Modern Family

Prying Eyes

He woke up because he heard murmuring. As his eyes fluttered open, he recognized Ryan's voice first.

"He's gonna be pissed."

Jace furrowed his brow at Ryan's words, not saying anything just yet as he propped himself up on his elbows, and listened to his band's conversation through the closed hotel bedroom door. It sounded like the boys were in the seating area, apparently worried about someone's reaction to something.

"Of course he's gonna be pissed. I'm pissed."

It was Austin that spoke this time. Jace imagined him tugging his fingers through his thick curls as he spoke, pacing up and down the room.

"Well, unfortunately, us being pissed doesn't change the fact that it exists," Liam spoke, always the voice of reason.

Jace wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but he had other things on his mind, because when he looked to the right, the bed was empty, which meant he was clueless as to the whereabouts of his two year old.

Savannah had officially stopped sleeping in a crib about two months ago and ever since then, she'd been sharing a bed with her father while the band was on tour. She was too small to need a double bed to herself and besides, Jace loved having her curled into his side, her tiny fist clutching the front of his t-shirt as she slept.

Pushing back the covers, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, lowering his feet to the floor and padding towards the door, his fists in his eyes to wipe away the sleep. He heard high pitched squealing as soon as he opened the door.

"Mawneeng Daddy!"

Speaking was also somewhat recent, so her pronunciation wasn't quite correct just yet.

Still, he smiled at the sound of her voice, his eyes instantly locating her on the floor in front of the television, playing with the stuffed bunny Ryan bought her in Paris, the coffee table that usually sat there pushed aside to make space for her play mat.

"Good morning, princess," Jace grinned, walking around to sit on the couch next to Austin and Liam, who had been talking to Ryan as he sat with his legs stretched out on the floor beside Savannah.

"Look, Daddy," Savannah said her blue eyes lighting and her curls bouncing as she stood up beside Ryan and reaching out to tug on his hair, which had been dyed dark green last night after Savannah went to sleep. "Unca Ry hair gween."

"That it is," Jace grinned, proud that she was learning her colors. The fact that she had the ability to practice due to Ryan's fondness for changing his hair every few weeks was a huge help. "It's pretty."

The boys all laughed, sounding more relaxed than their tones had indicated through the door. Jace was still curious, however, as to what all the tension was about, so as Savannah padded over to him and he lifted her into his lap, his arms locking around her stomach to hug her from behind and press a kiss to the top of her head as a good morning greeting, he shot his band mates a questioning look. "What's going on?"

The three of them exchanged wary looks before Liam tugged his fingers through his curls and sighed. "There's something you should see."

Austin lifted his phone from where it was resting on the arm of the couch, turning it on and tapping the screen a few times until he found what he was looking for before holding it out for Jace to see. Furrowing his brow in concentration, Jace scanned the words on the screen, his lips pressing together in anger the more he read.

Secret November: Jace Russo Has An Illegitimate Child

"What the fuck?"

As soon as he spoke, his eyes widened in horror and he looked to down to ensure Savannah hadn't understood, letting out a small sigh of relief when he saw she was still making faces at her stuffed rabbit. Moving one hand so his fingers tickled her stomach and caused her to giggle, he smiled softly as he pressed a kiss to her cheek before speaking quietly next to her ear. "Savi, darling, will you go play on the mat? Your uncles and I need to have a talk."