him to get his scrawny ass down the idiot had tried to start a brawl with him. Needless to say, the fool had earned a one way trip out the back door.

On his way back to the stage, James snagged him. Kivan was preparing for another round of shameless flirting from the younger man but was shocked when instead he asked to talk to a pretty blond girl. A girl? Since when did James want alone time with the female patrons of the club? Not one to judge, Kivan just nodded and smiled before going off to fetch the girl.

"Excuse me Miss," Kivan said in his rumbly gentle voice, interrupting the girl's conversation with another man, "James, the lead singer from the band, would like a word with you if you have a moment."

When the girl turned and smiled at him, Kivan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. He had no idea James had a sister, the other man had never mentioned her before. Her beaming smile and enthusiastic, "Of course!" elicited a smile from Kivan and with a hand at her lower back to guide her, he led her off to where James was waiting.

When the bouncer said her brother's name, Hope practically squealed in delight. When he led her to where James was waiting, she could barely contain herself. When he finally led her backstage and Hope saw him, talking to one of his bandmates, she threw all caution to the wind and ran at him. As she ran, she called his name and he turned just in time for her to throw her arms around his neck and into his open and waiting arms. The tight hug that encircled her broke her. The tears started to flow and Hope wasn't sure if they were happiness or pain, all she knew was that she had her brother back and he was holding her close.

[Demeter]

While waiting for Kivan to come back, James stood with his band-mates, slamming back water and discussing the line up for the next set. They were all beholden to Apollo and Lana, the empath, sensed that there was someone who needed a little inspiration to save someone else. What had started as an awesome gig had turned into their job.

They were picking out the song when James scented Kivan and the smell he'd always associated, on some unconscious level, with Hope. Tossing his water bottle at the drummer, James turned as she called out his name and caught her as she threw herself at him. And he held her tightly, burying his face in her hair. And for the first time since Eric's funeral, barely nine months ago, everything felt right.

It was Lana who stepped away to ask Kivan to fetch a waitress named Darla. Also in service to Apollo for the same reasons, the waitress was always ready to lend a hand when they needed female vocals. When the short break was over, James reluctantly let Hope go. He smiled at her and dried her tears with his thumbs. "Stay right here. We'll talk after," he said before dashing onto the stage.

Once the second set was over, and their little inspiration problem solved, James returned to Hope. "Come on, Let's go somewhere quieter. Did you come with anyone?"

Once Hope had made her excuses to the people she came with, James took her out the back headed for a all night diner down the road.

***

Faith stood on the dance floor, blinking. She'd been drooling over her own nephew? That young man was James? Why in the hell had Wrath neglected to mention that Hope had a brother? Curious, Faith made her way to the upstairs office. After punching in a code, she let herself into the owner's office and closed the door. In the quiet, Faith called her brother. When Wrath answered, she'd jumped right into the deep end. "Wrath! Why didn't you tell us that Hope had a brother?"

[Maira]

As she had been talking to Eli, telling him that James was here in the club, when Kivan pulled her away to take her to him Hope didn't feel too bad when James told her to stay backstage. Surely Eli would understand. He had been more than supportive about everything in her life, and especially with her obsessive search for her twin the past few months.

After the second set was over, James came back to find her again and suggested they go somewhere quieter than the club to catch up. When he asked if she'd come with anybody, Hope nodded and answered, "Yeah I did. Our aunt, who is barely old enough to be an aunt by the way, and my boyfriend dragged me out tonight." She had already taken James's hand in hers, like she had done when they were younger and she needed reassurance, and she led him out to the table that she'd left Eli at with their friends. As she approached, Eli turned almost on instinct and when he saw her holding another man's hand his eyes widened slightly until he figured out just who the man must be and then a giant smile lit up his face. Hope was practically beaming as she made the introductions and then asked Eli if he would mind if she hung out with James for the rest of the night. When he said that'd be fine, Hope released James's hand long enough to hug Eli and plant an excited and greatful kiss on his lips before leaving Eli with their friends.

Hope tried to find Faith to tell her she was leaving, but the older woman was missing so she just sent her a text message explaining what was going on. Once that was done, Hope took James's hand again and followed where her brother led and they wound up at one of her favorite little diners in town. She'd spent many late nights at that diner during her pregnancy with Gift, the boy had the worst timing for making her want deep fried pickles and cherry cheesecake. Not mixed together luckily, but sometimes in the same night.

