Two months later, it was time for Kiara and Lucas to get married. They had been engaged for nearly their entire time at university, and were still madly in love with each other. They’d weathered a couple of really bad spells, and had come through both with flying colors and a bond stronger than ever.

Theoren knocked on the door of the bedroom Kiara was getting ready in. The Chief had agreed to hold the wedding in their spacious backyard, and Kiara was using one of the guest rooms.

Kiara answered the door herself. With her were Nara and her bridesmaids. She had chosen Robin, Mercy’s daughter Jessica and Claude’s daughter Aimee. The three girls and Nara were helping her put the finishing touches on her ensemble.

"Hi Papa..."

Theoren blinked. "Wow. Kiara you look marvelous. I’m jus’ here to tell you dat everyone is seated, Lucas an’ de minister are ready, an’ Nara, it’s time you went an’ sat down."

"Okay, okay. I’m going." Nara laughed. She hugged Kiara and left to take her spot. Theoren looked at the girls.

"Ready?"

Kiara swallowed. She was nervous. "Yes."

She took her father’s arm and they followed the girls down to the backyard. As the wedding march started playing, they walked down the aisle. Theoren didn’t think he’d ever had a prouder moment, not even when he saw her walk across the stage at her college graduation two months earlier. This was the proudest moment of his life, something he’d always wanted to do and had never dreamed until four years ago that he’d ever get a chance to.

After the ceremony, during which both Kiara and Lucas cried, they went away on their honeymoon to Niagara Falls. Things went back to normal for the Guild. By this point, most of the children who were old enough were in training to be thieves or assassins, except for Lizzie and Gen, neither of whom wanted to.

Mattie still wasn’t sure what she wanted to specialize in, and it was secretly driving her crazy. She was torn between her love for computers and the appeal of being an information specialist like Mercy. Travis had already decided he wanted to be a security-breach expert just like his mother, and Jaiden, who was initially torn between wanting to be a thief and wanting to be an assassin, had chosen the latter and had started training with a bo staff. Lucas, Chris, Sam, Kali and Zachary were all starting their training as well, but all were still too young to decide on a specialty.

Ever since Claude had learned that his sister was still alive somewhere, he was secretly hoping to find her someday. He didn’t quite know how to go about looking for her, but whenever he saw a woman who would be around Dominique’s age, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was her. Little did he know that she was literally going to fall into his lap.

Sebastien had suggested they go on a little vacation, just the two of them. The twins were old enough to take care of themselves, and would go to Mercy and Alan if they needed help with something. So Sebastien took care of all the details and arranged for them to spend two weeks in a small New Hampshire community. He didn’t know it, of course, but Dominique was more or less living in that community; or rather in a run-down shack in the woods outside the community.

When the two men arrived on a sunny afternoon, Claude suddenly had a strong urge to go for a walk. Looking back later, he’d realize that Geneva the ghost was the one giving him that urge, but at the time he had no idea. He just knew he had to go for a walk and the idea refused to be ignored. So, they went for a walk.

Before long, they both got the distinct impression that they were being watched, but neither of them could see anyone around. They both heard the rustle of the bushes though, and after a silent consultation, they followed the sound. It wasn’t exactly planned, but Dominique led them right to the shack she’d called home for the past four years. In her fear and hurry to escape, even though she knew who one of them was, having been visited by Geneva just prior to the arrival of the guys, she left the door of the shack open, and ultimately, the two men went inside.

The shack was a simple, run-down one-room building that looked about ready to collapse. And hovering in a corner was a starving waif of a woman who would have been the female version of Claude had she been a little bigger, and a small girl of about four years old. Both Claude and Sebastien, being trained professionals, could tell instantly that anything the woman got went to the girl, as it was obvious the girl was well-fed and very well taken care of, in spite of living in such conditions.

Claude knew instantly who the woman was. He suddenly felt almost as if he was looking in a mirror; the resemblance between him and the woman was uncanny. He knelt down in front of the woman and the girl, who was obviously her daughter, and smiled warmly.

"We’re not gon’ hurt you."

The woman nodded, her dirty brown hair falling into her face. She brushed it away and simply studied her older brother, a man who she had never met before. The little girl looked from him to Sebastien in silent awe, hope in her large green eyes.

Sebastien felt a little out of place, having also quickly pieced together who the woman was. Claude’s search was over. He hovered near the door, trying to give them some semblance of privacy.

