Complex Family Ch. 11.2

Edited by luvtaread

As Brandon had expected, his once very friendly and semi-fatherly relationship with Leah broke down immediately after the discussion in his office. Weeks and months passed and there was still no progress, although Brandon made sure to make it clear to her that she was always welcome in his life and he did not blame her for being angry. To his surprise it appeared that she had not told Kara the truth either as she showed no signs of knowing the truth.

Late one snowy evening in December he received the first phone call from Leah in months. Although not the type he wanted. He was getting ready to cut out early for the twins' basketball game that he did not want to be late for. He was finishing his last project when his phone rang, it was Kara's number and when he answered he heard a soft scared tearful voice.

"Daddy?" He recognized Leah's voice at once and immediately a mixture of shock and concern flooded through him as questions raced in his head. The utmost question being why was Leah calling from her sister phone, in tears, and clearly scared? Only one way to find out.

"Leah?" It came out more a shocked question than intended and he added, "Honey, what's wrong?" The reply came out in a rush.

"I'm sorry I didn't know who else to call we just dropped off mom at the airport and were on our way back. There was an accident I lost control and we skidded and a truck hit Mom and Kara's side. They don't look so good, Kara's hurt really bad, I don't think she's breathing and mom is unconscious. I'm sorry I used Kara's phone but I didn't think you'd take it if I used mine. Oh god I'm so scared I..." Upon hearing about the trouble Brandon immediately began closing up what he was doing preparing to leave.

Brandon felt panic for his other daughter and whichever of the moms had been injured. Running over what she said he came to the conclusion that it was Katy who was hurt, as they had come from dropping Mel at the airport, she had a flight to London that had left earlier that afternoon. They must have stopped for lunch before going home.

"Daddy, are you still there?" the scared voice asked jarring Brandon back to the matter at hand.

"Yes baby, I'm here and of course I would have taken your call, you're my daughter and I love you." As much concern as he felt for Kara and Katy there was little he could do to help so he decided to focus on helping Leah calm down and try to get some information. "Listen Leah, I need you to calm down and listen, can you do that?"

There was a deep breath on the other end and she said, "Yes."

"That's my girl," Brandon said with pride, "Okay, first off are you all right?"

"Yes, I mean I have a slight headache and may have broken my arm, but otherwise I'm okay. Dad it's Kara and Mom, the EMTs say their both in bad shape, they've lost a lot of blood especially Kara..." She said trialing off.

"EMTs," Brandon thought to himself so the emergency crews were on site, at least that was some good news.

"Right now my concern is you Leah. If the paramedics are working on your mom and sister, then everything that can be done for them is being done. Right now I need you to do something for me. I need you to find out where they are taking your mom and your sister. Now due to Kara's condition it may be different so be sure to find out where they are sending both. Then make sure you get a ride to one. It doesn't matter which, just make sure you end up with one of them."

As it turned out due to the close proximity to a major hospital both were headed for the same and since Leah had suffered minor injuries she too was to be taken there. Brandon thanked Leah and told her he was on his way. It turned out his office was not too far and he could get there quickly as well.

On the way he placed a call to Ashley, who was expecting him home soon for the game. He told her about that accident and where he was headed. After explaining the situation further he asked that she not tell the kids anything until they knew more.

"Especially not Annie," he said, "Kara is the most critical, and until we have more information, I don't want her to know. Tell the boys I'm sorry and wish them luck for me."

"I will, you just go take care of Katy and your girls. Don't worry about our three darling, I'll take care of it and I'll get there as soon as I can to help." She said before they exchanged goodbyes.

When he arrived at the ER a little later he checked in and found out where Katy, Kara, and Leah were. He inquired about their conditions but found out little, except where they were located. He went to visit Leah first as she was the only conscious one, but found her room empty. Figuring she was being x-rayed or something he went to see what he could find out about Kara and Katy.

The news was not good, but not as bad as it could have been given the circumstances. Kara was in critical condition and had sustained heavy internal injury from the crash. He learned she was still in surgery. The good news was they expected her to pull through, but it was too early to tell for sure.

