Kyle didn't need a confirmation beyond the name that had finally made it out into the air, poisoning everything around it.

Davyn.

Of course it wasn't Bob, it was Davyn.

Of course Freider punched Maxi in the face over it. But how could it be such a well-kept secret? How could Freider swallow so many lies without choking on them?

But, then again, maybe he hadn't. Maybe this explained everything. Why he was abandoned in Texas as a child, why Freider always criticized him, tried to make him miserable, keep him and Kay apart. After all the wacko had at one point admitted that he had a problem with Kay just because she was blonde.

Maybe he saw Davyn and Millie instead of Kyle and Kay, and that was something he wanted to stomp out of existence with everything he had.

I really wish you were my son.

The words caught a new meaning as they became real, possible. Davyn no longer had to wish it because it became true. He got what he wanted. But Kyle? Who cared what Kyle wanted? He was nothing but a bystander in all this, without any power to decide the genes that went into his DNA. And still, something inside him was broken. Not because his own father had tried to kill him, but because his mother allowed it to happen.

"What?" Sam asked, his voice like a distant echo. "Your real name is Davyn? Like Kyle's middle..." His voice trailed off, washed away by waves of confusion.

Kyle knew all eyes were on him, but he couldn't move, couldn't look away from the two people who had given him life and then turned it into a joke. Into a powerplay that none of them could win.

"How did you get it past Freider?" It was all he could ask at the moment.

Kay wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed tightly. It hurt that he couldn't break out of his stupor and focus on her, comfort her, let he know everything would be alright. But it was all about him at the moment and for once, he let it. Because he had to process this all now and then push through and get things done.

"Come to think about it," he added, looking from his mother to the man who was apparently his father, "how did this get past you?"

"I thought your middle name was Jacob," Snitch Gravel replied, his tone filled with shock. "I heard Freider boasting about it in the hospital."

"That's what he wanted," Maxi whispered and then turned to Kyle. "But I wanted to name you Davyn. And your grandma Grace agreed with me. She took care of the formalities at that time since Freider was too busy approving experimental treatments on you. So when she came back from registering you, she'd given you the name."

"So it's true?" Jessie asked. "Is he..." She turned to Kyle, then looked back at the parents. "He's really Kyle's dad?"

Maxi nodded, her hands over her mouth to keep in the sobs.

"This makes even less sense," Kay said. "Why hurry to marry a man while expecting another man's child?"

"Hadn't you heard of condoms, you wacko?" Tom asked. "They're a thing."

"Yeah, they didn't stop us, though," Angie mumbled.

"I couldn't fail like that," Maxi said, her voice choked. "I couldn't disappoint my mother like that. Be a single, abandoned teenage mother. I just couldn't."

The words seemed to pierce Kyle's very soul. "Maman knew?"

Maxi shook her head. "No one knew. I've been carrying this secret alone for thirty years."

"That's not true," Kay said. "Your husband obviously knew. Isn't that why the two of you sent Kyle to Texas to begin with? Why he was so comfortable pumping Kyle full of chemicals that proved fatal to anyone else?" She slapped her forehead. "I can't believe my mother was right all along."

"He didn't know," Maxi whispered. "I think he suspected. He must have. He wasn't an idiot."

"And that's how he kept you in check." Sam groaned. "I can't believe this."

"Texas was supposed to be temporary," Maxi said. "And then, when it turned out it wasn't... I just couldn't fight him. He was so frightening when he was upset. I was afraid he'd figure it out if I insisted. He always held that over my head. And I wanted peace in my family. I wanted us to be happy."

"And by your family, you mean everyone except for Kyle," Kay snapped. "And the two kids you were too stupid to even know about."

"Do you realize what you've done?"

Davyn's voice, though quiet, silenced everyone else. Because since his name had rang across the room together with the confirmation, Snitch Gravel seemed to have disappeared, leaving room to the person beneath. He held an even more commanding presence, one given by the intensity of his feelings and not by how well he could bury them underneath the surface.

"Do you realize that by keeping this secret, you've pinned me against him? That I could have killed him? That I could've hurt him more than I already have? That I..." His gaze drifted towards him and Kay and it was filled with sorrow.