When they walked in and the wait staff saw Hope, they just waved at her and she led James to her normal booth. What she didn't count on was the first question out of the waitress's mouth when she came over to take their drink order. After the normal greetings and an excited, "We haven't seen you in months!" came the question, "How's the baby?" which was immediately followed by, "Did you have a boy or a girl?" Hope stared blankly at the waitress for a split second before turning her gaze to James to see his reaction. If a part werecougar could look like a deer caught in the headlights, it was Hope at that moment.

*****

Wrath had a nice quiet evening with Gift. The baby boy absolutely adored his grandpa Wrath and grandma Cissa and he had been nothing but happy to smile at them, coo, and play on the floor with the toys Wrath had stashed for whenever he came over. It wasn't long after the got the baby settled in his crib in the spare room when his phone rang. In a hurry to catch it, so that the noise didn't wake the baby, Wrath practically growl-whispered into the phone, "Hello?"

What happened after that caused Wrath to nearly drop the phone. Faith had to be joking, she knew as well as he did that Hope didn't have a brother and after he caught his breath he answered her, "I didn't tell you she had a brother because she doesn't." Then with a slight laugh he asked her, "Who tried to tell you that? Some drunk at the club?"

[Demeter]

Faith took a moment to stare at her phone. "As I am a responsible adult, I don't let the still underagered Hope drink so she was certainly wasn't drunk when she told me that the lead singer of the band was her brother."

At the silence on the other end, Faith raised an eyebrow. "You seriously didn't know that Hope had a twin? 'Cause let me tell you what, I saw them next to each other and they could be doppelgangers."

************

Both of James' eyebrows went up at the waitress' questions. It seemed as if both of them had gone through some serious stuff after being separated. But before he got into the interesting questions; had to make sure that this was Hope.

In his heart, he knew this young woman was his sister but he had to be sure. He knew there'd probably be blood tests later on but he went through the simplest route. He asked her about their childhood.

As she answered his questions correctly, and he answered hers, James' smile grew bigger. He was having a hard time not wiggling in his seat and diving across the table and holding her tight. Once their identities were established, James asked the big question. "So, I'm an uncle?" and then he added, "you almost had a brother-in-law."

[Maira]

Wrath didn't exactly drop the phone, it was actually still clenched in his hand when his hand fell away from his ear. It took him a moment to realize that Faith was talking to him again and then he lifted the phone back up to his ear and listened numbly as she continued on. When his younger sister finally stopped chattering at him about how his daughter, who he'd only found out was alive a few years ago, actually had a twin that looked exactly like her, Wrath cleared his throat and quietly mumbled, "Gift is fine with Cissa, but you should come get him whenever you guys are done there. I need some time to figure all of this out." Then even more softly he said mostly to himself, "I can't believe she kept them both from me..." before hanging up the phone.

When he went to put the phone back in the cradle, he missed and it clattered to the floor. He didn't even try to catch it. The noise caused Gift to stir and fuss a bit but Wrath didn't notice. Then, almost as if sensing something wasn't right with her husband, Cissa poked her head in to see what was going on. When she saw the look on Wrath's face, Cissa asked in alarm, "Are you okay? Is Hope and the rest of the family okay?"

In answer Wrath just snorted and stated snarkily, "Oh yeah, the family is fantastic. It just keeps getting bigger!" Then he breezed past her on his way to the back door where he stripped. "I need to go for a run, Faith should be by to pick up Gift later," and he slipped out the back door, Shifting before the door closed behind him.

*****

The diversion from what could have been a really awkward explanation, a round of 20 questions about their childhood to establish that they were both indeed who they seemed to be, was quickly over and by the end both of the twins were smiling like fools. James may have been able to resist the urge to go snuggle with his sister, but Hope had no such strength of will and before she answered his question about being an uncle she was slipping into his side of the booth and under his arm.

