Family Reunion

At the Mirage Penthouse, Caleb rolled onto his back on the couch, staring at the ceiling as the previous night's chaos replayed in his head. Staring at the ceiling, Caleb heard his phone ringing and looked over to see another missed call from Patrick who was on the road right now doing commentating on a few boxing matches as a favour to a friend but Caleb wasn’t sure if he wanted to answer any of them right now.

The mere thought of Demi having lied to him his entire life and the fact that Patrick possibly not knowing he wasn’t Caleb’s biological father made Caleb’s chest tighten. Caleb grabbed his phone and scrolled past Patrick’s contact, stopping at Demi’s and his thumb hovered over the call button before he tossed the phone aside with a frustrated groan.

"And I heard Victor got off easy last night but if you're in this sort of mood, I highly doubt it," Caleb heard a voice say and he looked up to see Tommy standing over him with two mugs of coffee, passing one to Caleb who sat up slowly and took it.

"Thanks again for letting me crash here," Caleb muttered.

"Come on we've known each other since we were kids, We're practically family," Tommy shrugged, dropping into the armchair across from Caleb, a thought that made Caleb realise if Adrianna was being honest would make Tommy his cousin.

"You look like shit, man. And not just from the fight. What's eating at you?" Tommy wondered.

"Nothing," Caleb muttered. "Just a shitty night."

"Yeah, well, I would have thought you and my cousin nearly hooking up would at least put a smile on your face, I mean you're basically violating the bro code with Phoebe but…" Tommy snorted.

"Drop it," Caleb snapped before sighing. "Sorry. Just... not in the mood."

"Alright, alright. But you know Lexi's gonna tear you a new one when she sees you. You're going to have to apologise for last night…" Tommy held up his hands.

"I know," Caleb muttered. "But Victor was playing her. You know how the McCravens operate, every move’s a fucking chess piece."

"Yeah, but Lexi's not an idiot. She can handle herself. You charging in like that just made you look like the unstable one, exactly what Xander wants." Tommy pointed out.

"Yeah, well, maybe I don't care what Xander thinks." Caleb said as he took a sip of the coffee.

"You're lying," Tommy told him. "You always care. That's the problem. You don't like people knowing it though," Tommy paused and then added. "Uncle Peter's like that, you know."

"What do you mean, like that?" Caleb said harshly.

"You know. Stubborn. Always thinks he’s right, even when he’s wrong. And once he’s pissed off? Good luck getting through to him." Tommy shrugged. "Sounds familiar?"

"Yeah, well, maybe it’s just a guy thing." Caleb scoffed before asking. "What's he actually like? Mom being friends with Elsa means his name has been brought up a couple of times but…"

"Uncle Peter?" Tommy smiled. "He's fun. You know when I was younger I kind of wanted to be like him. I don't think my Mom liked that idea but he was cool. I could have a laugh with him, took me and Phoebe to do things like go-karting, adventure parks and he used to have these gorgeous girlfriends... I don't think he could settle down, which is probably why my Mom didn't like me being around him too much." Tommy chuckled. "But he's also stubborn as hell. Like I said, once he's made up his mind? Forget it. And if you piss him off..."

"Sounds like a real charmer." Caleb commented.

"He’s family. You take the good with the bad. Though..." Tommy hesitated. "He's Phoebe's father even if Phoebe’s not exactly his biggest fan these days. I know he cares about her and I know that he knows that she's the best thing to have ever happened to him. So you better not break her heart."

"I don't know about that. She was pretty pissed-off at me too last night," Caleb muttered, also not wanting to admit out loud the girl he had been flirting with and kissed someone who might be his sister.

"Yet you know what? That's the best thing about Phoebe," Tommy told him. "She can be really pissed off at you but she'll forgive you just as quickly. Just apologise to her and Lexi and you'll be back in their good books in no time," Tommy said.

"You make it sound so easy," Caleb shook his head.

"That's because it is, you my friend are just too stubborn for your own good," Tommy chuckled. "Now get up. Cos I know you, we're going to need some decent food and if we tried cooking it's not going to go well.”

It was then the elevator to the Mirage Penthouse pinged softly as the doors slid open, letting Peter, Adrianna, Elsa, Phoebe and Lexi step out into the room.

"Uncle Peter?" Tommy said as he got up from the couch in surprise.

"Uh. Hey. Tommy, you've grown up," Peter replied, his eyes flicking from Tommy to Caleb who was staring at Peter. "And you must be Caleb."

"Yeah. That’s me." Caleb coldly responded.

"Um, what are you doing here, Uncle Peter?" Tommy asked, glancing at Caleb and then the others. "Did I miss a family meeting invite or something?"

"No meeting," Peter said, breaking the awkward silence. "Your aunts and I need to talk to your dad, he in?"

"Uh, yeah. Dad’s in his office. But he’s been on a call all morning. Did he call you about Xander, I know you two have history…" Tommy hesitated.

"AC called me and kind of...” Peter paused, still looking over at Caleb. "It's a hell of a mess you boys got yourselves into."

"Yeah, well, we were handling it." Caleb said coldly as he stood up from his seat and Peter stared back at him.

"Okay, awkward family reunion aside…" Phoebe interrupted. "Lexi and I are gonna take the boys and go. Unless you suddenly need four teenagers for your sibling reunion?"

"Pretty sure they’ve got this handled," Lexi snorted as Phoebe nodded in agreement. "Besides, Tommy still owes me breakfast after that last night. We’ll be at the hotel’s restaurant if anyone needs us."

"And stay out of trouble," Elsa called out after them as Phoebe, Tommy and Caleb followed the redhead, the elevator doors sliding shut on their children.

"They’ll be fine," Adrianna muttered to Elsa.

"I can see what you mean. Caleb's exactly like me," Peter commented as he and his sisters made their way towards Ryan's office where his brother was.

"Told you." Adrianna smirked as Peter opened the office door where they found Ryan putting down his phone.

"Peter," Ryan said, getting up to hug his brother, "It's good to see you."

"Wish it were under better circumstances," Peter said as he slowly broke the hug.

"So you girls told him then?'" Ryan asked Adrianna and Elsa who nodded in agreement.

"That Caleb is my son and Xander has basically put a target on his back," Peter summarised. "Yeah, they did and what he wants in order to drop this,"

"But here’s what I don’t get… What’s his endgame? **** for Caleb sleeping with his girlfriend? Please. That man doesn’t give a shit about his girlfriends. Remember how he treated Siobhan?” Elsa commented.

"Based on his demands, I'd say leverage," Adrianna commented. "He’s using them to get to us. You two have history, Peter. And Xander never forgets a grudge."

"And if he ever found out that Caleb is your kid?" Elsa said. "That’s a grenade in his lap just waiting for the pin to be pulled if he found out. He’d used that to up his demands,"

"Then we don't let him find out." Peter told them before asking Ryan. "Where’s Xander holed up these days? I think you and I should pay him a visit."