What happened in Japan suddenly caught an entirely different meaning and it seemed to shatter something inside him.

"You didn't tell him," he continued, his voice lowered. "You didn't tell me. You didn't tell them anything when the truth could have saved them, could have stopped me. Could have stopped Snitch Gravel."

Maxi didn't answer. She just sank her face in her hands and let her tears flow.

Kyle watched her and noted how his impulse to protect her had disappeared. Because as everything came to light, he realized his mother had always been a coward. Maybe at one point, Millie had been worth something. Maxi obviously wasn't.

"You and that idiot husband of yours could have stopped this!" Davyn yelled. "But you were too busy hiding your own flaws, pretending you were perfect, thinking you could ignore what you'd done."

"Why didn't you stop it?"

Sam's question had Davyn turning to face them, his fists clenched, his face contorted in rage.

"Because I was broken beyond repair. Because I couldn't feel anymore, didn't care, only wanted to hurt the people who had hurt me. Because I had nothing worth fighting for. At least so I thought."

"What about Tom and me?" Jimmy asked.

"What I did..." He looked away, the anger morphing into panic. "I tried to hurt them. Then I tried to fix myself. I wasn't ready for it. It was a major fuck up which actually got me to leave you alone for a very long time. Until the Counters decided to butt in and until I realized they weren't learning. They thought they'd won. And even a direct threat on your life couldn't make Freider tell you the truth."

"What I don't get," Kay said, her attention still on Maxi, "is why you're blaming Sophie for this. I know her well enough to tell she wouldn't have judged you. She would've helped you. Her and Max and..." She faltered as if she realized she was advocating for a scenario in which none of the others was born.

It was that thought that sobered Kyle more than anything had until that moment. What was done was done, and nothing could erase the past now, rearrange the future. He was who he was and that didn't change what he'd become and his family which he loved with all his heart. It was just strange to think that they weren't his brothers anymore. Just half-brothers.

His thoughts seemed to have shown on his face because Davyn's panicked expression switched to one of sorrow.

"I'm so sorry, Kyle. I really didn't know."

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't change anything."

"Knowing would have changed everything." He turned to face Maxi again. "Kay's right. Your obsession with being perfect is what ruined everything. Not your mother or society's standards. You. You were just too weak to let yourself be judged. And you know what? It wouldn't have mattered either way because I came back."

Maxi hugged herself tighter. "I know that now. But back then, I was a scared little girl, okay? I was afraid. I was desperate. I thought you would leave me if I told you. I thought you cared about your gang and being Snitch Gravel more than you cared about me! I felt like I had no one."

Jerry took a step forward as if he wanted to go to their mother and hug her, but Jimmy grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"I'm sorry, Jerry, but this isn't our problem anymore," he said, his voice low. "She's not asking for out forgiveness."

"She should," Tom mumbled. "Especially yours," he added, looking at Kyle.

Kyle just nodded, unsure whether he wanted an apology or not. Not like it would change anything. For the first time, everything in his life made sense. Being left in Texas with Max, how he was kept away from his brothers, Freider's resent which must have come out of the uncertainty. It must've killed him to be unsure whether he was mistreating his own son or not. His hatred for Kay, the cryptic message in his will, the way his mother treated him...

She wanted to be saved, and since Davyn wasn't there, she counted on Davyn junior, thinking she could somehow interchange them.

But Jimmy was right. As he watched their mother breaking down, it became clear to Kyle that it was not their responsibility to put her back together. She had failed to play her part and protect them. The only one who could offer her absolution was the man she had betrayed and turned into a monster.

"I'm so sorry," Maxi kept muttering. "But maybe now you can understand why I couldn't tell you. I knew that letting this out would leave me like this, and I knew I couldn't handle it. I was never strong. I've been afraid my entire life. I'm not even sure what you ever saw in me." She raised her eyes to look at Davyn.

"Potential," he answered. "That's what I saw in you." He sounded defeated and disappointed, as if his energy had been drained the moment the truth finally came out.

"I guess I knew that. But I was nothing but a disappointment. To you and to my family. Even to Freider." She shook her head. "I just wish I'd had more time to think, to wait, to linger..."