At James's declaration that she'd almost had a brother-in-law, Hope's eyes widened in surprise that her brother had nearly gotten married without her. The fact that the marriage would have been to another guy didn't even faze her. If being part of Dion's family had taught Hope anything, it was that love comes in many shapes and sizes and all were just as important and special as the rest. Hope had never been one to judge, but now that she'd had first-hand exposure to so many different types of loving relationships she had an even greater appreciation for just how precious all of them were. Her answer to his words were simple, "I'm glad I didn't miss the wedding, but I'm sorry that he was only -almost- my brother-in-law. I would have loved to meet anybody that captures your heart like that."

She kissed James on the cheek, then, before fishing out the little album she'd been making for him since Gift's birth. She handed it to him and smiled shyly as she introduced her brother to his nephew. "I've been making this for you. Your nephew's name is Gift. The story of how he came to be is for somewhere more private so please don't ask me right now. I'll tell you if you really want to know, but just not here."

[Demeter]

James flipped through the little photo album. The little guy was adorable. He handed the book back to Hope. "He's cute. The story behind why you don't have a brother-in-law anymore isn't for here either," as he said it, James ran a finger under the wide leather band around his left wrist. The thing wasn't big enough to cover the whole scar but the worst of the vertical slash was covered. 

James shook off the thoughts that suddenly crowded his head and asked Hope what she'd been up to. Apparently she was working at a riding stable (she'd always loved horses), going to school oh, and she'd accidentally found their father. Who wanted them...well, her since no one had ever told him about James.

The young man in question slapped a hand down on the table. "Wait. What? You found our birth father? And he wanted you? And you didn't tell him about me?" 

James listened to Hope's explanation of not wanting to tell this guy, Wrath, that he had a son as well until she could plop said son down right on front of him. She said how he kinda went berserk when they'd found each other and she didn't want to send him over the deep end by saying how he also had a son but she didn't know where he was.

Which led to the explanation about how their bio dad knew about Hope but was told that bio mom had miscarried before leaving him. Obviously not true but she apparently hadn't known about James at the time because Hope said that Wrath never mentioned a second baby. 

While that might excuse some of the animosity James held towards his parents, his father had just been cleared of being a child abandoning monster, he still had to come to terms with the fact that he had a father after all. 

Before leaving Hope that night, he gave her all his contact information, said he'd be in town for the weekend and said they should meet up later on. He returned to the club, and sat on the comfortable break room sofa, sucking on a bottle of water. His empath keyboardist must have been waiting because the moment he say down, she popped in and snuggled against him. He had no interest in her, romantically, but her presence manages to soothe his nerves and prevented a complete freak out. 

When Kivan appeared in the breakroom, James waves his water bottle at him. 'Oi, Kivan, what would you do if you suddenly discovered that your bio dad didn't know you existed but would probably want to meet you?" 

[Maira]

Sure he hadn't understood her, Hope slid the little photo album back to her brother. "Its yours, keep it," she told him softly before she got into anything else about her. When she got to the part about finding their bio dad, James's slap on the table made her jump. She answered his questions and by the end he looked dazed, and possibly even a little happy. When they parted ways for the night, Hope hugged James tight and when he suggested they get together again that weekend she agreed wholeheartedly.

*****

The show had been over for a while, it was now almost closing time for the club, and Kivan was making his rounds to make sure there were no couples making out in strange places that they'd get missed or forgotten when the doors locked. As he passed through the break room, where the band was still hanging out, Kivan was surprised to hear his name shouted and he looked over to see James watching him. When the question came, Kivan blinked in confusion. What kind of question was that? After only a moment to think, Kivan shrugged and answered James, "My father was a bear, and he's long dead. I'm not really sure how to answer that." At the strange look that James gave him, Kivan shrugged again and turned and walked out to continue his rounds.

*****

When Hope got home, she was happy to see that Bella and Essence had moved from the livingroom couch to somewhere more private. She liked both the girls but walking in on them and their impromptu make-out sessions was getting really old. She tromped up the stairs, exhausted, and slowly made her way to her bedroom with a quick stop off at the bathroom. Opening her door, Hope was surprised to see Eli flaked out on her bed with Gift sleeping on his chest. She had thought that Gift was staying with Wrath tonight.

When she shut the door quietly behind her and then turned to put her stuff away, she nearly jumped out of her shoes. Faith was staring at her from the rocker that was in the corner, staring at her. Almost glaring. Too tired to beat around the bush, Hope asked quietly, "Why are you mad at me and why is Gift home? Is everything okay with my dad?"

