Chapter 9: Found

Layla and I made our way to the dining room hand in hand. Doc glanced at her curiously as we walked in and she smiled at him. I knew Doc was just bursting with questions, his scientific mind alive with interest about her unusual powers. He'd quiz her later for sure, but right then he, Ian, Kyle and I were keeping quiet about what we knew until further notice. Layla's eyes drifted over to where her brother was sitting, devouring a plate of food. By then everyone had been told that Anthony was her secret half brother.

"Any more secret siblings up your sleeve for us Layla, or is this the whole O'Shea clan?" Andy asked, getting a laugh out of everyone. Layla smiled sheepishly. She kept a lot about herself locked up. She hadn't even told her cousins that Tony existed.

"I only have one brother." She assured everyone, walking over to said brother and sitting next to him. She held out her hand to him and he took it, continuing to eat with his left hand while holding Layla's left hand with his right. That image triggered the memory of Layla's story. It had said the chosen brother and sister had hidden marks on their palms, the boy on his right and the girl on her left. When Jeb had asked if she was the chosen one Layla hadn't answered but we'd assumed she wasn't because we'd thought she was an only child. Now that I knew she wasn't, I was sure she and Anthony were the saviours in the prophecy. It would explain their powers; the telepathy at least. What better way to tell the difference between a human and a soul than to read their minds? A tap on my shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts and I turned to see Lily standing behind me.

"Your girlfriend's full of surprises, isn't she?" Lily said and I smiled ruefully.

"That she is." I replied, glancing across at Layla.

"Did she tell you about him before today?" Lily asked and I shook my head. "She's good at keeping secrets, that one."

"You have no idea." I replied. "I'm going to go sit in case there are any other bombs about to drop on me." Lily laughed and I walked over to Layla and Tony. I lowered my frame onto a stool and Layla looked across at me apologetically. She knew I was still upset that she hadn't confided in me. I glanced at Tony and scooted closer to Layla, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her into me so I could talk to her without anyone - except her brother - overhearing.

"How far does this telepathy reach?" I asked; my lips against her ear. She shrugged and turned to me to whisper her answer in my ear.

"It depends. It's usually only in the room I'm in but I've never tested it." She said and I nodded pensively. I wanted to be alone with her where we could talk and no one could hear. She glanced at Tony thoughtfully and then turned to Jeb.

"Jeb," She said. "Where's Tony going to sleep?"

"With me I reckon." Jeb replied. He looked at Tony inquisitively. "What I'd really like to know is how you came upon Ian and Wanda."

"That's easy enough. I was looking for Layla." Tony replied. "I didn't even have to make up an excuse. My partner was looking for you too."

"What?" Layla said. "What do you mean?"

"The soul's name was Scorches Living Flowers. His host was brown haired, grey eyed, he had this boyish charm. He looks like he's in his twenties. He said he knew of a resourceful human who was on the loose, and then he described you. He said his host had been hiding with her and another human, possibly his sister. He could even describe the way you woke up. That nose crinkle stretch thing you do. He and Sings were working together to find you." Tony said. Layla's eyes filled with pain and she pressed her fingers to her lips. "Layla?"

"Chris." She said. "Chris is looking for me."

"Yeah and he's going nuts every time he thinks he's found you but he hasn't. He's using resources behind everyone's back and he acted like a lunatic. I remember once he kept saying your name over and over." Tony said. "He really wants to find you."

My eyes were on Layla throughout all of this and the more her brother spoke the more she withdrew into herself, her pain written all over her face. No matter what she'd told me, she'd loved Chris. He was the first guy she'd been with willingly and he was the father of her baby, she'd loved him and from what I could see she still did.

"That doesn't explain how you found Ian and Wanda." Jeb said.

"You guys need to stock up on supplies somewhere else. You always stock up in Tucson. I know you go other places but you always go there. Souls are trusting not stupid. Wanda gets more than she could ever need for herself, but she still comes back every few months to restock. They talk to Seekers, which is what Sings was, because they're scared of the humans who seem to be popping up everywhere. Then there appears a beautiful soul going to a pharmacy to get some Cleanse and someone points out to Sings that you're that same girl. I followed. Then I saw my cousin." Tony explained.

"But we'd never met." Ian said.

"I think you've been living in this cave too long. Have you ever heard of photographs? My dad loved you and Kyle; he'd show me photos of you all the time. Sings kind of accepted that I was going to take my body back from him whenever I damn well felt like it so when I told him to go make a scene with them he did." Tony said.