Claude spoke again, quietly, trying to be reassuring. "My name is Claude."

Again the woman nodded. When she spoke her voice was soft. "I know." She handed him a tattered piece of paper.

If Claude had ever hated his parents, he hated them when he was done reading what was on the paper. They had sold Dominique to two men for a nice little sum. In the letter that was addressed to her, their mother explained the entire situation and told Domi that she had three older brothers, Alain, Bernard, and Claude, who, at the time of her birth were ten, eight and six respectfully. The very idea that his parents hadn’t wanted a daughter crushed Claude and made him so angry he couldn’t see straight. That would be the equivalent to him and Sebastien rejecting Aimee when she and Julien came over from Paris just because she was a girl. It was insane.

Dominique looked at her brother. "Please don’t let them get us..."

"Who? De guys who...?"

She nodded. "It was sort of okay until I turned twelve. They didn’t love me, but they didn’t beat me or neglect me in any way. I always had food and water and shelter. But when I turned twelve...once I got my period I should say...everything changed. They started a business of sorts, and I was their main profit-getter. Couples would come to them…they all had one thing in common: the wife was infertile. Couldn’t have children. So they would pay my owners quite a bit of money, and in exchange the husband would have sex with me until I became pregnant. I was a slave...a baby-making machine...and I couldn’t leave. I had no way out. They’d kill me if I tried to escape. Once the babies were born, I wasn’t allowed to see them, they were taken from me immediately and given to the people who had paid for my services. I gave birth to the first baby when I was twelve. Over the next thirty-four years, I gave birth seventeen times, to fourteen single children and three sets of twins."

Claude was silent throughout the entire story, his jaw dropped in shock and horror that someone would treat another human being like this.

Domi continued, looking down at her daughter. "This is Rachel. She’s four years old. I was forty-six when I had her. My owners had been paid for her, but I just couldn’t do it again. I wanted to be able to keep one of my children. So when I discovered I was pregnant with her, I took off. I ran away...and came here. I lived in fear that they’d find me, but so far they haven’t. I was alone here when I gave birth to her and I promised her I’d never let them get her. I didn’t care that they had to give the money back to the couple who were supposed to raise her...I just wanted one of my children..."

Claude smiled down at the little girl. "Hi Rachel. Do you know who I am?"

Rachel nodded. "You’re Uncle Claude. Mama told me who you are." She pointed at Sebastien. "Who’s he?"

"Dat’s Sebastien, my husband."

Rachel studied him thoughtfully. "I like his hair."

"So do I." Claude laughed.

Dominique thought they made a handsome pair and said so. Then she asked "What happened to the rest of our family?"

Claude sighed. "Our parents, Alain, Bernard an’ de rest of our relatives were massacred a very long time ago...back when I was fifteen. I’m kinda wishin’ at least Papa an’ Mama were still alive right now so I could go home to Nawlins an’ slap ‘em both upside de head for bein’ so stupid wit’ you."

Domi nodded.

Already, a plan was forming in Claude’s mind. He looked over at Sebastien. And Sebastien, knowing that to say no would spell disaster nodded his head.

Claude looked at Domi and Rachel. "What would you t’ink of leavin’ dis shack an’ comin’ back to Nawlins wit’ Sebastien an’ me? We’re stayin’ here for a couple of weeks, on vacation; we’ve rented a house here. But dere’s no reason why you can’t come back wit’ us. Dose guys would never find you dere..."

Domi remembered what the letter had said about tunnel-dwelling thieves. "Would we live in the tunnels...?"

Claude chuckled. "Well de Guilds do...it’s a long story...but you wouldn’ have to. We could easily get you an apartment or somethin’, an’ I’m sure we could find you a decent job, an’ get Rachel into school when she’s old enough...What do you say?"

Rachel looked up at her mother. "Please can we, Mommy?"

Domi smiled. "I’d like that. In fact, I’d like it a lot. I always hated the fact that I didn’t get to know at least one of my brothers..."

"Well you don’ have to hate it anymore." Claude grinned.

"Do you have any children?" Rachel wanted to know.

"Oui, I sure do, petite. Sebastien an’ I adopted dem, but dey’re actually cousins of ours from Paris. Deir names are Aimee an’ Julien, an’ dey’re twins. Dey’re thirteen years old now. Dey’ve been livin’ wit’ us for six years."