Faith's glare deepened and then she answered her niece, "You never told him you had a twin. I called and asked him why he'd never told us you had a brother and he freaked out."

Hope cringed at the accusation ringing in Faith's tone. With a sigh, her gaze dropped to the floor and she answered, "He never mentioned James so I had a feeling he had no idea about him. I never said anything to him because I knew he'd freak out if I couldn't produce proof right away. I was going to take James to see him tomorrow when I picked up Gift, that way James could meet them both at same time and Wrath could meet James."

Faith's prolonged silence caused Hope to look up and she was surprised to see a slightly sheepish look on the older woman's face. Hope smiled gently at her then said, "I'll let you know when we're going over there tomorrow, you should be there." Then, with a playful smirk she added, "I won't even tell him that you think he's hot."

[Demeter]

Cissa watched as her husband paced the living room of their home. Stretched out on her couch she had an excellent view of him coming and going. Her husband was a excellent example of a handsome man. He also had, in her opinion, the worlds most excellent butt. It was tight and firm muscles. She bet that if he ever let her, should could bounce a quarter off the butt.

In fact, it was that very butt that had started her down the path to The Great Vegas Elopement Scandal (her mother's words for Cissa's wedding, not hers). It had been during the second time the museum has contracted with Wrath's nursery to provide the greenery for an exhibit. He'd been bitching that she couldn't make up her mind about the placement of several plants and he was tired of hauling them around. One of the staff members walked back, box full of brochures in his hands and told the poor man that it was because she liked staring at his ass that she made him move the potted plants so much. 

That comment had led to her eventual dating of and marriage to Wrath. The Great Vegas Elopement had only been a few months ago, after her mother had hijacked her plans for a simple ceremony and reception in Wrath's backyard garden. What had been simple had been turned in a society circus and had involved a big, poofy white wedding gown with too many bows and sparkly bits. She liked sparkles as much as the next girl but she didn't want blind anyone!

So, in a moment of desperation (she'd just seen the bridesmaid dresses), she convinced Wrath that Vegas was good and they'd dragged Mercy, Hope and Faith along for the ride. 

Her mother had been beyond furious when told that her plans would be for nothing since they'd done the deed in the tackiest quickie marriage by an Elvis chapel they could find. He'd worn a hawaiian shirt and she'd worn a short red dress. It had been a blast and they'd been living in a honeymoon state since then. 

The only thing that would make this all perfect would be a baby. She was grandma to Gift and she hoped that Hope would come to see her, if she didn't all ready, as a mother figure but she wanted a baby. She could get pregnant just fine but with her abnormal uterus, she couldn't seem to stay pregnant. When they'd become a couple, she'd told Wrath about Johnny, her first husband, but when they'd gotten engaged and started really talking about the future, she'd told him about everything. Her unicornuated uterus, the multiple miscarriages during the marriage, his refusal to consider adoption and the eventual divorce because she was not only "defective" but unwilling to provide him with natural progeny. 

Wrath's response to Johnny's insistence on having natural children was that he was an ass. He'd told Cissa to leave her IUD alone (to spar her the pain of possible miscarriages unless she really wanted to try) and they'd look into Foster Care and adoptions. At that moment, she'd fallen even more in love with the man.

Upstairs, stacked on a desk, was the paperwork for various adoption agencies. And they'd just been approved as foster parents for infants through 18 year olds. 

The thought made Cissa bounce a little but right now, they had other issues. If her mother had been beyond furious at ruined wedding plans, Wrath was...he was whatever state of anger existed that was greater then "beyond furious." He had every right to be angry, Cissa thought, since he just found out that he had a son.

And he had every right to mad. His anger at Hope for not telling him about James was understandable. She imagined that his reaction would be much this same as this if Hope had told him earlier about James. And while he was angry at Hope, that anger paled in the strength of his fury towards Ceecee. She'd kept both babies from him. 

Earlier in the day, when Hope had made an appearance to tell Wrath what she knew, Cissa had watched him blow up. When Hope had reached the end of her tale and Wrath had stalked away, blowing up with anger, Cissa had scampered after him. She'd followed him into their bedroom and, after seeing his shoulders shaking with rage, she rubbed the tense muscles before wrapping her arms around him and resting her head against his back. 

