Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lincoln stood up at once when he saw Lyn being wheeled toward him. He eyed her belly like it was a bomb.
"You are sure? They don't want to keep you overnight?" He moved closer and peeked at the ultrasound. He grinned at the photo.
"They will be the second coolest set of twins to ever exist." He stated confidently.
"He took the wheelchair and started to push her toward the door.
"Really wish Kennedy would have gotten to see them." He left the wheelchair by the door and helped her toward the car.
"You should take a few days off from work. Maybe you need a mini vacation. Your growing two people in you, I am sure your body is tired."

Once they were in the car and settled in her picked up his phone. He hadn't realized he left it in the car. He had a couple of missed calls and texts. He texted Kong and Jasper back. Let them know all was well, and there were no babies just yet. He sent Meg a quick text stating he would call her later. She didn't answer and he realized she was in class given the hour.
"I have a condo, couple hours away. Just four blocks from the beach. You are free to use it. I rarely use it anymore. We use to take chicks out there and party long weekends. Haven't used it in a while..." He avoided saying he hadn't used it since his brother passed. She probably already realized why he hadn't been back there.
"You could use my room. I took the room that is smaller but with a better view. It has the sliding doors that lead to a balcony. Just...please don't move anything in the second bedroom. All I ask." He still hadn't changed anything in any of the four rooms his brother called his own. Not in the Condo, Club house, his small house or his brother's larger home. He just had not brought himself to the point where he could face it. Briefly there were times he was almost able to convince himself his brother was just away on a trip and would be back any day.

If Lincoln were completely honest he hadn't even deleted his brother's phone number. Hadn't deleted any of the few voicemails, or texts that had been on his phone when Kennedy had died. He actually very got his brother's number cut off. He sometimes called to hear his voice. Or leave a voicemail, something that he knew his brother would have gotten a kick out of. It was truly sad but he was still trying to learn how to live his life without his twin. Her best friend, confidant, and brother. It was hard to lose the single most important person who you shared everything with in life.

Maralyn smiled at her cousin and followed him out to the car. When they were both inside, she rebuted his idea to take off with a small laugh,"In another three months, I'll be taking off enough work. I'm not working that hard; only 4-5 days a week. And they've all been helpful there, watching to make sure I'm not doing too much.
Plus it helps take my mind off things some times. As he looked at his phone, Lyn started to feel slightly bad. Her cousin she loved, and he always took off from his life whenever she called.

Reaching over she gave his hand a squeeze, "Thank-you Lincoln. Really I appreciate the thought,and it sounds beautiful. But I'm ok." She knew her cousin missed his brother. There was nothing she could do for him, but let him know family was still here for him. She missed Kennedy as well, but he hadn't been her second half like he had been to Lincoln,"Maybe you should take Meg there on a vacation.She might enjoy that."

Lincoln grinned at his cousin. "It's fine. Always there for my favorite cousin." He started his car up and headed toward Keva's.
"Let's get a smoothie then head back to the Club, or even my house. My house is sort of a mess right now. So don't mind the mess. I started decorating and lost interest." He stopped outside the smoothie store.
"What kind of smoothie do you want?" He asked as he pulled his keys out the ignition. He tossed them in the air and caught them.
"Maybe I can have Meg come over after class. Would you like that?" He glanced at his phone as he heard an alert go off.

'Cause sometimes you just feel tired,
Feel weak, and when you feel weak,
you feel like you wanna just give up

~Cadence Jaycey Sinclaire-Caine~

The next morning Cadence was up and sitting at the counter with her Mother. She had woke up and made coffee and breakfast. They were eating breakfast together before Lena took off to work. Cadence had a few things she wanted to get started on that day. Things that she had been unable to do the last few months.

Lena grabbed the travel mug that Cadence had already filled up for her. She kissed her daughter's cheek, waved goodbye and hurried out of the kitchen. Cadence was left alone to continue eating her eggs and turkey bacon. She shoveled some eggs onto a piece of toast.

It was a couple of hours later and Cadence was showered, dressed and ready to leave the house. She had her purse and a list of the carpenters and the times she was meeting with them. She had set up an appointment to have a couple different carpenters come out and see her Aunt's old Cafe. She wanted to get some estimates on time, cost and layout ideas for her new business.

