Rebuilding Our Empire

We Need This to Work

Tiana walked back into the kitchen after Cookie and Lucious left the house. She made the kids a plate and checked her phone. "Are my parents still there?" Hakeem text. "No, they ran out a few minutes ago. What's going on?" She replied, putting the skillets in the sink. "It's Haven. I'll call you when I get a better signal," he answered. She sighed, wanting to cry, but not wanting to assume the worst. She needed to be strong, just in case she had to explain to Bella and Mani what was going on.

"Where are the kids and Cookie and Lucious?" Giselle asked, startling Tiana. "Cookie and Lucious had to go back to the hospital. The kids are with Skye," Tiana answered, grabbing juice out of the fridge. "Skye? Skye Summers?" Giselle asked. Tiana nodded as she poured the juice into Kemani's no-spill cup. "I thought she went into hiding like four years ago. How did she end up here?" Giselle pried, pretending to be intrigued.

Tiana shrugged. "I guess she's ready to come back. She's signed to Empire and she's close to Jamal. Mani! Bella! Come eat!" She yelled out for her children. The two ran quickly into the kitchen, climbing up on the bar stools to get their plate. Skye walked around the corner and smiled. "Hey, Tiana. How are you liking being a mama?" Skye asked. "I love it. But sometimes they can be a bit much. I'm grateful for their grandparents," Tiana answered, smiling at her son and now claimed daughter.

"Grandparents are definitely useful. I don't know what I would've done without my mom. She helped me so much over the past couple of years, while I thought about how I wanted to come back," Skye admitted. "What do you mean? You have a kid?" Tiana questioned, holding her shocked face. "Yes I have a son. Aden Noel. Let me show you a picture," Skye pulled put her phone, then saw Giselle standing next to her. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Skye," she introduced herself. "I'm Giselle, Dre's girlfriend and mother of his still baking child," Giselle threw out. Tiana rolled her eyes at the unnecessary comment.

"Oh okay. Nice to meet you. Here is a picture. It's like pulling teeth to get him to take a normal picture. But he's such an angel," she turned her phone around, letting everyone see. Bella sat up and looked at the phone. "That's Uncle Mal!" Bella yelled out. Skye's eyes widened and stood stiff. "What are you talking about Bella? Uncle Mal is at the hospital with Haven," Tiana tried to correct the 4 year old. Bella shook her head. "No, Mimi showed me a picture of Uncle Mal and Uncle Dre when they were little. That was Uncle Mal on the phone," she explained then went back to focus on her food.

Tiana looked at Skye and snatched the phone, walking to Lucious' office. Ever since Lucious been on a road to a better relationship with his family, there have been a string of old pictures popping up around the house and his office. Tiana walked along the walls and searched each picture for one of Jamal when he was around 4. Finally she came to one that was good enough for her and stood shocked. She looked at the picture on the phone then the picture on the shelf. She grabbed it and walked back to the kitchen.

"Let me guess, you came back to tell Jamal about his son?" Tiana shouted at Skye. Giselle started choking and coughing from the water she was drinking. "Jamal's what?" Giselle questioned. "She and Jamal fucked a couple times a few years ago. Before the ASAs to be exact. You left and didn't tell him you were pregnant. What's the point of that? Why would you come back now after all this time? He's missed so many firsts. First smile, first laugh, first word, first step. You just came back to start mess!" Tiana snapped at Skye.

Skye dropped her head. "I wanted to tell him. He got shot, was talking about separating from his family. I just...I thought he was going through enough," she explained her side. "But knowing he had a son would've helped him through all of that! This family isn't great, but anything helps. Mani and Bella are what got Keem back and on his game. This baby with Giselle is helping Dre find his purpose again. Hell, Haven turned Lucious into a giant ass teddy bear. It's still weird after almost 3 years. You could've helped Jamal, and you chose not to," Tiana continued to make Skye feel guiltier than she already was. Skye wiped tears from her face.