"Cool!" Rachel exclaimed. "Are there other kids where you live?"

Claude picked her up. "Dere are plenty of children where I live. I’ll explain it to you sometime. But dere’s a lot of kids, yeah."

"Any my age?"

"Let’s see…you’re four...so you were born in 2008?"

Rachel nodded.

"Den yes, dere are actually four children who are de same age as you. Zachary, Kali, Christopher and Samantha. Chris and Sam are twins. I bet you’ll get along jus’ great wit’ de four of dem." Claude told her.

"Okay."

As Claude and Sebastien took Domi and Rachel back to the home they were renting for their two week vacation, Claude couldn’t help but think things were finally coming together. He’d felt for years that there was a missing link, and he hadn’t been able to figure it out. But even though he’d only found Domi and Rachel a few short minutes ago, he felt as if the link…the void he’d felt in his heart...was filled. And it felt good.

Nobody had ever explained to the young Jaiden that if she got lost, she should stay where she was until somebody found her. So when she realized she was lost, she did the only thing that seemed logical to her: she kept walking. She was just as stubborn as her parents and had gotten it into her small head that if she had walked her way into her lost situation, she could walk her way out of it. But it didn’t quite work that way.

Jaiden wandered around in the tunnels and didn’t see a single thing that looked familiar to her. She was in a section that no one used anymore even with the ever-growing Guild families. This section wasn’t kept up at all, and the floors were covered in water and slime. It was really quite gross. There were also rats. Jaiden knew that her father always had a steady supply of rats around, although she hadn’t figured out why, and she thought to herself that she’d have to tell him of this section because he’d never run out of rats if he came here for them. They were huge too, and scary. Their bodies were as long as her arms. She didn’t like them, especially when they came towards her.

She backed away from one of them at one point and fell into a drainage ditch on the side of the tunnel. She heard a loud crack and felt a sharp pain. She sat there in the wet ditch and cried, because she saw her leg was twisted at a strange angle and it hurt like nothing else had in her whole life. She couldn’t get up. So she sat there and cried, unsure of really what she was going to do.

Suddenly a familiar person appeared and Jaiden stopped crying. "J-J-Julien...?"

Julien the guardian angel smiled down at his young charge. "Yes, petite."

Julien’s arrival sent the rats scurrying for cover. Something about him wasn’t normal and they sensed it. They knew he was a ghost.

"I wan’ go home..." Jaiden sniffled.

"I know. I’m gon’ have to leave you for a second an’ go tell your father where you are. But den I’ll come back an’ wait wit’ you until he comes, okay? Can you be brave an’ quiet while you wait for me? I won’ be gone more dan a minute, I promise."

The little girl nodded, her blond curls falling in her face. She waited and didn’t even cry, the whole time Julien was gone, which wasn’t really very long.

Julien returned and picked her up, setting her down where it was a little drier. "Your Papa will be here in a few minutes an’ he’ll take you home."

"Okay, Julien." Jaiden said. "I t’ink my leg’s broken."

"I know it is." Julien confirmed. "But don’ worry, we can get dat fixed up good as new."

Fifteen minutes later Remy joined them. "Oh t’ank God!"

He had been very worried about his daughter, and had been looking for her when Julien had appeared in front of him and told him where the little girl was. He bent down and picked her up, holding her close.

"I’m sorry, Papa..."

"I know you are, baby. But what have Mama an’ I told you ‘bout explorin’ by yourself?"

"I know, Papa. I’ll never do it ‘gain..." Jaiden said.

"Okay. Let’s go see if D has de ability to fix dat leg or if we have to take you to de hospital." Remy said as he started to carry his daughter out of the room. He paused and looked at Julien. "You’re doin’ a good job, Julien. T’anks."

"Jus’ doin’ what I’m here to do, Rem." Julien said.

Unfortunately, Danielle wasn’t able to fix the broken leg, so Remy and Bella Donna took their daughter to the hospital. There, Dr. Samson put it back in place, which made the girl scream, and set it with a cast. Then he told her she’d have to wear the cast for six weeks. She was not amused at all, but she rationalized that it was a small price to pay for not heeding her parents’ words.

The years continued to pass and the children grew up. They grew up quicker than their parents wanted them to, partly because the adults wanted their babies to stay little forever, and partly because if the children grew up it meant they were getting older themselves and they hated that idea.

