Welcome to Gaia! ::

Grace ignored his rant, but by the sounds of it he held some kind of resentment towards his parents, mother especially. Which actually explained the way he spoke about women, he had mommy issues. At the mention of playing Mario Kart, Grace glanced at the clock again, biting her lip for a second. She was getting more and more worried about Orion the more time passed, but she figured that if she did not hear something from anyone then things were going okay.

For the meantime, she would oblige and play Mario Kart with these guys, since there was nothing better to do. It wasn't like she could go to sleep, anyways. Plus they weren't going to leave her alone, so...

"Okay, okay. I'm a pro at this game, though." Grace wedged herself in between the two guys, crossing her legs underneath her as they started up the game. .

Cadence clung to Maralyn like a scared child. She did not want anyone to pull them apart. The twins rushed to Maralyn. Gloom was removing his jacket and draping it about Maralyn. She felt Maralyn's hand slip away and for a second she wanted to scream and shove them all away. There were just too many men crowding about.
"Give them some space!" Alex yelled, sensing the women were getting overwhelmed.

Doom was cupping Maralyn's face. Looking at her eyes. He frowned and cursed.
"What have they been giving you?" He asked Maralyn, Cadence glanced over at her friend.

She was being pulled away, and she wanted to smack the hands away from her. The voice was familiar though. Her brother crushed her to him. She sniffled and tried to hold the tears back. She did not want to go to pieces here in front of everyone.
"I'm fine." Cadence said repeatedly. It was a lie and they all knew it, but she felt like she had to reassure her brother. Finally he let her go and Alex hugged her to him.
"I am so sorry Cadie! I tried to get you back..." He kissed the top of her head.
"You shouldn't have gotten between us!" He scolded her and stepped back to look her over. His eyes came to rest on her stomach and he lightly touched it.
"Should we take you to a hospital...?" Alex questioned unsure of himself.

Cadence stepped away and shook her head. She looked back at her brother.
"We can go to our hospital. Not here. I want as much distance between this place and us. Besides I want to see Grace, Isabelle and Dereck. I even want to see Kong." It was no secret that Kong and Cadie often worked each other's nerves.Orion took her arm and started to lead her away. She pulled her arm away from him. He looked back at her ready to question her when he saw she was looking at Jasper.
"Jasper will make sure you make it to my car before he heads to his bike I am sure." He walked with with the rest of the group toward his car.
"Maralyn, you and Cadie are going to ride with me. Hope your okay with that." He said as the group walked off leaving Jasper and Cadence alone.

Now that she was alone with Jasper Cadence felt extremely nervous. She wasn't sure where they stood since she had essentially broken up with him when she left, right after telling him she was pregnant by him.
"I'...Jasper, I'm sorry for what I said." That was definitely true. She still was not sure if she simply loved him or was in love with him. The one thing that she did know was she enjoyed his company, and regretted how she had treated him.
"I am sorry I was so awful to you, I understand if you..." She was not sure what to say.
"I get it if you want to keep things as simple as possible. I can keep you informed of how things are going...That is if you want to know." She looked away.

She had not really ever thought about what she would say to anyone, let alone Jasper. She felt strange because she wanted to just hug him, and squeeze him. She also remembered exactly what she said to him, and how terrible she had been to him. That kept her from even approaching him.

She had told this man she did not love him, and never had. That had been a lie, and she said it out of anger and resentment. Still she had said it to him.
"You don't have to take part in this child's life if you don't want too." She said and looked toward her brother.
"We should go..." She said and took a few small steps away before pausing to wait for Jasper.

Orion, Alex and Maralyn were waiting in the car for Cadence. Alex was slumped against the passenger door. Maralyn was in the back. A spot behind Alex in he back beside Maralyn was open for Cadie. While Orion waited he decided to send Grace a quick text. He knew her well enough to know she was up worrying about everyone.
'She is alive. We are heading home in a few minutes. Please get some sleep. Love you Gracie, give Belle a kiss for me.' Once the message was sent he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Jasper's hands clenched tight as Alex hugged Cadence, especially as the man went so far as to kiss her forehead. But gladly it was all done in moments, and then Orion was mentioning that he would get Cadie to the car. Everyone seemed to leave him and the petite brunette alone. Jasper took that moment, moving quickly to her and wrapping his arms around her.

As she started to apologize, he just patted her hair comfortingly. Happy to just be breathing in her scent again, and to have her safe in his arms. "Cadence, I know. It's all ok."He had known at the time she didn't mean it, well hoped to God she hadn't meant it. Attributed it to the fact that she had been so angry with everything that happened in the last moment they had talked. Hadn't he told her he didn't believe her? As she continued to ramble about him not wanting to be apart of her life or with her anymore, he withdrew slowly, and tilted her chin up so their eyes meet. ""I'm not leaving you, darling. Don't you ever think I am. Now let's get you home or to the hospital or where ever you want to go."He told her, beginning to gently steer her towards the car. He took off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders in the cool night. He would be with her. Even if she told him to leave again. He didn't think he ever could truly leave her.