Katy on the other hand was stable. She was still out of it due to severe head trauma and had sustained several broken bones on her right side but was at least breathing on her own. She was expected to make a full recovery.

When he next checked on Leah he found her grilling a doctor who was finishing a cast on her left arm. When she noticed Brandon her focus immediately shifted to him.

"Dad! Good you're here tell this idiot to please tell us what's going on with mom and Kara, because he won't tell me anything."

"Maybe that's because he doesn't know Leah, he has no reason to lie to you."

"Thank you, that's what I've been trying to tell her for the past few minutes. I keep telling her if she would stay still I could finish and find out more." The doctor said a slight edge of irritation in his voice.

Brandon smiled and said, "Fortunately I do know something. Now if you would calm down, hold still, and let the nice doctor finish I will tell you what I know."

Leah looked a little embarrassed took a deep breath and apologized. Whether it was to him or the doctor Brandon was not sure.

"It understandable, given the circumstances," Brandon said, "and I'm sure it not the first time this has happened to a doctor here." Noting the rising impatience from Leah he said, "As for your mom and sister, I just came from your mom's room, she still out, but breathing. She suffered a head injury and several broken bones but she should be fine."

"And Kara?" Leah asked quietly fear and concern clearly in her eyes. Brandon wished he had more to tell her than he did.

He looked a the doctor and said, "Can you give us a minute?" He nodded and said he would wait in the hall.

As he left Brandon sat down next to Leah and she looked at him and said, "Dad, what's wrong with her? Is she okay?"

Brandon took a breath and said, "I don't know yet, neither do the doctors. She's still in surgery, she suffered major internal injuries. They expect her to pull through, but it's too early to be sure. We'll know more within the hour. They said they'd call me with more when they have it." Leah's face tightened and he could tell she was fighting to hold back crying. Without thinking he gathered her to him and held her close. He was pleased when she hugged him back. It seemed her anger at him forgotten, if only for a moment.

"It's okay to be scared honey, let it go it's okay, I'm here." he said and to his surprise he felt she start to sob a bit and he continued, "I am. I'm terrified that's my little girl in that room and I don't know if she's going to be okay or not. Or what I'm going to have to tell Katy about her baby when she wakes up. So it's okay to be scared, sad, upset, and any other emotion right now."

"Its not that," Leah said, "Well it is, but its more. Daddy I'm sorry." She said and she began crying in earnest, "This is all my fault. My baby sister is going to die and it's my fault. It was my job to protect her and I failed."

Brandon was shocked at the turn in emotion but immediately gathered himself and looking into her eyes said, "No, Leah, listen to me this isn't your fault and Kara is not going to die. Do you hear me? She is going to live, okay? This is Kara we're talking about, she maybe small, but she's a fighter. Besides she loves life way to much to die. So there will be no more talk of her dying okay? No more of this being your fault either young lady!"

"But dad I was driving and I wasn't paying attention it's..." She tried to continue but Brandon cut her off.

"It was an accident Leah, and nothing more. They happen, it does not mean that it was your fault. What has happened to your mom and Kara is unfortunate, but please do not blame yourself for this. Everything will be okay in time, you'll see." She nodded and it seemed he finally got through.

He wiped her tears and kissed her forehead before saying, "Atta girl, now I'm going to get your doctor so he can finish the cast and then we'll get you released and we can go see what we can find out about your mom and Kara, okay?"

She smiled, nodded, and said, "Okay, thanks dad."

Brandon smiled and said, "Anytime honey, that's what I'm here for." Before he went to get the doctor.

A few minutes later Leah was all set and once all the paperwork was signed she was released to Brandon's care. As the pager they had given Brandon for news on Kara had not gone off, they decided to check in on Katy.

When they arrived at her room she was still out. They sat together waiting there both for news on Kara or for Katy to wake up.

Then out of the blue Leah asked, "How do you do it?"

Brandon both surprised and confused asked, "Do what?"