The year 2015 brought the initiation of the first of the children into the Guild ranks. Two weeks before Alex turned thirteen, he went on his tilling. He was sponsored by Genard, simply because it was against the Guild rules for a child to be sponsored by his or her own parent. He passed his tilling with flying colors, and even got to use his hacker training while he was on it.

The day Remy officially initiated Alex as a Guild thief was one of the proudest of Emil’s whole life. Even better was that Remy addressed the other children once the initiation ceremony was over and held Alex up as a role model for those who were in training to join the Guild.

A year later it was Jean-Michel’s turn. Jean-Michel’s training had been taken over by Remy once the boy announced his desire to be a military espionage expert, since Remy was the only one of the adults who had a working knowledge of what his father had done. And because of that, Remy became Jean-Michel’s teacher. Emil returned the favor and sponsored Jean-Michel on his tilling. Remy made sure that Jean-Michel’s tilling was one that enabled the boy to utilize his skills in military espionage, and Jean-Michel didn’t disappoint.

Jean-Michel was thrilled to join the Guild ranks. He had wanted to be a thief since he was old enough to know what his father did for a living, and to finally achieve the goal of being a Guild thief was a milestone in his young life.

It was disappointing to him and Alex that their younger sisters had no desire to be thieves, or even an assassin, in Gen’s case, but the girls were adamant. Gen had been writing steadily since she learned how and was determined to be a published author before she was twenty. And no one knew it, but Lizzie had already had some of her paintings shown in local museums.

Hija was still training to be a healer. There was no rite of passage for her, but as she got older, Danielle let her handle more and more of the problems that came their way. Danielle always supervised, to make sure Hija didn’t get into a jam, but she was coming a long way and getting better every day.

Hija got a chance to work without being supervised in the summer of that year, when she was home alone with her younger sister, nine-year-old Kali. The girls were making something for their lunch, when Kali accidentally touched the hot pot with her bare hand, burning it quite badly. Most normal thirteen-year-olds might have panicked, but not Hija. She got Kali to put her hand under cold water right away and hold it there for quite awhile.

While Kali was holding her hand under the water, Hija calmly went to her books and papers and found what she needed. She decided that the burn wasn’t a very bad one, first-degree at most, and used her training to heal it. It actually worked, and she was thrilled with herself. But just to be sure, she left a note for their parents and took Kali to visit Danielle.

"What’s going on?" Danielle asked when the girls showed up at the door.

"We were makin’ lunch an’ Kali burned her hand on de pot. I got her to hold it under cold water. It looked like a first-degree burn to me, so I followed de instructions you gave me for healing dose. I just wanted to show you an’ make sure I did it right..." Hija explained as they joined Danielle in her home.

"Well let’s see." Danielle said. Kali sat on a chair and Danielle examined the hand.

"Well...?" Hija was nervous. It was the first time she’d ever healed anything without her trainer present.

Danielle smiled at her student. "You did a wonderful job, Hija. I couldn’t have done it better myself. You should be proud of yourself...I’m proud of you."

Hija breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yay Hija!" Kali laughed.

Hija smiled. "Yeah. Let’s go home."

When the girls got back home, their parents were waiting for them, concerned about their younger daughter, but trusting in the ability of their older daughter.

"Kali are you okay?" Amelia asked.

"Yep! Hija fixed it." Kali showed her parents her healed hand. "An’ she didn’ even need Danielle’s help."

Hija blushed furiously. She didn’t like being the center of attention and she felt that what she did wasn’t that miraculous or brilliant. She just did what she was trained to do. "It’s not a big deal..." She said shyly.

"Sure it is." Gris smiled at her. "I’m very proud of you."

"So am I." Amelia agreed.

Hija blushed again. "You gon’ be proud of me every time I do somethin’ like dis?"

"Of course." Gris and Amelia said in unison.

Hija groaned. "Why am I not surprised..." she laughed, and went into her bedroom to do some reading.

The three children knew their father was ill. He didn’t look ill, but he was. He was desperately unhappy and starting to give up on his long-held dream that she would come back to him. It hurt him to do it, but as the years went by it was getting harder and harder to believe that she’d ever return. In his mind, she had long ago given up on them and stopped caring.