Cadence managed to only flinch when Jasper moved quickly to her. She felt bad about it but knew she would have to slowly get use to being around men again. She would have to remind herself that not all men were monsters. She laid her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes.

Immediately she felt some on the tension drain from her body. This was Jasper, her sweet little childhood friend. He had always looked out for her. He even indulged her silly requests for tea parties. She slipped her thin arms about his waist, and gave him a little squeeze.

When she pulled away from him the warmth and comforting scent were gone. It made her feel anxious and vulnerable but she would never admit to that. He placed his jacket over her slender form, it felt heavy to her. His warmth and scent radiated from it. She pulled it tight about her and allowed him to lead her to the car.

Once safely tucked into the car, Cadie curled up beside Lyn. She laid her head against her shoulder and took her chilled hand. The two were bonded together for life after having endured the horros they had.

Maralyn had sacrificed herself to protect Cadence's baby. She knew Cadence would fight them tooth and nail. It posed a threat, and the men's rough treatment and drugging her posed a greater threat. Lyn intervened and Cadie had fought to try to protect Lyn. Lyn convinced her to accept it for the sake of the baby.

Orion put some music on low. He could not handle the awkward silence. Hr wanted to get as much information from the pair in the back but did not want them to relive anything. They already had a long and difficult road to recovery in front of them without him further traumatizing them.

Orion made one stop, for food and to allow everyone to use the restrooms. He felt like the already slender girls looked thinner to him. He wanted them to eat, and hopefully talk to someone. They both had this haunted and distant look in their eyes, and were so silent. He wasn't sure if Lyn was normally a chatterbox but he knew for a fact his sister was. She was normally like a Mexican Jumping Bean with the ability to speak.

Everywhere and ridiculously chatty. He felt like this was the quiestest she had ever been since she learned to speak as a child. He watched them eat, happy they were at least attempting to do that much.

He left the girls with Kill while he told Jasper the game plan. They would meet up at the Club. Alex would leave. The twins should take Maralyn to the hospital. Jasper should accompany Cadence to the hospital. The twins would stand guard at Lyn's house if she insisted on going home. Otherwise he wanted her to stay at the Club.

After Jasper accompanied Cadence to the hospital, he wanted her to stay in her apartment above his. He had a key and could check on her. Orion was really trying not to shut Jasper out, but it was hard. Only reason it was possible to give Jasper the reins here was because Orion wanted to see his own girls. He wanted to hold them close, and see they were well with his own eyes.

The rest of the drive was quiet. Alex fell asleep. The girls seemed to doze on and off. Orion checked on them via the rear-view mirror. Cadence seemed dazed but mainly stared out the window. She stroked her tummy occasionally, sending positive vibes to her baby.

The hospital trip was horrible. She poked at and prodded. Blood taken and vitals recorded. She hated being examined but knew it was a necessary evil. She ended up being dehydrated and underweight. They hooked her up to an IV for a while. They were determined to keep her but she insisted on going home.

They agreed to let her leave, and continue whatever of her treatment on an outpatient basis. Even so they still kept her till well into the morning. The only thing that made the trip bearable was when they examined her and she got to hear the baby's heartbeat. They estimated that she was around 14 weeks, and they were concerned about her weight. They prescribed the usual prenatal vitamins.

Poor Jasper had been waiting outside in the waiting area. Cadence would not allow him to be present for the examination and anything else, such as talking to police. She was ashamed and embarrassed to talk about anything that had happened in front of him.

She had one of the Nurses go retrieve Jasper and lead him back to the room. She was excited with hearing the baby's heartbeat, and relieved that the baby was doing well. She felt like Jasper should be included in this portion. Made sense since he was included in the activities that occurred to make that tiny developing person that was in her.
"They said the heartbeat is strong." She closed her eyes and listened for a few seconds. All too soon the experience was done.

She had Jasper wait out in the hall while she dressed. She was finally free to go! She hurried through the hospital, and outside. The day was unseasonably warm, but she was happy for this. It had been too long since she had been out in the sunshine. She was grateful for the warm rays on her head, and face.

She climbed on Jasper's bike behind him. Slipped her arms about his waist, and pressed herself against him. Soon they were off and heading to her apartment as opposed to his. She had only been to his apartment when she was on the prowl. She did not want to go there, because she did not want that thought in either of their minds.

Once at her apartment, she slipped off the bike. She removed the helmet and handed it back to him. She realized he had never been to her apartment. She had always went to his place, or met him at the Club House. She slipped out of his jacket and gave it back to him.
"I would...you know...invite you in. I have no idea what the place looks like though...I am not sure what state I left it in before....I went away..." She motioned to her apartment.

