A Bundle of Secrets

Chapter Thirty

Chapter 30

At the end of the day, Cameron and Jonathan went home with their niece. Despite everyone's help for the funeral, both brothers were exhausted. They plopped down onto the sofa after Jonathan placed Farrah in her playpen. She was still fussing a little but she seemed to be tiring herself out. "Hey Cam?" Jonathan spoke up.

"Yeah?"

The older twin sighed, "Why didn't Dad ever tell us? Did he just not believe that he was Fiona's father? Did he just not... not... want her? I mean I know he wasn't a good guy but... I mean, if I thought I had a kid out there, I'd want to be there for them."

"I don't know..."

"I guess it'd be useless to ask him that because he denied I even existed and he raised me... he probably had no trouble pretending he didn't have a third kid." Jonathan ripped his tie off in frustration, "I mean how terrible would it have been? Maybe if we had been together-"

"He might have been just as hard on her as he was on us. Maybe worse."Cameron interjected, "I never thought Dad was secretly a good guy... I just never thought he was-"

"A deadbeat? A piece of crap? A monster?"

Cameron let out a chuckle trying to make it sound like a cough, "Yeah, I guess."

"There's just one thing I don't understand."

The younger twin raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"Why did Fiona go to that abandoned warehouse?"

Cameron's eyes widened slightly, "Yeah... and how did she know that there was hollow wall she could hide Farrah in?"

Before Jonathan could think of a reason, a tiny voice was heard, "Johnny... Johnny..." Farrah tiredly called out from her playpen. Jonathan walked over to her as she held up her little arms, "Johnny."

Jonathan picked her up and she just rested her head on his shoulder, her arms just hanging at her sides. "I think someone's really tuckered herself out." Jonathan said, rubbing her back as she sniffled, "Where are her pajamas?" He then smelled something unpleasant, "And her diapers?"

"I'll show you."

It took Cameron and Jonathan a good twenty minutes to get Farrah into a fresh diaper and a pair of pink pajamas with white bunnies as a pattern. Jonathan left the room to change and Cameron placed Farrah in her crib but she gripped the end of his sleeve and looked up at him. She didn't want him to go. He bent over the crib to look at his niece, "Hey... I'm right here Farrah. I'm not going anywhere. Uncle Cameron's here."

"Cam'mon..." Farrah gurgled.

Cameron's eyes widened, "What did you just say? Did you just say my name?" Farrah giggled. It was the first smile she had given all day. "Did you say 'Cameron'?"

"Cam'mon."

Cameron chuckled, "Close enough. Johnny!" He called out.

Jonathan walked back into his niece's room, "What's wrong?"

"Farrah just said my name!" Cameron patted her curly haired head, "Farrah, can you say it again? Can you say 'Cameron'?"

"Cam'mon." She giggled as her other uncle peered over into the crib.

Jonathan grinned, "Well, now you can stop pouting Cam. She can say both our names now" Cameron let out a laugh.

They stayed until Farrah fell asleep... but things didn't stay quiet for long.

Farrah slept through most of the night. However, around five in the morning, Cameron and Jonathan were both woken up by the sound of Farrah screaming and crying. Jonathan ran to Cameron's room and Farrah had kicked her blanket aside as tears ran down her cheeks. Jonathan turned on the light and Cameron rushed over to pick her up. She cried into his shoulder as her sobs began to quiet down. Cameron just kept stroking her back until she calmed down.