"What do you mean you'd take your body back?" Melanie asked.

"Mental strength. In the beginning I'd just take it back to show him what it was like to be trapped in your own body unable to move. He'd try to lift something and I'd pull my hand back and walk the other direction. Eventually though, I just couldn't do it to him anymore. Sings was a good guy. He never got mad at me, he just felt guilty for what he was doing to me. Funny enough, I miss his stupid calm voice in my head." Tony smiled nostalgically.

"You could actually control your body even though another soul was occupying it?" Wanda said in shock. It was true that Mel had been able to take back control, but only when she was really angry. They didn't know that Tony had amazing mental powers and the kid seemed like he would spill the beans right then. Layla was too lost in her own thoughts to stop her brother so I decided to step in.

"Look, Jeb, we all know the O'Sheas are resourceful. He's here, he's safe and we brought a brother and sister back together and introduced a kid to his cousins. Can that be enough?" I said. Ian gave me a grateful nod. I figured he didn't want his cousins outed as telepaths yet.

"I guess you're right, kid." Jeb replied.

"Great. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take my girl to our room." I replied. I glanced at Layla who was sitting with her head in her hands. I gently pulled her hands from her face and held them, looking into her eyes. "Layla?" She glanced up at me. "Come on, baby." We stood together and I led her to our room. I closed our door behind us and watched as she walked over to the bed and sat on it, her eyes still far away. I waited in silence by the door for her to say something.

"It isn't like how you think Jamie." She finally said. She looked up at me, green eyes still brimming with pain. "I did love him but what I feel right now is what I've felt since Cassie died; guilt. I gave him something to live for, our baby girl then she died and he lost his will to live. Now he's trapped in his own body, forcing the soul in him to find me because I am all he has. If he'd never met me-"

"Stop it." I interrupted. I stepped closer to her and squatted in front of her, looking up into her eyes. "You didn't ruin his life, Layla. You didn't make the souls come after him and you didn't kill your daughter. The reason he is looking for you is because you made his life better. He loves you, and he wants you back. He'd have to be crazy not to."

"Maybe but he's still in pain, and it's because of me." She whispered. Tears filled her eyes and she lowered her lids, twin streams of pain and guilt running down her face. "I can't deal with that." I sighed, reaching up to brush the tears from her cheeks.

"You won't be alright until we save him, will you?" I said and she glanced up at me in surprise. I wondered at that. How could I surprise a telepath?

"Save him?" She asked. "We can't."

"Yes, we can." I replied. "You and Tony know what he looks like, Jared and Ian can get him. We just have to make sure the soul inside him doesn't kill him first. We'll talk to them about it."

"You would do that for me even though you're jealous of how much I care about him?" She asked. I smiled.

"Of course I would." I replied. "I'd do anything for you." She stared at me in silence for a few minutes, then she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. I kissed back, pulling myself onto my knees and wrapping my arms around her waist, my torso between her legs. She scooted closer to me, wrapping her legs around me. Her tongue slipped into my mouth and I stood with her in my arms, sitting on the bed so she was straddling me. I slipped my hands under her shirt and this time she didn't stop me. I cupped her through her bra and her hands tightened on my shoulders. She pulled back from me, reaching behind her to unhook her bra and pull it off, dropping it onto the ground. Before I could say anything she kissed me again and I couldn't think about anything besides touching her anymore. I ran my hands over her through her shirt and then slipped my hands under, slowly running them up her stomach until her bare breasts were cupped in my hands. As I explored her she moved against me, moaning softly in her throat. She pulled her head back and grabbed my hands to stop me. She kept her eyes on mine as she slowly pulled up the hem of my shirt. I raised my arms for her and she pulled it off, dropping it next to her bra. Her lips found mine again and she ran her hands over my back. I pulled my lips from hers and pressed them to her neck and she dug her nails into my shoulders.

"Make love to me, Jamie." She said, her words little more than a gasp. I pulled back from her neck and looked into her eyes. "We love each other. You just proved you would do anything to make me happy. I want this."

"Are you sure?" I asked. In response she glanced down at my pants and the button snapped open on its own. I laughed in surprise and looked up at her. She ran her hands through my hair and then wrapped her arms around my neck.

"I'm sure." She said. "I love you." I cupped her face in my hands and pulled her toward me, kissing her with everything I had.

