Cain looks between his mother and father for a moment. "Mom? Mama? Dad is this really mom?"
Clef grins from ear to ear, nodding. "It is, you just confirmed it."
"Cain... oh come here sweetheart!" Ross goes to hug her son and he stands up to hug her back, the familiar feeling of comfort from his mothers embrace filling his heart.
"I missed you mama....."
"I missed you too Cain, oh you're so handsome sweetie!" Ross pulls away and squishes her sons cheeks, tears running down her own. "My sweet boy!"
Cain wipes his mothers tears away, looking over to his dad. "When did you find her? Why didn't you bring her sooner?"
"Apparently she's worked here for over a decade, you were only transferred here last week so that explains why you didn't see her. We only had the revelation of who we were last night."
"And whats your excuse?"
"I'm a dumbass, son, thats my excuse."
"You two stop it, we're all here together now and that's what matters. Right?"
The two nod, Clef stepping over to hug his wife and son. "I'm gonna protect you guys this time, I swear."
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"Jack that's not how you do that, see! Watch the video!" Keys holds the phone up higher for Jack so he can see the video easier.
"Okay okay, bossy pants." He sets down the whisk and watches the video with Keys. "Alright, let's try this again." He starts mixing the ingredients in the bowl again, doing his best to mimic the video. "How's this kiddo?"
"Better!" She sets the phone down and starts mixing her own bowl. "Mama loves strawberry and chocolate, do you think she's gonna like this cake?"
"Oh definitely," he pours the cake batter into the pan, scraping everything out. "Especially since you helped make it. You're her pride and joy."
"I know, mama always says that. She calls me her rainbow baby." Keys puts her bowl and the mixer and turns it on. "Hey Jack?"
"Yeah kid?"
"Are you and Alto my dads?"
Jack pauses, thinking. "Technically speaking, Alto is your step father, but since I'm only dating your mom, I'm just your moms boyfriend. Make sense?"
Keys hums, happy with his answer. "I'm happy I get to have dads now, mama doesn't always have time to spend with me and I know she feels bad about that."
"She tried her best, being a single parent is hard." Jack puts the cake in the oven and tosses the mitts into the counter. "But hey! Now we're here to help you and your mom, Alto and I are happy to be your guys." He smiles, patting her shoulder.
Keys grins and hugs Jack, giving him a good squeeze. "Thanks Jack, I'm glad you and Alto are mine and mamas guys."
He hugs her back just as tightly, kissing the top of her head. "I'm glad we're your guys too."
"Do you think Alto will let me call him dad eventually?" Keys pulls away from him, going back to mixing the frosting.
"Oh absolutely, he already has a daughter, I'm sure he won't mind you calling him dad too."
"Really? Is she that Meri girl he was talking about?"
He nods, tossing some dishes into the sink. "Yup! She's a sweet kid, you two will get along great!"
"And TJ, he's your son?"
"Ehhhhh. He actually my brother, but Alto always says that I treat him more like a son. So I guess interpret that as you will."
"I got a lot of family in a really short time, is that normal?"
"Not really, but your family isn't normal, so thats okay!"
Keys hums, pulling the bowl off the mixer. "Well I like my new family, its always just been me, mama, and auntie."
"Speaking of her, I'm gonna go check on her, she's been quiet for way too long."
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Kondraki and Ross walk out of the site building, chatting about site gossip.
"Wait so Cims isn't as much of a dick as he comes off as?" Kondraki asks, digging his keys out of his pockets. "Jeremiah has always been kinda a hard ass to me."
"Jeremiah is an interesting character, sometimes hes sweet, sometimes hes ripping me a new one." Ross pulls his keys out of her own pocket, tossing them over to him. "We used to go to the bar just to hang out and swap stories. Honestly? I have a lot of respect for him, his job isn’t particularly easy on the mind."
He catches the keys, nodding. "Yeah, you're right. Really, Ethics deserves a raise." He unlocks the car, opening the door for her. "Ladies first."
She laughs a little, crawling into the car. "Thank you, Konny."
"You're welcome, Lori." He slams her door shut. "So," he slides into his own seat. "How long have you lived with Jack and Alto? Jack looked over the moon talking about it earlier."
"Only a couple days at this point. Its actually been nice, there's always someone home, Alto and Jack have been taking good care of me and my girls."
"Oh yeah, Jack said some thing about being a dad now? Welcome to the parent club, its me, you, Alto, Gears, and Aggie." He starts the car and pulls out of the sites driveway, probably faster than he should have.
"I've been part of the parent club for thirteen years, gonna be fourteen in three months."
"Well Jack loves the kid, he's gonna be a good dad."
"You think? I really hope so.... Keys is my pride and joy, Alto is really good with her, but he's always been good with our kids."
"'Kids'? You two have been together before?"
"You know Cain and Able? They're our boys. Long story short, we're Adam and Eve. By technicalities, Altos the devil too. He's a good father, he does his best."
"Huh..... you know, I'm not surprised. There's been weirder shit thats happened at our site. I guess Jacks mom and dad are named after you and Alto? Is that weird at all?"
"Oh those old crows?"
"Bold words coming from you."
"Oh shush. Anyway, yes. Technically those two are named after us, but I'd rather not think about them. You know my feelings on child abusers."
"Oh trust me, half the site agrees with you on that. Mike, Jack, and TJ.... they aren't normal, thats for sure."
"I want to protect TJ, he deserves better."
"You're right, he does. We aren't allowed to be nice to him, but Jacks never played by the rules."
"Funny, neither have I."
Kondraki laughs, shaking his head. "I like you, Ross, you're a smart ass."
Ross grins. "Always have been, always will be. Oh! Turn up here!"
He makes a sharp turn into Alto and Jacks driveway, nearly giving Ross whiplash. "You starting to see why no one wants to carpool with me?"
She flips her hair out of her face, giving him a very unamused look. "Yeah, I'm starting to see why. You're a dick Konny," she joked.
"Yup," he grinned. "See ya later Ross, get some rest."
"Have a safe drive home." She gets out of the car, but pauses before she shuts the door. "Thanks again for this, I appreciate it."
"You're welcome, what are friends for?"
Ross watches and he zips out of the driveway, his words floating in her head.
Does she really get to have friends now?