She moved down the walkway and stopped at the mailbox. There was already a large manila envelope sticking out her Mother's mailbox. H=She pulled it out and looked at the name on it. She opened the envelope that was addressed to her. She was nervous since the envelope was addressed to her, and had been hand delivered. She peeked in and saw pictures stacked in it.

She pulled out the picture and thumbed through them. There was a sharp intake of breath as she stopped on the one picture. She stuffed them all back in the large envelope, and folded it over. She stuffed it in her large purse and started walking. Her car was still parked over at her old apartment, so she was currently on foot until she picked it up.

Not very long she found herself turning onto Diana's street. She started walking up the street toward the house. She took a deep breath as she crossed the street. She spotted Killian out front of the house and paused briefly. Then started straight for him.
"Killian, is Diana around?" He looked surprised to see her and opened the front door.
"Diana...?" He called and immediately the puppy ran toward the front door and pushed it open. Cadie stood there with her arms crossed over her breasts. She waited patiently for the Agent to come outside.

~Candie~

It was finally the big move in day, and thanks to knowing her way around the hospital, Grace managed to get in and out with Thomas's pediatrician with little to no wait time. Of course everything was fine as she suspected, but she would never let Orion worry how he had been. If going to get word from a medical professional that Thomas was okay would calm him down, she would do just that. However, there was also some other news that she'd gotten from the hospital, and she wasn't exactly sure how to handle it. Or that right now would be the best time to bring it up, so she decided to keep it to herself. At least for now.

When she got back to the new house, the movers were practically almost done getting everything situated, which was nice. Thomas was sound asleep in his carseat, so Grace lugged that heavy thing inside and placed it down on the couch so he would be out of the way, and able to sleep peacefully until his room was ready.

'Cause sometimes you just feel tired,
Feel weak, and when you feel weak,
you feel like you wanna just give up

~Cadence Jaycey Sinclaire-Caine~

As soon as Cadence saw Alyvia she looked away. She was such a jerk. Intruding and ruining their happy family morning. She felt like crap for having to do so.
"I'm sorry to come to you at your house and so early in the morning..." She looked down at the ground. Killian had lifted his daughter and was giving her a big bear hug.
"Let's go in and finish getting ready." Tino was barking and jumping on Killian. Excited by all the squeals and voices. Killian looked very good with a child in his arms, and the adorable pup hopping at him. He looked very normal and comfortable in his role of Father. Odd given Cadence had only even seen Killian as a member of the MC. She liked this side of Killian though.

Cadence waited till the door was closed behind Killian and she was sure he was away from the door. Immediately she pulled out the folded envelope and extracted the pictures from inside. She leafed through quickly and handed the woman six pictures. One of Diana and Alyvia at the playground. Another of just Diana sitting in her car with a cup of coffee in hand. A third picture revealed Alyvia at school during recess playing. The fourth picture was Killian leaving town, that much was clear because he had a bag in one hand and Tino on a leash. The last picture was the one Cadence found the most terrifying. It was of Alyvia on her school trip, and it seemed the person who took this picture was in the same room as the little girl. You could clearly read the words on the sign behind her and her friends.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't want to come to you. I have brought enough drama into your life, it's just...I can't give these pictures to Killian. His way of dealing with things will wind up getting him thrown in prison. Then he can't be there for his daughter, and he can't protect her....I just...I thought if I came to you. You can handle things in a way that doesn't get anyone hurt." Cadence stuffed the remaining pictures back in the envelope. Those did not pertain to the safety of Diana's family.
"These were hand delivered to my Mother's home this morning. Sometime after she left, and they were addressed to me. So someone knows I am back." Cadence did not tell Di about the short note of the random text she had received late last night. Those things were meant to scare and upset Cadence.
"I don't want anything to happen to Alyvia. She is an innocent child in all this, and that would kill Killian." She pushed her extremely short dark hair back nervously.
"I am going to get out of here. I am sorry I ruined your morning. I figured this was extremely important." Cadence looked toward the door as Killian reappeared in the door way.
"What's going on?" He asked as he stepped out and carefully closed the door behind him. Cadence took a few steps back and gave a little wave.
"Have a good day guys." Cadence hurried away and was pleased that Killian couldn't follow. He would not leave Alyvia until he absolutely had too.