She noticed Orion had come to the outside door. Clearly he heard Jasper's bike. She looked back at him and nearly laughed out loud when she saw the nasty look he was shooting at Jasper.
"I got it from here Jasper! You can head home!" Orion called and Cadie bit her lower lip to keep from laughing. Clearly her brother was NOT okay with them being a couple.
"I should go before he really gets pissy..." She said softly, so only Jasper could hear her.

She started toward the steps. Her brother opened the door and stepped aside. He let her in and closed the door behind him. He grabbed the mail and headed back inside.

Maralyn rode in the back of the car in mostly silence that night. And when they arrived at the club, she let her cousins talk her into staying the night in an extra room mainly because she didn't have the energy or mind to argue against them. She could find a ride home the next day. All she wanted to do now was sleep.

And so when she woke up mid morning the next day, Lyn did feel better she had to admit. She did feel slightly more groggy then she should have after the sleep she had finally gotten, and had a touch of vertigo when she moved to quickly as well. But all in all, it was an improvement. Lyn moved slowly into the attached bathroom of the room, stripped off all the disgusting clothes, (placed the bag of drugs on the counter), and took a hot, hot shower. Coming out of the bathroom, Lyn was wrapped in a towel. She hadn't ever stayed the night at the Club before, but there was a dresser in the room, and so she checked the drawers. To find men's clothing to be sure, but it was something that would cover and be more comfortable then re-wearing the clothes from the night before. And so she took out a t-shirt and sweatpants.

Then Lyn was travelling down the stairs slowly to find anyone else up. Downstairs she noticed her cousin and spoke clearly to him, "I hope it's ok I grabbed clothes from the room. I'll return them of course when they are clean. Can I use your phone to call my boss?" Her relative nodded and tossed her the cellular device. She quickly dialed the number to the clinic and moved a little down the hall as she spoke to her boss telling her she was back in town and could return in the next couple days. With that done, she returned the phone, "Is there someone able to take me back to my apartment? Or does anyone know where Cadence is?"

"Wear whatever you want. It's fine." Doom, or Lincoln as his family knew him motioned for Maralyn to follow him. "Mara, let's get something to eat. Cadence is probably with her brother or her Aunt. She was staying with her Aunt most of the time before she left." He held open the door to the kitchen.
"What do you want to eat?" He opened the fridge. Cooking wasn't a strength of his, but he had yet to starve to death.
"I can make a mean grilled ham and cheese. uh....I can make eggs. Oh! I know how to make waffles, and recently mastered french toast." He gave his cousin a large smile.

He could be quite silly, and playful. Not that anyone other then his family knew that side of him. Mostly everyone else knew his as serious and deadly. He pulled out the stuff to make coffee.
"If you want coffee....your on your own. I have been told mud tastes better then my coffee." He set the coffee stuff in front of his cousin.
"How are you feeling today?"

Lincoln was the less serious of the twins. He was a bit more rowdy and goofy. He also was the one with the shorter fuse. The men use to look a lot more alike growing up, but now they had obvious differences. Doom was stockier then his brother. Gloom was a bit taller then Doom. Gloom had shaggy hair where Doom had his shaved down short. Gloom also had a big bushy beard. Doom was clean shaved.

"Thanks, Lincoln" Lyn replied with a smile before she followed him down the hall to the kitchen. How did she tell him she wasn't all that hungry? He was probably right she should eat though. She nodded understanding what he told her about where Cadence was. That would make sense. Perhaps she would try to find her after she had stopped home. Hopefully all was alright.

"You? Cook my food? I should just poison myself now." She replied dramatically in a joking manner. She took the things he set out for coffee, and moved them to the coffee pot before putting together in a fashion that would create the liquid. Turning she propped a hand on her hip, "Now Lincoln,what do you want to eat? What ingredients do you even have in this place to make anything?"

Orion looked at the time. Grace would be home soon. He was pleased by this realization. He was looking forward to some time alone with her. His Mother was taking Isabelle for a couple of hours.

He had ordered some food to go from a local Italian place. He pulled out the fancy dishes he had bought because all the women in his life assured him he needed fancy dishes and silverware.

Finally the day had come that he would use them! He was happy he had them now. He put a table cloth on the table. He had just bought it that day. He got a few bottles of wine while he was out. He asked the lady working to help him find a sweet one.

He showered and dressed. He had Isabelle's bag ready to go. He answered the door nearly right away and dropped the bag in his Mother's hands.
"I will get the car seat from my car." He didn't bother with pleasantries. They didn't really get along most of the time.

I have the answer
I can take the pressure
I will turn it all around
~Five Finger Death Punch