"That's how it's always been with us, hasn't it?" His tone was much softer now, a half-smile lifting the corner of his mouth. "Forever inappropriate, forever inadequate, forever out of time."

Maxi stared at him for a few seconds, then took hesitant steps towards him, stopping inches away. "I can't believe it's finally you after all these years. I really thought I lost you. I missed you so much. You gave me strength." 

"And just like that, I took it away."

Still holding the gun, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly. He took a step back, seeming shocked by the contact, but it was obvious he wasn't impervious to what it meant. It took him a few moments, but he held her against him, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"Um..." Sam turned away and towards them, his eyes glassy. "What do we do now?"

Kyle could read what was behind that question. It was a situation none of them could have anticipated and it felt wrong to break them apart and get back to business. Not that he wanted to. He needed time to process everything.

"We give them a moment, I guess," he said. "Maybe try to process what we've heard?" It was harder than it sounded. Even if he'd made up his mind and sort of forgiven Snitch Gravel for his past attempts to murder him, it was a lot harder to make sense of his feelings towards Davyn.

His father was still alive. He actually had a father. A father who had wanted him even before he knew they were truly related. Being wanted was such a weird feeling. But could he accept the truth? Could he get over everything Snitch Gravel had done to them?

"I'm so confused," Tom said. "I still hate him, but I sort of get him and he saved our lives."

"After he tried to kill us," Jerry pointed out.

"He wasn't really trying, though." Sam glanced back over his shoulder. "The thing is... What Dad did... He's right, you know. I think about Harry and me and how he was my best friend and betrayed me and how he's still this bitter asshole and..."

"What are you saying, Sam?" Jerry asked.

Sam sighed. "Life is complicated. I would've hated Dad too, if he'd done to me what he did to Snitch Gravel...well, Davyn, especially if he knew and did it on purpose."

"You wouldn't have gone after innocent children, though," Tom pointed out.

"True," Sam said. "But here is where Kyle is right. We've been through everything together. I believe we've all made shitty choices alone."

No one could say anything to that because Sam was right. When left alone, they'd all done some pretty shitty things. Tom had cheated on Angie, Kyle had almost broken up with Kay, Jessie had run away from Jimmy... The list was endless. But, in the end, they'd saved each other.

"He had no one," Jessie whispered.

"The thing is, we don't need to forgive him," Jimmy said. "And we definitely don't have to do it right now. What matters is if we trust that he wants our forgiveness and we can count on him to help us."

"Did you see the way he looks at Kyle? Hell yeah, we can count on him." Tom turned to Kyle. "The guy adores you. I'm kind of jealous. What did you do to him?"

Kyle just shrugged because he couldn't process that at the moment. But Tom's words sort of warmed him. "I agree. We can trust him to help."

"Then let's give him a few more moments with Mom so that they can get it out of their systems and then get the rest of the stuff out of the way." Sam glanced back at them for a moment before turning to Kyle. "And just so you know, we don't give a shit. You're still our brother."

The affirmation brought a smile to Kyle's face. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"There's still something left unsaid, though," Angie pointed out. "He was supposed to tell us why he would go to your father for advice in the first place."

"Oh, right," Sam said. "Well, maybe they'll be more willing to share that after all this is over. We need a little break from shock and chaos."

Even if Sam had said it as a joke, Kyle had the awful feeling it would be exactly what they'd be getting. So he took the little respite to hug Kay against him and feel loved and safe for even a few more minutes.

🧭

Holding her brought the past back to life.

He wasn't sure why and how he could just close his eyes and go back to a time being with her didn't feel like a trap, like betrayal. To a time when there were no lies between them, when they shouted everything they wanted at each other.

A time when they were kids and everything mattered too much and yet didn't matter at all. Fight, kiss and make up, fight again, apologize and move on. Be sure there was love in the world, that it would all work out because they always returned to each other.

A time when they were each other's sanctuaries, bringing shelter, peace and love. Safety. Inappropriate and lost, bound together by a fire he'd never been able to explain or extinguish. But because he did, he felt like he could keep going. It gave him a form of strength he could never process properly. Why did he ever love her?

And yet... The moment they had fallen apart, everything washed away. Hope was gone and misery consumed his life, his soul, clouded his mind, morphed him into the dangerous and vile man he had become.