For just a second Cadence felt sad. She had never had a Father like Killian. Her daughter wouldn't either. It passed because Alyvia had not had a Father until recently. The girl deserved the very best Father since she had endured years of not having one. Besides it was silly to be jealous, or sad because eventually David had come into their lives. David had been a wonderful man.

He had treated like Cadence like she was his own until she ruined their relationship. David had turned against his own family for his wife and adopted daughter. When he found out his cousin was molesting Cadence David had handled it. He made sure the man was punished for what he had done. Then David had moved his family far away so if the story leaked out, Cadence would never know that everyone else knew.

David had protected his family, and sacrificed for them. He had been a stern man, with extremely high expectations. Cadence and he had butted heads often while she was growing up, but she had always in the back of her mind known that David meant well. He was figuring things out as he went along, as they all were. She could not fault the man for being human and making bad decisions from time to time.

Finally Cadence was at the Cafe. She looked up at the still ruined place. A physical reminder of one of the most tragic nights in her life so far. In one night she had lost some of the most precious things to her.

She had started very little work on the place while she was free to do so. She had not decided what she wanted to do with the place. She at first wanted it back exactly as it was, and at the time that had seemed the right thing to do. Now she wasn't sure she wanted to do that. Just because the Cafe was back, and Celeste's name was on the window once more did not meant it would ever be the same. She could not bring her Aunt back just by rebuilding her beloved Cafe. Celeste would never walk through the front door again. She would never laugh at another joke one of the children told her when she was working the floor. She loved to laugh, and laughed at everything.

So now Cadence was thinking of doing something different. Something her Aunt had been pushing her to do for a couple of years. She had wanted Cadence to open her own Bakery. Cadie loved baking and was actually very good at it. When she was living on her own she had baked on the side. Cakes for parties, cupcakes for school bake sales or whatever the Soccer Moms use the cupcakes for. She always baked cookies as a cheer up food for her friends. She just loved to bake, and create something that made people happy and excited. To do that with just flour, eggs, sugar and butter....well to her that was nothing short of magical.

Celeste had been trying to convince Cadence to borrow a large sum of money from her to buy the store front off of Orion, so Cadence could set up shop just beneath her apartment. When she originally pitched the idea Cadence was away, and had only come to town to visit her Aunt. Immediately Celeste had taken Cadence to see the store front and explained her idea. Cadence had shot it down immediately. She wanted nothing to do with her Father's sons or stupid Shadow Creek. She hated the damn place.

She never wanted to run the risk of seeing Lena, David, Elena, Orion or Elias. She never wanted to be anywhere where people knew her. Knew her story and therefore judged her based off of that. To this town she would always be Joshua and Lena's b*****d daughter. Same way Lena was still seen as a home wrecking whore. All because she had fallen in love with a man when she was young and dumb, a man who happened to be married. It didn't matter that he had willingly participated in the affair. It didn't matter that he was unhappily married. No, Lena was a whore, and her daughter. Well the apple doesn't fall far from the tree right? She was bound to be trouble when she grew up.

No. Cadence had wanted nothing to do with this place. Had never wanted to live with that label again. Had never wanted that shame to be apart of who she was again. Her Aunt had really tried to convince her to stay. She had succeeded in pushing Cadence away that day. She had confronted her about Alex's abuse. Said she saw the signs and knew the truth. She had said Cadence would be an idiot to stay with Alex. Of course Cadence had immediately packed her things upon returning to her Aunt's house and left. She didn't speak to her Aunt Celeste again until she showed up at her apartment a month later. Celeste was concerned and tired of Cadence avoiding her.

After that Celeste had not brought up the Alex matter or the Bakery again. That wasn't until Cadence was back in Shadow Creek for good. She had just learned Cadence was pregnant and would in fact be staying in town. Celeste had broached the subject slowly. She had let Cadence handle more and more of the ordering at the Cafe. More of the day to day, operating stuff. She had let her bake more, and more. Add to that menu, and try new things. Celeste showed her how to do payroll, balance the books, the closing and opening procedures. She had started claiming she was tired. Giving Cadence more and more responsibilities.