Singer, however, hadn’t quite given up. Her life had been anything but pleasant since she left New Orleans and moved to Las Vegas. She had gotten off the heroin after a year and stayed off it. She got a job as a waitress. The money wasn’t great, but it was something. For the first few years she tried to contact Genard and her children, but for reasons unknown to her, whenever she called, the calls weren’t patched down to the tunnels. She couldn’t get through. She felt that Genard must hate her and was ignoring her calls, and she didn’t blame him.

Tragedy struck for Singer in 2013. Her boss at the restaurant trapped her one night after work and raped her. This proved to be a double whammy for her. She became pregnant and contracted the AIDS virus from him. All the money she had went into getting an abortion and buying medication. She was fired from her job when her boss found out she was trying to take him to court. It didn’t take long after that for the money to run out; that meant she was no longer able to buy medication to keep herself healthy. By 2017, she was out of medication and going downhill very fast. She sold everything she had, except for her engagement ring, which she wore on a piece of twine around her neck, in order to pay for medication and food. She even sold her body, becoming a prostitute. It was very degrading for her and she realized as time went on that in spite of the alienation she had felt before, her heart was still in New Orleans, with her husband and children.

By the early months of 2018, Singer was dying. And she knew what she had to do. She saved every cent she could from her prostitution work and bough a bus ticket. She was going to go home to die. She wanted to at least see Genard one more time before she died. She still loved him with all her heart and couldn’t die peacefully without seeing him. She knew it. So she went home.

2018 brought the initiation of Travis into the Guild folds. He had studied and trained hard to be a security breach expert, and was able to show his worth during his tilling, which was sponsored by Claude, who was secretly disappointed that neither Julien or Aimee had wanted to join the ranks as Guild thieves. The twins had thief blood in them, but weren’t interested in the job. They wanted to be as normal as they could, and both were attending classes at Tulane University full time.

Danielle and Grace were both very proud of their son for his accomplishments. The next generation was gearing up to do the Guild proud and lead them to the future with ease.

Singer returned to New Orleans. She didn’t have a lot of hope that anything would come of it, she just wanted to see Genard before she died. She was hovering in an alley near one of the tunnel entrances.

Pierre had gone to the store to get some groceries for his family. He was on the way home and happened to spot her in the alley out of the corner of his eye. "Desiree?"

Singer looked up, weak. "...Pierre...?"

Pierre went over to her side. "Mon Dieu..."

"Please...take me home..." Singer begged.

"I’m not sure I can do dat, girl..." Pierre replied softly.

"I jus’ wan’ see him...one more time...b’fore I die..." Her voice was barely a whisper.

Pierre nodded. He understood somehow, even it he didn’t know what was wrong with her. He knew she was dying. "Den I’ll take him up here. It’s not my place to d’cide if de children should see you like dis..."

"Please...do..."

Pierre returned to the tunnels. Grace, suspecting something was going on, put the groceries away for him while he went to get his son.

"Genard, I need you to come to de surface wit’ me..."

Genard didn’t look up. "Papa, I haven’ set foot outside de tunnels in ten years. What makes you t’ink I’m gon’ do it now?"

Pierre put his hand under Genard’s chin and tilted his head up. "Trust. Me."

"Okay fine..." Genard gave in. He followed his father up to the surface, where Singer was waiting in the alley, barely able to stand.

"Genard...?" Singer whispered.

Genard’s brown eyes took on a strange quality, a mix of disbelief, relief, fear and pain.

"I’m sorry...I’m so sorry..." Singer said, as the tears fell from her green eyes.

"So am I..." Genard admitted. "I..."

Singer spoke softly. "I love you, Genard..."

When he didn’t respond, she continued. "I felt so detached...from everyone...from everythin’..."

"I wasn’ help..."

Singer kept talking. "I put up wit' it for so long... b'cause I love you... and I didn' wan' lose you...I started de heroin ‘gain, to try an’ reattach...but it didn’ work..."

Genard spoke softly. "Y’know...de night you left was de night I’d d’cided to turn t’ings ‘round an’ stop stayin’ away so much..."

"After I left, I went to Vegas... got a low-paying job... it paid for my addiction...” Singer told him. “Five years ago, I was diagnosed with AIDS. I stopped usin’ heroin...used what little money I had to pay for medicine…it wasn’t enough. I sold everything, even my body, for scraps of food. I saved up what little I could...to come here..."

Genard’s voice was still soft. "Dis is de first time in ten years I’ve set foot outside de tunnels...my life doesn’ exist...I’m a shell...de kids hardly recognize me...I barely recognize myself…but I live for dem..."