"Remain so calm," Leah replied then said, "I mean, earlier when I called you, you never panicked, I told you that your semi-lover, and two of your daughters were injured in a car crash and you never panicked. You kept your cool, calmed me down, and remained in control. How did you do it?" Brandon was not sure which was more alarming her semi-compliment or the fact that she knew the truth about he and Katy.

Letting the latter go he said, "Well, because I had to I guess. Probably because it was you I was talking to and panic wasn't an option. You needed me and so I was calm." He then added, "I must say you are handling yourself pretty well, all things considered. You're stronger than people give you credit for." She smiled and he chuckled saying, "Of course I would expect nothing less from the daughter of Melissa Murphy."

Leah nodded again and said, "Yeah, I know I hear that all the time, but this time I don't think it's just mom I get it from. Business and discipline are mom strengths, but she loses it on emotional. I'm pretty sure she would have panicked. My other mom handles emotions better, it's why they are so good together. No, if I'm holding together today, it's because of something I got from you dad."

Brandon smiled and said, "Thanks that means a lot considering."

Leah laughed and said, "Yeah, I know sorry about that."

"Don't be," Brandon said, "That was a pretty big lie we all told you, and me especially. I should have told you. I should have been there for you."

"But you were there. That's what made it so hard for me these past few months. I was looking so hard for a reason to hate you, to condemn you, but I couldn't find it. I tried to hate you for prom, she told me the truth," Leah said indicating Katy, "Thanks for that by the way, it meant a lot to hear you did it and more importantly why you did. I just wondered why you didn't tell me." She held up her hand before he could respond, "I know that too, mom told me, so did you actually, the night we had the fight. Family solidarity and so I could grow as a person.

"Of course, the fact that a man talkedmymom down from something also would have led to awkward questions about the true nature of your and her relationships."

She looked at him and said, "I know, by the way, about you and my moms. Mostly because when I checked into the local fertility clinics they had no record of either of my moms. Which meant Kara and I were done the old fashioned way. I figured that our dad was some guy mom paid to sleep with them and leave the country. Then when you confessed to being my dad a few months back it all made sense. In a way we kids have always known. You, Mrs. Metcalf, and my moms care about each other way too much to be just friendly neighbors." Brandon looked at her in shock. Both at the depth of her knowledge and the fact that she seemed so okay with it all.

He could not help asking, "You knew? And you're okay with it?"

She shrugged, "Not at first, but then I figured, hey it's your lives. It seemed that you all loved each other so who was I to break up the party?" Then she smiled and said, "Besides I realized that it meant that at least I was conceived by two people that deeply cared about one another and the same for Kara. We weren't the product of a science lab or a random hookup and all things considered that's a surprisingly comforting thing.

"Plus whether we knew it or not we got to have a pretty cool dad all our lives. In that retrospective I did looking for a reason to hate you, I realized I was actually pretty lucky. Compared to some of the tales I hear at school about other girl's dads I'd say Kara and I had it pretty good. Oh and Anna too I guess, although she got really lucky, because she got you full time. It tried to hate her too for a while, but I realized that like Kara she's my little sister, she's family. Besides she's been lied to as much as the rest of us, so it's not her fault."

Brandon nodded and said, "Yeah I owe your sisters the truth, and your brothers. We all do, but especially me. I'm just glad you're taking this so well. Heck I'm just glad were finally talking, I wish the circumstances were different though."

"Me too." Leah said, "As sad as it is, even after all my thinking, today was the first day I was truly glad I had a dad to call. The irony being the only other time I really wished for my dad was that day in Boston." She paused and said with a grin, "You know the day I asked you to be my daddy?"

"I remember that day." Brandon said interrupting, "It was one of the worst days of my life I really thought Frank was going to hurt you and when you went over the edge of that pier, I thought my world had ended. However, as bad as all that was, the worst part was having to deceive you and tell you a story about a distance father and seeing the disappointment in your eyes."

"I remember it too, I remember what caused me to ask you that. I remember thinking, 'If I had a daddy, this is what I'd want him to be.' That was the reason the truth hurt so much, because a part of me was so hurt and so happy at the same time. I'm still mad at you and haven't fully forgiven you," She reached over and grabbed his hand and after a deep breath said, "But I'm still glad you are my dad, and I'm proud to be your daughter." Tears welled in her eyes and she said, "I do love you daddy. I'm still mad at you, but I do love you. If that makes any sense."