Eventually he'd calmed down and that had led to this anxious pacing she was watching. Cissa stretched, arms out over her head, feet curling into the arm of the couch and back arching up. She stayed like that for several minutes before flopping back down to the cushions. She caught her husband's eye then and, recognizing the look, grinned at him. "Later, Wrath. Later," she said while motioning first to the open french doors that led to their fairytale backyard, where Faith sat, watching Gift's attempts to eat all ten of his toes, and then to the kitchen were Eli was prepping Gift's afternoon bottle, which in the absence of his Momma, would have to suffice for the picky baby. 

The wait wasn't much longer. Eli had only gotten about half the bottle into Eli (the boy was an excellent father. Hopefully, once Hope was ready, she would see what was right in front of her) when they all heard the truck that Hope drove crunch into the driveway. 
***
He was nervous. Which was ridiculous, James thought as Hope steered her truck through the city streets. The last time he'd been this nervous had been the first time he a d Eric had made love. And, Sweet Apollo, how he wanted Eric by his side right now. He'd always known how to diffuse tense situations. And, given what Hope had told him, this was going to be one of those situations.

As they drove, the houses got bigger, older and fancier. The yards were getting huge and he'd seen a couple with gates across the driveways. Just what kind of landscaping business did his bio dad?

That was the best thing he could think of to call this Wrath guy right now. Bio Dad. He may have been his natural father but "dad" was reserved for Trevor, the man who'd adopted him. He'd called his parents that morning, to let them know what had happened. Before he could get a word in edgewise, Holly, his mom, insisted on meeting the supposed Father and giving him a piece of her mind. She'd calmed down after he'd explained that Wrath had no clue about him. Even with that, Mom still wanted to meet the man. 

He'd made her promise to wait until he'd at least met the man in question. And the other people that would be in residence. There'd be Hope, Hope's son, Gift, some guy named Eli (Hope had clammed up when questioned about the relationship there), their Aunt Faith, Stepmom Cissa and Wrath. 

James stared up at the house Hope stopped at. "You're sure? And if I don't meet him now, he'll come find me?"

When Hope nodded and hopped out, James stayed put. He looked up at the roof. "Apollo, Eric, if you two are listening, give me some strength to get through this, would you," he said before sliding out and following his sister to the door. And then through the door. 

He stared at the two people standing in the room just off the entryway. "Uhhhhh," he said, unable to find the words to say to the man looking at him. 
****
Cissa looked between father and son. No DNA test needed, she thought. He looked like Hope and Wrath. And no one else was speaking. She shared a look with Hope and stepped forward to James. She held out her hand.

"Hello, James, I'm Cecily but you can just call me Cissa. This is Wrath," she said, shaking the young man's hand. When Wrath didn't move, she elbowed him, hard, in the side. 

[Maira]

His "discussion" with his daughter earlier that morning hadn't gone especially well. Both he and Hope had ended up yelling, Gift happily playing in the garden, while he and Hope traded verbal frustrations. He wasn't yelling -at- Hope and she wasn't yelling -at- him, they were just both yelling because they were the same and hard emotions tended to come out of them in a loud fashion. There was no hugging to make up after the yelling, Wrath stalked off and Hope left the house to go get James, but they both knew that by the end of the day they'd be back to normal. There were some definite advantages to being "too much alike".

After she had left Wrath's house, Hope had driven over to where James was staying and picked him up. She gave him warning that their aunt Faith had dropped the bomb on Wrath the night before and that he was now all anxious and broody. This in turn got poor James all anxious, though she didn't see the broody that at one time would have consumed him and for that she was grateful.

Once she pulled up at Wrath and Cissa's house, Hope escorted her twin to the door and inside without even knocking. She knew James was nervous and she figured the best way to get this over with was like a bandaid. Quickly so that he pain was hopefully minimal. At James's lack of real words upon spotting Wrath and Cissa, Hope rubbed her hand over her face and smiled gratefully at Cissa when the older woman took the lead.