All she could do was look up into his eyes, her own once-green eyes faded to grey with hints of green.

He continued. “I don’ know anymore, Singer. I don’ know anythin’. I stopped knowin’ anythin’ de moment I realized you were gon’ an’ weren’ comin’ back..."

Singer started to speak again. "I..." She was cut off by a violent coughing fit.

"You’re dyin’..."

Once the fit subsided, she nodded. "Oui."

"Dey don’ d’serve to see you like dis...dey d’serve so much better’n dat..." Genard said quietly, speaking of the children.

"At least I got to see you...one...last...time..." Singer had gotten so weak she was unable to stand. She sank to the ground, shaking.

Genard sighed. Somewhere deep inside his soul, he still loved her, and he hated to see her like that. It broke his already broken heart even more. He knew that Dr. Samson was able to do quite a bit for Jean-Louis and Stefan before they decided on their own to forgo the medicines, so he decided it couldn’t hurt to take her to see him as well. He told his father he’d be back later, bent down and picked Singer up. "C’mon. I don’ know what good it’s gon’ do, but it can’ hurt."

He carried her the whole way to Dr. Samson’s office and set her down on one of the chairs once they arrived. The doctor came out of his examination room, took one look at Singer and raised his eyebrows. "Good lord...bring her in here immediately."

Genard did as he was told and brought Singer into the examination room. He sat her down on the table.

Dr. Samson wasted no time. "Well now, you’re a very sick little lady. Give me a run-down, please."

Singer told him. "Diagnosed... wit' AIDS... five years ago. Haven't... been able... to pay... for meds... for de pas' three years..."

Genard’s jaw dropped when he learned that last bit, but he said nothing.

Dr. Samson nodded. "I see. Well you’re in luck. There’s something we can do. I’m going to admit you to the hospital for the next seven days. During that time you’ll be on a much larger than normal dose of the better AIDS medications, and we’ll have you under surveillance. It should knock the virus out, although it won’t cure you. However if we do that, and then keep you on a steady regular dose from now on, you’ll be able to live for a good many years to come."

"I’ll take care of de bill, Dr. Samson." Genard said. "Whatever de cost, I’ll find a way..."

"Okay." Dr. Samson nodded. "You take her to the hospital. I’ll call ahead and meet you there so we can get her straightened out."

Jean-Michel was gay. He had known since he was five years old that he was gay, but he had never told anyone, especially after reading in the bible that God didn’t like homosexuality. And he had learned at the age of five that he had a decided crush on Alex. His feelings had grown as the boys did, but he had never expressed how he felt to the older teen. That was about to change. He was tired of keeping it a secret from the whole world and he wanted to know just once what it would be like to kiss Alex.

He found Alex sitting in his bedroom reading a book. "Hey."

Alex looked up and smiled at his friend. He’d always liked Jean-Michel and considered him to be his best friend. He signed his reply. "Hi."

Jean-Michel nearly melted in that smile, as he always did. "Dere’s somethin’ I gotta do...please don’ hate me for dis..." With those cryptic words, he pulled Alex to his feet and into a kiss.

Needless to say, Alex was stunned. He really didn’t know what to do or how to react. After a few moments, Jean-Michel released him. "I’m sorry..."

"Don’ be..." Alex said softly.

Jean-Michel blinked, stunned. "What...?"

Alex’s voice was still soft. "I don’ hate you an’ you have nothin’ to be sorry for."

"I’ve had a crush on you since I was five..." Jean-Michel whispered. He looked about ready to pass out from shock.

"I’m really confused ‘bout t’ings...have been for awhile..." Alex admitted softly. "It’s not easy to keep it from my father...but I have so far...or else he jus’ hasn’ told me he knows...I don’ know how I feel ‘ bout anythin’..."

Jean-Michel nodded, smiling in relief. "I’m jus’ glad you don’ hate me."

Alex smiled back. "Non, I don’ hate you. I’m jus’ confused. I t’ink I’m gon’ go talk to Claude an’ Sebastien..."

"Good idea. I guess I’ll jus’ go home..."

"Okay."

The two boys left the Lapin home and headed in opposite directions; Jean-Michel went home, and Alex went to the home of Claude and Seba, hoping to find answers. When he got there, only Sebastien was around.