Why would she want to hold him? Grasp the man who had tried so many time to kill her children? The man who almost killed his own because she was a traitor, a liar and a cheat.

Somehow, she'd driven both him and Freider insane, brought about both their ends.

And yet... Here he was, pressing her against him, getting lost in the memories her body, of possibility and hope. When he looked at her, all he could see were bright blue eyes and golden hair. He could look past the mark of time, see her French braids again, feel the heat in his chest. Would her lips taste the same? Would it make him feel as alive like he did back then?

"Davyn," she whispered.

His name sounded the same off her lips like it had when they were young and in love. At least he'd been in love.

"Did you ever even love me?" The question slipped out before he could considered how appropriate it was at the time.

"Yes." There was no hesitancy in the word.

"Then how could you?"

"How could you?"

He had no answer to that question. He buried his face in her hair again, trying to make sense of the jumble inside his head, the pressure in his chest and the way it threatened to smother him. Never in his wildest dreams could he have predicted this. That she'd be here, that after everything, he'd end up holding her. Why would he even want to when she'd ruined everything. It sort of made him laugh.

"Look at us. A psychotic murdered and a lying cheat."

Millie let out a tiny giggle. "That's one way to put it. Potential wasted. Both us turning into horrible people. Maybe we deserve each other."

Yes, maybe. He didn't feel like he deserved anything good in his life after what he'd done, but she was so damn terrible, maybe he deserved her. It shouldn't make him as happy as it did. It shouldn't make him feel as if no time had passed and he'd just returned from his interviews to give her the good news.

Then she'd tell him she was pregnant and they'd get married and live happily ever after.

Except in that scenario, four exceptional people wouldn't have seen the light of day. And for whatever reason, he believed his misery was a fair trade for the lives Millie and Freider had brought into the world.

"Maybe it was worth it," he whispered.

She looked up at him. "What are you talking about?"

He looked towards the kids. They'd huddled up together, discussing in hushed voiced. Kyle held Kay against him, focused on his brothers. Yes, there was so much to take in. The idea that they'd pass their verdict terrified him. It didn't change his resolution and what he would do, but it would mean a lot if they could be with him at the end of the road.

The kids he'd broken down and built up into the best men he'd ever met.

"All the suffering for them."

"Since when do you care about them so much?" she asked, her voice filled with fascination.

"Since they turned out to be better people than we ever could have been."

Millie winced but didn't contradict him. There was no point. She knew he was right and he hoped she was as proud of them as he was. His attention was drawn to her again as she rested her hand on his cheek.

"But what about us? Now that the truth is out, can we finally let our demons rest? Can we better people?"

The thought was enticing and scarring at the same. "I don't know. Maybe." He'd never planned this far, never thought he'd live this long.

Her gaze searched his with a familiar hunger which had a shiver running down his back. He had to be imagining it. He was sure he wasn't.

"Can we be better together?" Her words were almost lost on her breath, so delicate and guilty.

"Millie... why would you even want that?"

"Don't you?"

He didn't know because he never thought he'd have to make such a choice. "It's been so long."

"I can still read you."

He could still read her, too. The fire in her eyes, the inkling of the potential he had seen in her when they were young. Could it not be too late? The resent screamed that it was. She'd lied to him about the most important thing in his life. But maybe he didn't deserve it. 

"Please," she said. "Say something."

He had nothing to say, but when she moved her hand to the back of his head and pulled him forward, he let her. When she brushed her lips against his, he let her. When she stole a kiss, he willingly gave it. Because he'd always take the lead and show her that he could do it better.

It was so foreign and yet familiar, to bask in something that used to bring him so much solace in a time he thought there was none. It did the trick now as well, took him away from the present and into a world where things didn't need to make sense.

His lips still remembered hers, he still knew how to do this dance, and so did she. When he pulled away, she leaned her forehead against his.

"It's been so long," she whispered.

He just hummed in agreement. It was true, but he wasn't sure what it meant. If it meant anything, or if it even mattered anymore.

"I missed this so much."

"Why?" he couldn't help but ask. "It's been thirty years."

"I know. But I never truly let you go. I... It was still you, every time. Every time he touched me, every time he... You were all I could think about."