The elbow Wrath received to his ribs made him grunt softly, but it also worked to snap him out of his shock at seeing the male version of Hope standing next to her. He too held out a hand to James and he said as warmly as he could, "I'm very pleased to meet you, I wish it hadn't taken so long." The big tough man who had been yelling just over an hour ago was now working to hold back tears. How could Ceecee have done this to him not just once, but twice? How could she keep his twins from him?

Hope could see the tears shimmering in her dad's eyes and she could feel the mix of rage, sadness, and loss rolling off of him in waves. She waited until James shook Wrath's hand and then she slipped out to the garden to gather up Eli and Gift. The hard meeting was finished, now for some baby snuggles to smooth everything over.

When she spotted Eli feeding Gift under her favorite tree, a silly grin crept onto her face and she stood watching them for a while before remembering why she was coming out to get them. Once she remembered, Hope bounded out into the garden and announced to Eli, "Time for Gift to come meet Uncle James and to soothe poor Pawpaw's heart." She watched as Eli expertly handled the baby, keeping him from fussing while also managing to lift both of them and the bottle off the ground. When Eli got close and offered Gift to her, she shook her head slightly and told him, "He's happy with you, you keep him for now."

With that, the trio went back inside and Hope led Eli, carrying Gift, into the livingroom where Wrath, Cissa, and James had all taken seats. There surprisingly wasn't much tension in the room, just a lot of emotion. Hope called softly, "James, come meet your nephew," and then watched with a smirk as he turned and gawked at the wriggling ball of baby in Eli's arms. Somehow the picture album must not have prepared him for the reality of the fact that his sister was a mother and that she'd given birth to a tiny person.

[Demeter]

Forty-eight hours ago, life had seemed so much easier. He'd known a few things for certain. He missed Eric, Kivan was hot, and life was okay. Now, everything was turned upside down. He had a father, a nephew and his sister. It was a lot to take in in such a short time.

After the meet and greet, he'd escaped to his hotel for a little time to settle down. Sitting on the bed, he sighed and flopped backwards. What to do?

***
He'd managed to avoid the question for several weeks by focusing on moving and his music. He sat on the stage of Asylum, fiddling with new lyrics while the club's staff worked to set up for the evening.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Kivan instructing a new bouncer on emergency procedures. He busied himself watching the man, dreaming about just what he wanted that man to do to him. He had this feeling that Kivan would be an animal in bed.

He was so lost in his daydreams that he didn't notice when his sister and step-mother approached him. When Hope tapped him on the knee, James yelped and tumbled off the stage.

[Demeter]

"What do you mean you can't get into the house?"

"The bloody bastard has barricaded the doors and put some sort of spell that's made the window's unbreakable."

In the greenroom of Asylum, Lana Elderwood paced and worried. She knew that the last few days had been hard on James and not just because of being an empath. Anyone would feel horrid as the year anniversary of one's true love's death approached. But now she felt spurts of fear and panic when she tugged on the connection between her and her lead singer.

What she was picking up from James was beyond simple grieving. His mood was black and shrouded in fog. Lost, so lost and in so much pain. And now he'd gone and locked himself in the house, taking the extra steps to ensure his roommates had a harder time busting in.

She knew his past, knew he wasn't a stranger to true attempts and damn her soul for not having the phone number for Hope or Wrath. She needed to get into that house.

On the return path of her pacing, Lana went past the door and blinked when she saw James' favorite bouncer stomp past. Kivan was a big, strong guy; she'd seen him haul multiple disruptive clubbers out at once. Thinking he might be able to help, Lana went running after him.

"Kivan! Kivan, wait up a second!" She skidded to a stop in front of him. "I know James isn't your favorite person but I seriously need your help. He's locked himself into the house and I know he's trying to do some serious harm to himself. Like deadly serious harm. Can you break barricaded doors down?"

***

James sat at the edge of his bed, slowly turning Eric's pocket knife in his hands. He'd spent the morning sharping the blade. The afternoon had been spent keeping the others out. He was sorry for the pain he'd cause but he couldn't, wouldn't go on any longer. Eric had been his anchor. He'd pulled through the last time because Eric had still been alive.

Now, with a few good days as exceptions, he grasped at loose footholds and considered it a miracle to make it through an hour, much less a day.

James flipped open the knife and slowly, deeply, dragged the blade up his arms.