It had all been a ploy so that when Celeste brought up the subject of the Bakery again, Cadence would have no reason to say no. She had plenty of experience running a business. She could not claim she couldn't do it, if she had already proven herself time and time again. Celeste knew Cadence was extremely smart, hard working and dedicated. She could do whatever she wanted to in life and be successful. It was just Cadence lacked confidence. She lacked direction and drive. She was content floating about being in the background. Essentially being invisible.

Now Cadence was ready for a change. Ready to step up and be that confident, successful and self reliant young woman her Aunt had been trying to turn her into. Cadence knew that life would not be easy for her daughter. People and children could be cruel. She would do everything she could to protect her daughter. Be a better Mother then Lena had been when she was younger. She would be a Mother more like Lena was today.

Cadie knew she would be tied up in court with Ben just because it was a way for him to bully her. A way to torture her. He enjoyed it now, it was no longer only about getting to Orion. It was now a combination of things. Well Cadence knew she had to get her life together and fast. She had to be ready to prove to the Courts she could care for a child, and on her own. She wanted to terminate his parental rights and file for an Order or Protection against him. She wanted to ensure that man never hurt her daughter, or even got close enough to see her.

Cadence forced herself back to the present. Forcing her attention back to what she was currently doing. She unlocked the front door and stepped in. The place was completely empty inside, and it seemed so much larger now. She slowly spun around, taking in the room. This place was much bigger then what she thought she needed for the Bakery. Still it was hers to do with what she would. She started to walk around and after a few minutes she pulled out a notepad and a pen from her purse. She set her purse down on the floor and started to walk around again. Scribbling different things down as she moved about.

She was startled when she heard a man's voice calling to her. She whirled about and spotted a very handsome man in dark blue jeans and tan boots. His tool belt immediately alerted her to who this stranger was.
"Excuse me ma'am. I'm Harrison Palmer, I think this is where I was suppose to come. I am here to give an estimate." He was standing in the doorway and looked a bit unsure.
"Yes! Mr. Palmer, hi. I am Cadence Caine. This is the place. Come on in." She walked over and extended her hand to the man. Immediately he stepped in and shook her tiny hand. His hands were slightly rough and very strong. He definitely felt like he worked with his hands for a living.
"Ms. Caine..."
"Oh please. Cadence is fine." She quickly corrected the middle aged man.
"Only if you will call me Harrison." He replied with a smile.
"Okay, then! Guess it is agreed, Harrison." His smile widened and he let her hand go. He followed her around listening to her ideas on a few things before he began to measure and do his thing.

Mr. Palmer was with her for about an hour before he was done. She thanked the man for his time, wrote the check and lead him out. He took his leave and Cadence glanced at her phone that she had pulled from her back pocket. She had about 45 minutes to kill before the next carpenter arrived. She sighed as her stomach growled.

She stepped outside and into the the sunshine. The morning was already beginning to warm up. She pulled off her jacket and let the warm rays sink into her exposed arms. She moved her hand over her rounded belly. She had a missed call from her Mother. She debated on calling her back or going to get something to eat. Finally she decided she would call her Mother as she went to hunt down a place to eat that was open this early in the morning.

She stepped back into the ruined Cafe and grabbed her purse. She stepped back outside and locked the place up. Then she was moving down main street. She listened as her Mother's phone rang and rang. Eventually it went to voicemail and she just left a short message. She slipped her phone back into her back pocket and continued walking.

~Candie~

When the movers finally left, Grace allowed herself to relax a little. Her mind was spinning from the news she'd received, and she was absolutely torn apart. From her time in the jail, and dealing with officer Martinez and what happened there..and now this. Orion needed to know. The last thing she wanted was a damn secret to come between them. Besides, it's not like it was her fault. She didn't cheat on him, she was raped. So, once Thomas was moved to his room and into the crib she grabbed her phone and sent off a text to her husband.

To: Hubba Wubba
Fr: Grace
I need to talk to you.
in person.
ASAP.
love you.

Once it was sent she moved and grabbed herself a water from the fridge and sat down at the table, running her hands through her hair. Officer Martinez had been working basically for Ben and the KOR. This was going to be the hardest thing she'd ever go through, ever.