"More than you know honey." Brandon said with a smile. Then as he stood he pulled her to her feet.

She looked at him funny and said, "What's going on dad?"

Brandon smiled wider and said, "Well several things. I'm getting rather tired of sitting here waiting on Katy here to wake up. Seems to me she's not waking anytime soon, and if she does she's not going anywhere. Besides I know her and if I don't have more to tell her about her baby girl's condition than what I told you when I came in here, broken bones or not, that little blonde will strangle me."

Leah looked shocked, "You're actually a little afraid aren't you?"

"Yeah, well she's small, but she's feisty." Brandon said in a serious tone.

"I guess you'd better get going then."

"Oh you're coming with little lady, especially since we're going to hassle a receptionist and I hear you are a pro."

Leah smiled and said, "Well I have been known to on occasion..." Brandon smiled to himself, a little flattery went a long way, like mother, like daughter.

"But first before we go off to harass some hospital personnel," he held out his arms and said, "I need to do something I've been waiting to do since you were three."

Leah looked at him oddly and asked, "Oh and what's that?" Brandon knew she already knew the answer but gave it anyway.

"To hug my daughter Leah, and tell her I love her." She smiled and accepted the hug.

When he had her wrapped in his arms he said, "I love you Leah." He then anxiously awaited the response.

After what seemed an eternity, but was really only a few seconds he heard her say, "I love you too daddy."

Tears welled in his eyes and in that moment he felt he could have flown. After fourteen long years he truly had his little girl back. Even if she was still a little mad at him, but that would heal in time. She was back in his arms and not only knew he loved her, but loved him back.

Now if only he could get his other daughter back the same way and truly bring his family together he would be happy. After the hug broke they took a short trip to go see of there was news on Kara, a trip which revealed nothing new. The only good thing that came out of it was that Brandon got to be rid of the pager as he informed them they could reach the girl's family in Katy's room when they had news to report. When Brandon was sitting back in Katy's room with Leah he decided to push his luck a bit.

"Not to push my extreme luck with you today, but one last question. Why didn't you tell Kara? Your mom and I figured that was the first thing you'd do."

Leah was silent for a while and said, "I thought about it, I did. So many times I wanted to tell her, but I realized it should be you. Not only because I wanted to give you that chance, because you owe it to her. I also remember when you told me the truth, I think the sincerity of which you spoke the words and hearing your remorse really drove it home to me. Besides I didn't want to be the one that basically told my sister that her best friend was her little sister."

She took a deep breath and looked at him saying, "In the end I decided the fall out would be too great. Especially once I realized the truth about the true nature of my family. It just wasn't my place to royally fuck up eight other lives because I was angry. You guys had your reasons for hiding the truth from us and the outside world and I understand that. I didn't like and still don't, but I understand it." Brandon stared at her amazed, "What?" she asked looking at him confused.

Brandon shook his head in amazement and said, "Nothing I'm just amazed at how extremely mature you are, most teens in your place would have blabbed and called the authorities on us or something. You are one amazing young woman Leah."

"Yeah, well I come from good genes and was raised well I guess. As for the authorities what could they do, you did nothing really illegal, immoral? Maybe. A bit fucked up? Definitely, but not illegal. You only married Mrs. Metcalf and my moms were as together as the law allows. What you did between yourselves was your business, and you'll answer for that. As for us kids, we can hardly complain. We were well cared for and definitely loved so, so what if our parent's lifestyles were a bit odd. You guys kept it pretty under wraps so it didn't affect us. Of course the fact that I go away for college in a few months did help quite a lot in my decision to keep quiet."

"I never did tell you congratulations on getting accepted to Northwestern Leah, that's really great. I'm real proud of you."

"Thanks, you're really proud of me?"

"Of course. I'm proud of all you kids. None of you has ever given me reason not to be. If anything it the other way around, I feel I've let you kids down."