I sat in bed with my back pressed against the wall, my eyes following Layla around the room. She was cleaning up after us, picking our clothes up off the ground. I smiled as I remembered what we'd done the previous night. Being with Layla had been just as amazing as I'd expected and more. Looking at her now, I wanted her to come back to bed. She glanced up at me and smiled and I suddenly remembered she knew what I was thinking. I groaned in embarrassment and she laughed, walking over to the bed and climbing in next to me.

"Couldn't you have just done all that from here?" I asked as I pulled her closer, turning on my side and wrapping an arm around her waist. She lay her hand on my chest, looking up into my eyes.

"Yeah." She replied. "I could have but I've spent so much time stopping myself from using my powers that it's become a habit." I supposed that made sense. I brushed a curl of black hair away from her face and cupped her cheek in my hand.

"You don't have to hide who you are from me." I whispered and she smiled.

"I love you." She said. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to mine and I kissed back. After a few minutes I pulled away. I wanted to go further but I also wanted to talk to her about her brother and what they were going to do. Ian and Kyle had decided to keep Layla and Tony's powers a secret for now but we couldn't hide it forever.

"The story you told, about the brother and sister who would get rid of the souls, that's about you and Tony, isn't it?" I asked and she nodded.

"Tony and I figured out we were the ones in the story ages ago." She replied. "I thought that if I ever found him again, we'd say the words and fix everything but now, I couldn't do that to Ian. He adores Wanda and they're trying to have a baby. I can't take that away from them."

"What if getting rid of the souls is the best thing for the human race?" I asked. "I don't want to lose Wanda or Sunny or anyone I love but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want my parents back. We have families Layla."

"It's not an ideal situation. I can't decide what the right thing is here." She replied. "Besides, I-" she broke off, glancing at the door. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh no." She stood abruptly, pulling on clothes and rushing out the door, leaving me to hustle behind her. When I finally caught up to her she was trying to soothe Freedom, who was trying to convince her that the new guy had made the football fly.

"He was on the other side of the room and he made the ball go up in the air!" Freedom exclaimed. Layla shot Tony a glare and he grinned sheepishly.

"My brother's really good at magic tricks, but that's all it was; just a trick." She said to Freedom. "Isn't that right Anthony?"

"I was just messing with you, kid." Tony assured him. Freedom looked sceptical but after a few more soothing words from Layla he seemed to believe them. Layla gave him a hug and waited until he ran off before she turned to Tony.

"I was just-" he began but Layla smacked him across the back of his head.

"Don't use your powers." She said. "For anything. Don't reply to peoples' thoughts and do not move anything with that empty head of yours. The only reason we're still here is because Ian and Kyle are our family and they're keeping our secret. If everyone found out about us, they'd be afraid of us. Our own cousins think we're freaks."

"I know. I'm sorry." He replied. "I just had to hide my powers from my crazy partner for so long and Sings was so stressed about lying. I haven't had any fun in forever."

"So play a game, Anthony, do not levitate a ball and freak out a kid!" She retorted. I frowned through all of this, trying to think of a way to fix it. I understood that Layla was afraid, and rightly so but she and Tony had these amazing powers that were a part of them. It must be difficult not to use them. Suddenly an idea came to me.

"Actually, a game could work." I said. They both turned to me and I smiled. Picking up the football I walked to the far side of the game room where no one could see me from outside. I threw the ball at the wall and caught it when it came back to me. "Do what I just did, but with your mind. Everyone will think you're just a bored kid playing with a ball. If someone's coming then make sure you catch it with your hands or just let it fall, whichever's easier." A wide smile broke out on Tony's face and he strode over to me, pulling the ball from my grasp. I shook my head and walked over to Layla, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as we watched her brother aim the ball at the wall and throw it with his mind.

"You're amazing, Jamie." She said and I glanced down at her and shrugged. I wasn't, I just understood needing to do something you loved doing even though it would be safer not to. Layla turned into me, looking up at me with a smile in her eyes. "You understand peoples' feelings and you try to help however you can. For you that's normal but to us it's rare." She glanced at her brother then back at me. "We're different. People can't tell how but they know we're not like them. It makes them shun us. You never did that. You're amazing."

"You're the amazing one." I replied. "Do you think that any one of those people who shunned you could ever have survived what you had to go through? You not only survived it, you came out of it without being bitter or vengeful. You're kind to people who would throw you out in a second." I cupped her cheek in my hand, rubbing my thumb across her skin. "You're the most amazing person I've ever met." She smiled and buried her hand in my hair, pulling my lips down to hers.