"Uh...hi..." Alex said after tentatively opening the door.

"Hey Alex." Sebastien smiled. "C'mon in."

Alex joined him. "Can we talk...?"

"Sure. Have a seat." Sebastien motioned to the couch. "What’s on your mind?"

"Well..." It was obvious to Seba that Alex was very nervous.

"What’s wrong, Alex?"

Alex let out a breath. "I’m really confused...I’ve felt dis way for a while but didn’ know how confused I really was until jus’ a little while ago..."

Sebastien smiled encouragingly. "Go on..."

Alex turned a shade of red similar to his auburn hair. "I always t'ought I liked girls...an' I still do...but...Jean-Michel kissed me a little while ago...an' I liked it..." Sebastien nodded. "Sounds to me like you’re bisexual, Alex."

Alex blushed even more.

"Nothin’ to be ashamed of, kid, but it is confusin’ at first. I’m bisexual too."

"You are?" Alex was shocked. "I t’ought you were gay, like Claude..."

"Non. I like women, but I jus’ happened to fall in love wit’ Claude." Sebastien explained with a smile.

"So it could have gone either way..."

"Oui."

Alex was curious. "How’d you learn you were bisexual?"

"When I realized I was spendin’ more time checkin’ out Marcel dan Singer." Sebastien chuckled.

"But I haven’...I mean…I didn’...at least until tonight..." Alex stammered.

"It can happen gradually, or it can happen in one single flash. Best t’ing for you to do now is jus’ follow your instinct. Somethin’ will jus’ feel right. It’s hard to explain."

"T’anks."

"If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me, okay?"

Alex smiled. "Okay."

A little while later, Alex and Jean-Michel had a much needed talk, and shared another kiss, but then they both decided it was time they told their parents.

Jean-Michel left his room to find his grandfather trying unsuccessfully to teach Lucas how to pick a lock. "Grand-pere? Where’s Papa?"

Pierre looked up and smiled, signing his answer. "He went out. He’ll be back shortly I would imagine."

"Papa? Out? Dose two words don’ go in de same sentence." Jean-Michel didn’t believe it.

"I know, but dey do now. It’s important. Life-changin’ important."

Somehow, Jean-Michel knew he wouldn’t get any more out of his grandfather so he didn’t press the issue. Five minutes later, Genard returned home, having left Singer in the capable hands of the doctors and nurses at the hospital.

"Hey Papa, can we talk?" Jean-Michel said when Genard arrived.

"Sure." Genard followed his son into the latter’s bedroom and shut the door. "What’s on your mind?"

"Papa...I’m gay." Jean-Michel said simply.

Inwardly, Genard was shocked. But on the outside, he didn’t even blink. "Okay."

Jean-Michel breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm jus' gon' tell you two t'ings. One, always practice safe sex. An' two, I will be here for you always no matter what. Please don' feel like you can' come to me if you need to talk. I might not fully understand, but I am here." Genard told him.

"Okay, Papa. T’anks." Jean-Michel said.

"Now..." Genard started on a different track.

Jean-Michel raised an eyebrow. "You went out. Explain."

Genard chuckled softly. "Yeah, I went out. It felt weird. You know your grandfather went to get some groceries for us. On his way back he discovered somethin' an' had to bring me out to deal wit' it. First of all, please promise me you won' tell Genevieve or Lucas yet. I'm not exactly ready to try'n explain it to dem yet..."

"Okay..." Jean-Michel was a little concerned by where this was going.

Genard decided to just tell him and get it over with. "Your mother is back in town."

"What?"

"It's a very long story, one I can' really tell you b'cause I don' know it all. She's very, very sick...she has AIDS...like I said it's a long story. I t'ink she came back to die, but I took her to Dr. Samson an' he's workin' to make sure dat doesn' happen. She's gon' be in de hospital for de next seven days on extreme treatment. I don' know what's gon' happen after dat...I wasn' gon' tell you guys...an' I still might not tell Gen-vie or Lucas until she's out of the hospital...b'cause I didn' wan' you guys to have to see her de way Grand-pere an' I saw her earlier today..." Genard explained. He said nothing more, waiting for his son to react.

Jean-Michel’s mind was racing. "Dieu..."

"Yeah..."

"Please, Papa, take me to see her..."

Genard smiled. "I will, but not right now. When I left, de doctors had already started her on de treatment an’ wanted her to rest."

"Okay."