Be Careful What You Wish For

Was it too much, to hope for peace? Was it too much, to hope for a future? Was it too much, to hope for change?

No matter how hard you aim to protect yourself and your family, there are some things that simply cannot be anticipated. All the lies, the secrets, the manipulation... It is all for naught. The Kanes were finally being taught a harsh lesson about avoiding the truth: it always, always, prevails.

And, this time, it was prevailing in the form of Tatianna Solez, and they were powerless to do anything but hope, if not for peace, a future, or change... At least hope for a miracle.
At this point, there wasn't much else to hope for but that.

---

"Are Mom and Dad fighting again, Travis?"

"No... Not exactly, Brad. They're... trying to fix something."

Travis wasn't exactly sure what to tell his little brother. To be perfectly honest to himself, he didn't even have the faintest clue what was going on -- Meredith had booted him upstairs before he had a chance to get a good look at their impromptu visitor, and from his spot at the top of the stairs, he couldn't make out much outside of his mother crying, or his dad -- and this strange woman -- yelling.

The moment she'd left, and his parents turned to come up the stairs, Travis bolted into his and Bradley's shared room, clicked the door shut, and waited for them to head into their bedroom.



He crossed the hall, hoping to get answers, but... He realized quickly, he wouldn't get any, tonight.

When morning came, Meredith woke both boys up early in order to spend as much time with them before they were to go to school. Both of them knew something had to be up, though; she was generally pretty lovie-dovie, yes, but... This was different.



"I'm so proud of you, Brad," she whispered into her youngest son's ear as she held him tightly in her arms. "Someday, you're going to grow up to be the smartest, most brilliant Kane ever... Don't you ever let anyone stand in your way."

As Bradley rushed out to the bus-stop, Travis approached his mother with a rather stern look, but once he saw the grief on her face, he knew something was far more wrong than he anticipated.



"Mom--"

"The reason we left Riverview, Travis... I thought I could protect us from it forever. But I couldn't. There's only one thing left to do, and... I hope it's the right thing."

"You always do the right thing, mother."

"I wish that were true, Travis. I really wish it were."



She watched the boys go with tears in her eyes, but Jeb wouldn't leave her standing alone, looking through the front door window, for long. "Meredith, are you positive--"

"I've never been more sure about anything. Please stop trying to convince me otherwise, Jeb. I either go through with this now and hope my case is put to rest fairly, or allow them to take you instead, and face the idea of spending the rest of my long years alone. I just... hope she doesn't turn us both in just to see our family suffer."



The rest of the morning was spent forming the memories she thought she'd cherish the most: holding her husband close, writing letters to her boys who would no doubt be more than confused about why their mother suddenly disappeared, and watching as her daughter took her very first steps, all on her own. Meredith could not have hoped for anything more, except for Amelia to understand the instructions she wanted to leave:



"You make sure your dad takes good care of you, missy. Don't let him let you stay up past midnight, or forget to brush your teeth, or crush too hard on boys that are no good for you. I don't know when I'll be back, but until I do... Don't let your dad forget how much you love him. That's the one thing he'll always need, above anything else."

As Meredith looked into Amelia's eyes, she sighed; she may be too young to understand, but all Jeb had to do was look into those lavendar eyes to remember all of that.

She certainly was her mother's daughter.

But the good moments could not last forever... Suddenly, the sound of a car door slamming out front paralyzed Meredith in her spot: "Oh no... She's here."



"You've put me in an incredibly sticky position, Kane... I can't tell you how absolutely frustrated I am by all this." Tatianna threw her arms up in the air, clearly upset at Jebidiah who -- for the time being -- remained rather stoic in the presence of the angry woman. "If I had half a mind about me, I'd take you both in... it's not like either one of you is innocent."

"Then why don't you?" he responded coldly.

"I may be vindictive, but I'm not stupid. I come in with both of you, and there's going to be a whole heck of a lot of questions asked about my strategy... you know, the ones that cops don't like being put in the position to have to ask. So, where's the Mrs?"



Meredith walked around the corner of the yard, peeking up over the fence with Amelia in tow. She set her daughter down and approached Tatianna, her head still hanging low.

"I'm ready to go," she said, avoiding Tatianna's gaze as her head drooped upon her shoulders. "Let's just get this overwith."



"Mrs. Kane... I'm afraid, there's something you don't seem to understand. I can't take you. As noble as your actions are, it doesn't serve either me or you to ta--"

"But, I told you everything! I told you how he was innocent! Doesn't that matter at all?"

"Frankly, no. Your husband knows that... He's understood that from the moment you tried to convince me otherwise."

Meredith turned to Jeb, but all he did was stand there and continue to rub his neck, silent. "But Tatian--"



"Look, lady. I didn't come here for justice or truth, and certainly not to make negotiations over who was going to be rotting in jail for the next 20 years. Your husband is the one charged with a crime, he's the only one that they want. If I bring you in, they'll just want me to come back and get him anyways. I let you stay, they never ask another question, your husband can cover for your mistakes, and the whole world just goes on being happy cheery bumpkin land for the Kane family. Don't you get that?"



"But you can't take Jeb! You just can't! Please, I beg you... Don't take him back." Meredith didn't even have any tears to fight back, this time -- she'd exhausted them all the night before, all that was left was a crackling voice and a pair of dry eyes to count for it.



"Mrs. Kane..." Tatianna's fists tightened. She was obviously thoroughly annoyed and frustrated, but after a moment of gritting her teeth, she finally managed to squeeze out her next words with a little less contempt.

"I never intended to take your husband anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, you're stuck with him for a very, very long time."



"I.. I... But that doesn't make any--" Meredith questioned, but Tatianna simply raised up her palms and shrugged.

"I did what I came here to do. There's nothing else you need to worry about. The Riverview police will be notified it was a false alarm, that the Kanes here aren't the ones they're looking for... and everything for you goes back to normal. If I were you... I would just leave it at that, and be happy with what I'm offering you."



Even though Meredith didn't completely understand, she heaved a huge sigh of relief. "That... That's so... Thank you, Ms. Solez. I can't... Oh, Amelia--"



Meredith immediately went for her daughter, sweeping her into her arms and squeezing her as tight as she was able. But, behind her, Jebidiah stuck out his hand, gripping Tatianna's firmly in his palm.

She gripped back a little tighter than he enjoyed. "I suppose I should thank you as well, hmm?" he said with a sneer.

At that, Tatianna laughed, her clear green eyes boring into his with an intensity he found disconserting. "Kane... The last thing you want to do is thank me."

"No..." He replied slowly, his smile fading and a scowl emerging. "I don't suppose I do, do I? You may as well come in, so we can... discuss this."



Later, as Tatianna walked down the path leading away from the Kane's house on Savannah Lane, Jebidiah watched with a blank stare and a heavy heart.
For, as little as he still felt he knew, there was one thing he knew for certain: they'd only traded fear of one law for fear of another.

---

As life continued on for the family of the Kanes, some questions would be answered, but some would remain only a frail mystery, a ghost of the past... They had done everything in their power to hide from their mistakes, but in the end, everything always finds a way to re-enter the lives of the guilty. Could they have done better? Perhaps. But, now is not the time for 'what ifs'; their fate is as it is, and neither begging nor pleading could change the course of their future. At least, for now, they were safe...

At least, for now, they were free to be happy.
But... would they be?

"Be careful what you wish for... it might just come true."