Chapter 44

"Is he my father?" Marcus managed, after a few seconds' of silence. Nick nodded.

"And my brother in law." He added. Marcus just nodded, looking around.

"So... you'd be my uncle, then, and Briana and Tony are cousins, once removed."

"Yeah... yeah, I guess so." Nick nodded, slowly. "No, twice removed. Brianna and Tony aren't actually my cousins, their mother's my cousin."

"You never said." It wasn't an accusation, just another observation. "About him... me..."

"I promised myself I'd never lie to you if you asked, but you never did until now."

"So what's this all about?"

"Richard Travers is... was, I haven't seen or heard from him in probably ten years... a drunk, a bully, a wife- and child-beater... he was the worst example of humanity it has ever been my misfortune not to be able to avoid meeting."

"And he married Alice?" Briana asked, quietly.

"Who's Alice?" Shawna was still catching up, but Hope recognised the name.

"Marcus' Mum, my sister." Nick explained. "I never liked him when we were at school, I still didn't like him when we were at university. I tried to convince Alice to drop him, but she stayed... She tried to protect you, tried to get him to calm down a bit, stop drinking... it didn't work."

"He left her, in the end, didn't he?" Marcus recalled. "He couldn't handle me."

"Who told you that?" Nick asked, recognising the look of guilt on Marcus' face.

"My mother." Shawna pointed out, remembering. "Then she couldn't handle him alone, either, and left him to rejoin her husband."

"I don't pretend to understand it all." Nick sighed, after a short pause for thought. "Him I can pass off as selfishness, it's easy for me to believe it of him. Her... I still don't understand how she could go from being a mother to being a punchbag, but it was them, Marcus. They left, they couldn't make the grade, you didn't do anything wrong." Marcus managed a slight, wan smile for a moment, then continued.

"I... is... is she... "

"No, Marcus... she died when you were... not long after you came to live with me."

"Oh."

"He... they say he didn't kill her, but he did. He might not have actually thrown the punch at the time, but... she was a tiny little thing... and she drank too much, because he did."

Hope nudged Marcus arm, nodding towards Nick, and it took him a second nudge to get the hint, but he leant forward and wrapped Nick in a hug, feeling him cry on his shoulder. What the hell do I do now! He thought, staring at Ally and Shawna on the sofa, but they could only shrug at him.

"I still miss her, you know... it's weird. She was Steph's best friend... and Shawna's mum's." Most of the room was staring at Nick, which wasn't helping Marcus, but he caught the odd expression on Ally's face, and wondered what that meant.

"So... what do you think he wants?"

"To get to know you, maybe?" Hope offered. "Maybe he's changed?"

"Maybe he saw something about the band in the newpaper and wants to get back in your good books before you get rich?" Shawna countered.

"Has your band made the papers?" Ally smiled, encouragingly.

"One little piece in the corner of the student paper, but it was a good review." Hope shrugged. "What could he want her than to see how you're doing?"

"Maybe you should just wait and find out." Ally offered, more reasonably.

"Just... I don't want you to think I'm being selfish, Marcus, but you really, really don't need this guy." Nick told him.

"I know. I have everyone I need, and more... but..."

"You've never been curious before."

"It's never come up before."

"Are you going to go?" Hope asked, and Marcus paused for a moment's thought.

"I... no, not like that. If he wants to talk to me he can come and talk to me. This wasn't a good way to do things."

"That's Dick all over." Nick confirmed.

"Can you fight a court order like that?" Tony wondered, and Ally looked up.

"Court order? Like what?"

"He said he had a court summons to a custodial hearing in Boston, Massachussetts." Marcus explained.

"American Court doesn't hold much weight at all, if you don't want to go. They'd have to apply to a British Court, and there'd have been a hearing. You'd have heard by now... he's trying to fleece you into going. Once you're there things would be easier for him..."

"To do what?" Marcus asked, but Ally could only shake her head that she didn't know.

"What could it all be about?" Lorraine asked.

"Maybe he wants to challenge the adoption?" Nick offered, with a shrug.

"Now? After all this time."

"I'm an adult now, though. It doesn't matter, does it?" Marcus put in.

"I'm not an expert on American Law," Ally offered with a shrug "but I do know that some of the states have different laws regarding majority, and drinking ages and driving and things. I don't know that I've heard of any of them considering nineteen year old's as minors, though."

"Could it be... could his condition make a difference?" Shawna asked, hesitantly.

"It might... another American Law question..." Ally shrugged. They didn't manage anything very useful after that.

Shawna unlocked the door and trudged inside, stamping the last of the surprise snowfall from her boots, and stepping over the threshold to find Brianna and Elspeth sprawled out across the sofa.

"Are you guys moving in?" she asked, with a faint smile, hanging her coat and scarf.

"Be nice." Hope emerged from the kitchen with the tea-tray, and put it in the middle of the table. "They know where you were this morning and came round to talk about hockey to take your mind off it if you want." She smirked.

"Have you ever minded goal before?" Brianna sat up, forcing an innocent expression that brought a broader smile from Shawna as she flopped into a chair.

"Thanks, guys."

"Marcus said he'd be back by midday." Elspeth pointed out. "He's gone to show Nick and Ally the way back to the motorway."

"He's riding in this weather?" Shawna sat up, staring out the window at the light, wintry fall.