Something inside him hurt, coiled around his heart and squeezed, bringing forth a bitterness and pain which almost felt physical. Because he had never let her go either. Not when he'd never had closure.

He could now. He could let go. Or hold on.

"What do you want?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "All I know is that I don't want to let go. I don't want to lose you again."

It felt so strange to have a choice, to be able to think of a future beyond that room, beyond that time and place. Sure, he still had work to do, but after that... Then what? Could they really erase everything? Forgive each other and pick it up again?

"Davyn." The way she said the name he'd almost forgotten did things to him. "I just... I know we don't have much time. But I just want to say I'm sorry. For lying to you, for not trusting you. For...everything. And I'd give anything to go back in time and make the right choices."

"No." His gaze moved towards the kids again. It wasn't an option. It had never been, really. "You ended up doing the right thing. Because if you hadn't, then they wouldn't be here."

The shock on her face was somewhat justified because he was basically validating their misery.

"We both lived miserable lives," she said.

"Yeah, but maybe it was worth it because it brought us here."

Her mouth dropped open, but for the first time in what liker forever, he was at peace. The resent and the hatred seeped out of him as his mind whirled and the pieces fell into place. Everything had led to this, and the past, her betrayal, no longer mattered. So, this time, he leaned over her and kissed her with new purpose.

It still felt amazing, it still seemed to stitch the cuts on his soul, put him back together, just like it had back then. Maybe there was still a chance he would escape hellfire.

"Ew," Tom mumbled loud enough to break through the stupor.

"That's all fine and dandy, but we still have work to do," Jimmy added. "So if you could keep your hands off each other for like five minutes..."

Yes. Work. And words that made sense and had to be said.

Still holding Millie's hand, he turned to them. Their half-disgusted expressions brought a smirk to his face. They'd just witnessed their mother making out with their former enemy. Of course they were disturbed. Hell, he was on some level. And it was sort of funny.

"You're right. We still have work to do. And I want to start with the simplest part." He looked to Kyle. It was only natural that he should be first. "Kyle, could you come closer please?"

He hesitated for a moment, but came to them, his steps slow and cautious. Davyn could only guess the confusion he must have been feeling, the torment inside him. Which was why he had to say it.

The moment Kyle reached them, he put his hand on his shoulder. On his son's shoulder. The idea still felt foreign, but gave him a sense of purpose he'd long lost.

"Looks like I got my wish. But I'm glad that I said what I said to you before knowing. I'm sorry."

"For which part exactly?" Kyle's tone was wary.

"For everything. For not knowing, not figuring it out on my own, though there were so many signs. And for not being there."

"That wasn't your fault." Kyle threw his mother a fleeting glance. "But I don't think it's my place to judge you."

"It actually is. But you've always been too good for that."

Kyle shrugged, obviously torn and confused. He didn't deserve that.

"I meant what I said," Davyn said. "I'm going to help you through this, whatever it takes."

Kyle raised his gaze and there was no resent or malice in it. "I know."

And words weren't enough anymore. So he hugged him instead. Kyle stood stiff, but he didn't pull back and it was enough. Millie hugged both of them as well and it felt so strange because this was his family, something he never thought he'd have.

"Isn't this adorable? And it was about time I got my confirmation after thirty years of doubts."

The sound of the voice had ice chips diving down Davyn's spine.

He let go of Kyle and Millie and placed himself in front of them as if he could hope to hide them from view. Protect them.

It had all been an illusion, the possibility for happiness. Because they were once again out of time.

Low footsteps sounded as a group of men made their way around the cage on the right and towards them.

Nicholas had made his triumphant entrance and he was not alone, but joined by his mystery ally, the person who gave him the confidence for open rebellion.

And as fate would have it, of course it would be Freider Grant.

🧭🧭🧭

Ha ha! Take that for a cliffhanger ending.

I did give you some lovey-dovey mush as people tried to compute that Kyle still has a dad. But wait, apparently so does everyone else. Because Freider turned out to be alive.

I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the whole Millie/Davyn interaction, but they've always been jaded and out of time. Two horrible people who maybe deserve each other.

Oh well, I caved and updated early so rejoice! And take in this much worse cliffhanger.

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