"It's alright Chloe, they're just books," Lia said as she noted Chloe's extreme reaction to what she thought was Chloe dropping the books.
"It's not that!" Chloe said in a watery voice. "I didn't know." She shook her head as she turned to Silas. "I didn't know Silas, I'm so sorry!" she apologized again.
"It's alright Chloe, we're working through it, but I think that you and Faye should talk about it. It's not my story to tell, and I think that it would be best if it came from you." He was stoic Silas once again, calming the situation.
Chloe nodded and turned to look at Faye. "I need some time to figure out how to tell you, can you give me some time Faye?" she asked softly.
Faye looked at the devastation in her friend's eyes. Whatever she had to tell Faye wasn't going to be easy and she needed some time to prepare. "Yes, take as long as you need Chloe."
"I won't take that long, I promise. Now that I know about you and Silas, it's not fair to the two of you for me stand between you, and that is what happened isn't it?"
Faye looked at Chloe and felt her own eyes start to smart with tears as she nodded.
"I'm so sorry," she said again as she reached for Faye and hugged her tight.
"I'll take Andrea and Aaron back to the hotel for lunch, would you all care to join us?" Silas asked.
Faye peeked over Chloe's shoulder at Andrea and Aaron, who looked concerned and confused by what was going on, and she realized that whatever needed to happen didn't need to happen in front of them.
"Sure, can I catch up with you in about an hour? I need to get cleaned up." She smiled at Silas.
"Yes, I'll grab Ben and we'll join you too," Lia said, and Faye couldn't contain another smile. Lia was going to stick close until she discovered exactly what was going on with her and Silas.
"Chloe, do you need a ride?" Silas asked.
"No," Chloe said as she let go of Faye and wiped her eyes. "I'm right outside, I'll walk with you."
Silas looked over his shoulder, checking that Faye was alright before he closed the door behind him.
"Faye! You and Silas," Lia whispered as soon as the door closed behind him. "How, when?"
"Is it alright if we don't talk about it just yet, it's still too new and I'm not ready," Faye asked, she could understand exactly how Chloe felt in not wanting to readily share private information. The fact that people now knew about her and Silas made it all suddenly very real, and while that was exciting, it was also a bit overwhelming.
Lia continued to stare at Faye as if she had never seen her before.
"Should we head back to the apartment, I would like to change, and you need to ask Ben if he wants to go to lunch." Faye headed towards the kitchen to grab her keys and Lia followed mutely behind her.
"Are you alright with Ben and me going to lunch with you, Silas and his kids, wow that sounds so weird to say." Lia shook her head in wonder.
"It's fine," Faye assured her as she held open the backdoor. "I think I should drive, though," Faye suggested as she looked at Lia's dazed look.
"He was so intense, who knew he could be that intense. I never took Silas for the jealous type," she said almost to herself. "What else don't I know?" Lia asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Faye.
"Plenty," Faye said. She couldn't resist teasing her just a little bit.
"That's not fair, why haven't you shared?"
"Lia, when you were going through everything with Ben, you didn't exactly share. There are some things that need to remain private," Faye insisted as she locked the gate behind them.
Lia remained silent, unable to deny the truth of what she said, and the journey to the apartment only took a few minutes. When they arrived, Ben was in the yard with Huck with a phone to his ear, but when he saw them, he ended his phone call quickly.
"How did the cleaning go?" he asked, dropping a quick kiss on Lia's lips.
"Fine," she said breathlessly. "Faye is in love with Silas and Silas is in love with Faye. He was jealous and it was great!" she said in a rush.
"Good for you Faye!" Ben said with a grin and a wink.
"We're going to lunch with them and Silas's kids," she told him, taking his hand and leading him toward the house with Huck following behind. "We'll see you in a few minutes!" Lia said.
"No, we won't," Ben corrected, "Faye and Silas do not need you and me intruding." Ben turned to Faye and spoke over Lia's protest.
"Faye, give Silas my regards, and tell him we will all get together soon for dinner." Then he pushed Lia into the house, and Faye could hear her arguing with him the entire way.
Faye didn't waste any time, she jumped into the shower then changed into a long skirt and a sweater with boots before pulling her wet hair back into a ponytail before she made for the door.
She didn't know what to expect when she got to the hotel, but she found Silas and the twins waiting for her in the lobby. After Faye explained about Lia, they all moved to the dining room, with Andrea talking a mile a minute about everything she wanted to do while she was in town.
Silas remained silent, watching Faye carefully as they ordered drinks.
"I'm fine Silas, stop worrying," Faye insisted with a smile.
He looked at her closely and he must have seen something that reassured him because he returned her smile before joining in on Andrea's solo conversation.
Aaron was his usual silent self and Faye enjoyed letting Silas and Andrea's conversation wash over her.
"Poppa, do you think you and Faye will have children? I would like that, wouldn't you like to be a big brother Aaron?" Andrea asked with a giggle.
Faye choked on her drink while a blush stole up her cheeks, and Silas looked at her reaction with a devilish grin.
"I'm not sure, lieveling. Perhaps you should let us figure out a few other things before we decide on something so important." Silas was totally amused by the question and didn't bother to hide it.
Faye caught sight of Aaron and he looked upset as he toyed with his silver wear. Faye caught Silas's eye and nodded towards him.
Silas looked at his son and placed his hand on the boy's hand, stopping his fidgeting. "What's wrong Aaron, does the idea of Faye and I having a child upset you?" His voice was gentle, he obviously knew how to handle his sensitive son.
Faye was concerned for the boy, but her heart jumped at the thought of her and Silas having a child.
"It's alright Aaron, he knows that we know that he's not our birth father," Andrea said softly, becoming the serious girl she could sometimes be as she honed in on her brother's worry without a word being spoken.
Aaron's head jerked up and he looked at Andrea and then Silas, and Faye held as still as she could.
"How?" he asked.
"I told him," Faye said softly. "Andrea told me that you two knew, and then your father told me the story and he thought you still didn't know, and I didn't think it was fair that I knew and he didn't," she said in a rush, hoping that he wouldn't be mad at her.
There was a heavy silence at the table, but it was suddenly broken by someone approaching.
"Silas, Faye," Dr. Evers greeted them with a surprised look as he drew his petite and very round wife forward and introduced her to Silas, and Silas, in turn, introduced his children. Dr. Evers didn't ask any questions as the talked for a moment, he wasn't the type, but he did wink at Faye before he and his wife left.
Faye met Silas's eyes for a moment, and they both shared the knowledge that there was no going back. Dr. Evers wouldn't spread any gossip, but it was now inevitable that it would eventually get out about their relationship.
"Aaron, what's bothering you, son?" Silas asked patiently, focusing once again on the real issue.
He took a deep breath. "If you have a son-"
Silas reached for him, putting his hand on the back of his neck and pulling him towards him so their eyes met. "You are my son, Aaron, you will always be my son and nothing that happens between Faye and me will change that." He turned towards Andrea and grabbed her hand. "And you will always be my daughter. You were both my children the moment you were born and that will never change." He looked at them both, staring hard at each one until the nodded.
"The title?" Aaron asked.
The question seemed selfish but Faye got why he asked. If Silas had a son he would be the rightful heir to the title, and by passing over Aaron he would be disclaiming him as his son.
"It will go to you, son, you are the rightful heir because you are my son." He gave him a little shake to emphasizes the point.
Aaron nodded, then smiled as if a weight had been lifted off if his shoulders.
"Let's order," Silas insisted and as if by magic a waitress appeared to take their order.
Andrea, Aaron, and Faye spent the rest of the meal getting to know each other, while Silas watched them quietly with a smile.