"Guys, come on." Tony yelled. "You have a room, go use it!" I laughed and glanced down at Layla who smiled happily. She was happier than she'd been since she'd gotten here but I understood that too. Getting back your only sibling was the best feeling in the world. Now I just had to work on saving her first love.

"Come on." I said, taking her hand. We waved goodbye to Tony and went to find Jeb. "Hey can I ask you something?"

"How did I know Tony was doing something stupid?" She asked and I nodded. "I feel it when he uses his powers. The mind reading isn't a conscious thing so I don't notice it usually but we have to concentrate to move things. When he lifted the ball I felt it. We draw on each others' energy. I'd move stuff sometimes just so he knew I was alive."

"So you knew he was alive even though you weren't with him." I observed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to, remember? I was about to tell you when they came to tell you they got the Cleanse for Jeb." She reminded me. I thought back to that day. She had been about to tell me everything. She did trust me. Tony just came before she had a chance to finish her sentence.

"I'm sorry. You just keep so much to yourself." I said. She stopped walking and pulled me toward her, hands around my neck.

"Listen to me. I love you. I trust you. I told you about Cassie because I trusted you to know about the one thing that hurt me the most to lose. That means I trusted you before we even did this." She kissed me to illustrate her point and I kissed back, more reassured than I had been for the last two days. "Now let's go find Jeb, okay?" I nodded and we started walking again, keeping our eyes peeled for my gun slinging uncle. He was in the fields with Jared, killing two birds with one stone. We asked them to come with us and as luck would have it we passed Ian on the way to the storage room.

"What's this about?" Jared asked when we reached it. I glanced at Layla who took a deep breath and plunged right in.

"I want to save Chris." She said. Ian and Jared glanced at each other and then back at her.

"Are you nuts?" Ian asked.

"Do you even know where he is?" Jared asked simultaneously.

"Tony does. Chris means a lot to me." She said, glancing down at her hands. I knew she was contemplating how much to tell them so I gently took her arm and turned her to face me.

"I know you're scared but they'll understand better if you tell them why you want to find him and why he wants to find you." I said. She nodded and turned to face them again, holding my hand tightly.

"I ran away from my house when I was fifteen. My parents weren't my parents anymore and I had no idea if Tony was still my brother because he'd been living with his mom that year. I was on my own for about two months, then I met Chris and Sadie." She paused for a moment to get her bearings. "You know what it's like Jared, to be the only man in the world with the only girl in the world. Chris and I, we needed each other. I loved him." I tried not to feel jealous as she said this, knowing that it was me she loved but I couldn't help it. She squeezed my hand tightly, bringing it to her lips for a second before continuing. "You can figure out what happened between us and I got pregnant."

"Jesus Christ." Ian said. "I'm going to kill that little bastard."

"Our daughter died a few weeks after she was born. Pneumonia." She pushed on, ignoring her cousin's outburst. "Then right after that Lacey and her band of seekers found us. We'd just lost our baby, none of us really wanted to go on anymore, especially not Chris. When he held Cassie after she was born, his whole world shifted and centred on her. When she died he lost it. He didn't want to live anymore." Her eyes filled with tears as she relived that night. "I got them up by playing on Sadie's need to protect her brother but we were too late. They caught us and Sadie shot herself in the head. I think she killed one of the seekers too. Chris and I ran but he'd just lost his sister. It was more than he could take. He told me to save myself. That I was strong and not to let Sadie die in vain. The last thing he said to me was that he loved me." She reached up with her free hand and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "He went back to save me. He was hoping they'd kill him but they didn't. He's trapped in his own body and the only person he has is me. That's why he's trying to find me. He wants to make sure I'm okay. I have to help him. I have to." I pulled her into my arms then, petting her black curls as she shook against me.

"I'm the last person in the world that wants to save him." I said. "But I want to make her happy. He's lost a lot and he's one of us. We're all victims of the same invasion here. If we can save someone, we should."

"We've done crazier things." Jared said.

"I can't promise I won't kill him but I'll help you find him." Ian said.

"Jeb?" I asked. Before he could answer we heard a sound we hadn't heard in a long time. A helicopter was flying over the caves.

"I think," Jeb said. "Your boy found you."

I am so sorry I took so long. I have massive amounts of work to do, I can't even explain to you guys how stressed out I am. My teachers loaded me with vacation homework and I've had school and work since July. I'll do better though I promise :)