Chapter 1.24: Confession

      Back at the house Rachael sent the children to go play with their toys inside.  As they left the park earlier Rachael had called Cerulean and told him what happened.  He had told her to take the kids home and that he would stop by the park to see if he could track down the sim who had tried to grab Ochre.

     Later that night, as Rachael was cutting up tomatoes for the next days lunches, Rhidian walked into the kitchen.

     "What a day huh," he said sitting at the counter.

     "Yeah, but how do you know about it," Rachael asked.

     "I was at Mags house when you called Lean."

     "Why were you at Mags' house?"

     "Uh..well..uh," Rhidian stammered.

     Rachael looked at her brother surprised he seemed to be at a loss for words.

     "Well, I've been seeing Mags.  Romantically," he added when Rachael didn't respond.

     "What," Rachael yelped, surprised by that revelation.  "Since when?'

     "Since your honeymoon," Rhidian answered.  "We spent a lot of time together taking care of the kids and we just clicked.  Not unlike you and Lean."

     "But you're still so young," Rachael said.

     "I'm not a kid Ray.  I'm a grown man."

     "I know, I know.  It's just that I have a hard time thinking of you as anything but my little brother."

     They were silent for a while as Rachael went back to cutting up the tomatoes.  After putting them to the side she asked, "do you know what she does?"

     "If you mean the Palette Agency, yeah.  Seeing all the trouble you and Lean have had with his work she told me shortly after you two came back."

     "How do you feel about that," Rachael asked.

     "I'm not thrilled with all the secrets they keep but what they do is important.  At least Mags doesn't put herself in dangerous situations."

     "At least," Rachael repeated.

     "Sorry Ray.  That was stupid of me.  You know Lean is good at what he does.  He'll be okay."

     Rachael smiled at Rhidian, "I hope so.  I would hate to have to train another husband."

     Rhidian smiled at her lame joke, "good night Ray."

     "Good night," she said, tilting her cheek for his kiss before he went to his room.

     At bedtime that night Ochre was too scared to sleep in his room.  When Rachael came in to tuck the kids in he was still sitting up in bed.

     "Bedtime, little man," she said.

     "Can I sleep with you and Daddy?" he asked.

     Rachael hadn't made a big deal of it but it seemed that the scare from the kidnap attempt this afternoon had unlocked the little boys voice.  Ever since their return home he talked with her and River and responded to their questions.

     "Sure, little man, come on," she said leading him to her bedroom with Cerulean.

     Ochre immediately climbed into the bed and started to drift asleep.  Rachael sat in one of the two sitting chairs and picked up one of the books she was reading.

     That was how Cerulean found them when he returned home that night.

     "He really spoke?" he whispered.

     Rachael looked up from her book when Cerulean entered the bedroom and nodded.

     "Yes," she answered.

     Cerulean first went to his boy and checked on him.  Rachael watched as the tensed muscles in his face relaxed when he saw his son was safe, unharmed and sleeping soundly.

     In silence, Cerulean offered Rachael a hand to help her stand and the two walked over to the fireside sitting area.

     Rachael sat in one of the chairs while Cerulean stood in front of the fire.  Neither one spoke at first, not wanting to break the silence.

     Finally Rachael asked, "did that strange sim have anything to do with the sim you are trying to track down?"

     Cerulean braced his hands on the mantle and leaned into it.  He nodded his head, "I think he does."

     He turned around to look at Rachael.  "I told you that one of my first cases was an undercover assignment as low level muscle to a crime family.  What I didn't tell you was I got my 'in' with the family by dating the only daughter of the boss.  It started as a simple assignment but I did develop real feeling for her.  She was my first love."

     Rachael didn't say anything when he drifted off, lost in a remembrance of that time.

     He continued, "we were together and she got pregnant with Ochre.  At the time I asked her to leave her family with me, to build a family with our child, but what i didn't know at the time is she was truly loyal to her family.  I thought she didn't know what her father did but she was in the thick of their business.  I didn't want to believe it when I first unearthed the evidence of their crimes but it was there in front of me, solid proof."

     "I turned over the evidence to my father who was supervising the case and the entire family was arrested along with several of their high ranking members.  Ochre's mom, Eve, was arrested at the same time.  It turns out that there was a lot I didn't know about her.  She had been working as her father's assassin and had been for years before I met her."

     Cerulean walked over to the other chair and sat in it.  "After the trial and her imprisonment, Ochre was born and since I made it known that my relationship with Eve was how I got in with her family the judges who presided over her case asked if I wanted to take my son.  I did of course.  Whatever my relationship with his mom and however it turned out, he was my son and I was going to take care of him."

     "So it was Eve that escaped from prison.  And the first kidnapping, do you think she had something to do with it."

     Cerulean blew out a breath, "looking back I think it's a probability that it was her.  Or rather someone working for her who tried to grab him, then and today.  She escaped maybe three weeks before the first attempt.  I wasn't informed of her escape until after the kidnap attempt.  My dad thought all the safety measures we take would have been enough to protect us but apparently they weren't."

     "Mags is checking her work from our move to see if we were somehow traced through that but I don't think that was it."

     "How do you think she found Ochre here?"

     "I think it has something to do with all those sightings I've been investigating.  I think she let herself be sighted intentionally to draw me out.  And using my travel information to backtrack here.  Get enough information and you'll find out the truth after all."

     Rachael felt queasy at the thought of Cerulean with this unknown woman.  And that he hadn't told her until today that it was his ex he was tracking down.  

     "Do you still have feelings for Eve," she asked.

     Cerulean looked at her in surprise. His face softened at something he saw in hers.  He stood up and helped pull her out of her chair and into his embrace. 

     "No.  She wasn't the sim I thought she was when we were dating and she isn't a sim I can spend my life with.  She has done horrible things and feels no regret or remorse for them.  The only interest I have in her today is to put her back in prison to protect my son, you and our child."

     Rachael rested her head in the bend between his shoulder and neck, "okay.  When do you next leave to track her down."

     "Not for awhile.  You and the kids need me here for now and we need to make other arrangements so you'll all be safe when I leave."

      "Okay," Rachael said stepping back from Cerulean.  Taking his hand she continued, "let's go to bed then.  I'm tired and it's been a long, long day."

     "Sounds like a plan to me. Come on."

                                                                                              

Random Ramblings

   So this was part of the character backstory I hinted at in earlier Rambles.  There really isn't much elso for me to ramble about so I'm going on to write the next chapter.