The day they thought would never come

Prequel 13 - The battle lines are drawn

The Battle part 1.

Cassie POV-

Oh boy. Fifteen minutes and counting. The fact that Gabrielle told our parents that she was bring the man she was going marry over made them happy but upset already. They seem to be happy that Gabrielle found someone not Jack that she is speaking like that about. They are upset that they think she is moving way to fast after what happened before.

They have no idea what's coming. This is going to be ugly.

Madalyn is already on "Gabrielle's side" telling them that he must be so much better then Jack for Gabrielle to feel that way. She is telling them to not go overboard because it could cause her to go back to Jack.

I am glad they are almost here because I am not sure how much longer I can hold my tongue. They texted me that they were on their way so at least it will be over shortly. Everyone will know.

I am sorry worried that this is going to cause a split in our family that might never heal. Gabrielle is not going to give Jack up again. Jack is not going to back down to our parents. I really hope that....

"Hi everyone. We're here."

That was Gab's acting normal but bracing for the wrath voice. I better go say hi and give them a hug before all hell breaks loose.

"Well Gabrielle, bring your new man into the living room so we can meet him properly."

Wow Gabrielle has changed. I can see some steel in her posture now. Jack looks ready also. Here it comes.

"Mom, you've met him before. You already know him pretty well I think."

She is brave walking in their holding Jack's hand. I am glad to see this part of her back again. I missed it.

"Mom, Dad, You remember my fiancé Jack right?"

Silence. They looked stunned. Well silence is good. At least there is no yelli....

"Excuse me Gabrielle? What is he doing here with you?!"

And there goes Dad. Face coloring changing? Check. Meltdown in coming? check. At least Madalyn is upstairs I guess.

"What I said Dad. I brought Jack over so you could have dinner with my fiancé and I."

Nice calm response. No crying yet. That's not going to last but one can hope.

"Jack, leave my house so we can talk to our daughter. Do not contact her again."

"Sorry Sir, but I am not going to leave unless Gabrielle asks me to."

"How dare you ta..."

"Dad stop, please. If Jack leaves I go with him."

You go Gabrielle. You got this. I can see the tears starting though. But that isn't the cry and hide Gabrielle I see. That's the I will not give up even if I cry Gabrielle. They are going to do this their way.

"Gabrielle I want your mother and I to talk to you alone."

"No."

"Gabrielle you are our daughter and you will listen to me."

"Ok Jack let's go. We tried to be polite so we could talk this out but they obviously don't want to. We can try again in a year. Maybe after our wedding. Maybe they will listen to me then."

Wow, Dad looks speechless. Mom looks... I don't know. I can't get a read on her. She is not happy, but she is not losing her temper like Dad.

"Ok sweetheart. Maybe they will be willing to talk eventually. We did kind of spring this on them and they obviously still hate me. It was nice to see you again Mam, Sir."

They are really going to leave. This is amazing. I can't hold it in anymore. "Mom... Dad do you really want them to just leave? Are you so against Jack and Gabrielle that you are willing to let my sister walk out of here intending to not talk to you guys for a year?... You may want to think about that in the 10 seconds you have before they are out the door."

"Gabrielle.... Jack please don't go. My husband and I are just very surprised right now. I won't say we are happy with this surprise... but we don't hate you Jack. We just think that you and Gabrielle are not right for each other."

There is mom trying to at least play at being a peacemaker. Trying to calm things down from nuclear.

"He is not good enough for our daughter. He never was. I want him out of our house and I want our daughter to sit down so we can end this right now."

And there goes Dad lobbing a grenade. Maybe we should have thought this through more. Maybe breaking it to them one at a time would have been a better idea.

"No Dad. Your wrong. Stop talking about Jack like that. You know what. I wasn't good enough for him before. Yes we were having problems. Yes he said somethings to me that hurt. Yes the pressure of everything was straining us past our limits back then. But you know what... So did I. I said and did a lot of things to hurt him too. You want to know the different back then? He always kept 'us' as his goal. He would always apologize. He would always do his best to make it up to me. To make me happy again. I didn't. I just let it build. It wasn't his fault we got so bad. It was mine..."

Gabrielle's on a role. She is just going to throw everything out in the open and let the chips fall where they will. I don't think I have ever been more proud of my sister. Admitting her own mistakes our to everyone like this. Even crying is not going to stop her today.

"and don't tell me you guys didn't help push that along. Instead of helping me to see what was happening, you all just helped make it worse. You pushed how bad it was. How it was all his fault. How bad Jack was to me. You helped make me feel like it wasn't worth it. Like I was blameless. I will never forgive myself for that. For giving up when all I had to do was sit down and really think it through. I should have seen how badly I was treating him. That's what made it worse. It wasn't Jack being mean or attacking me. It was Jack fighting back against me because of the pain I was causing him."

She looks so upset now after that tirade. I am glad she has Jack to hold onto. Look at that. A few seconds in his arms and she is already getting a smile back. Can't my parents see how much love they have for each other?

"It ok Gabrielle. It's in the past. We both made are mistakes. We talked about this. We are past them. Don't hold on to that. I love you. I already forgave you for everything and you forgave me right?"

There's old Gab. Nodding into Jack's chest. Just like old times again.

"So now let it go and forgive yourself. We made it through. We came out stronger then ever. We are going to spend the rest of our lives together and we will be happy."

Jack really is a sweetheart sometimes. I may think he can be a pompous ahole, but when it comes to Gabrielle he is perfect.

"Gabrielle, honey. Please don't leave. Let your father and I talk for a few minutes. Why don't you to go upstairs and sit down for while. I promise we will be ready to talk when you come back down. Not yell and fight, we will just talk about this. Ok?"

Shaking my head and mouthing Madalyn to Jack seemed to make him get the picture.

"We'll take a quick walk around the neighborhood. Is that ok with you?"

"Sure Jack. Just give us a little bit to talk to ourselves and I guess our other daughters. Just please come back. I don't want this to be the end with Gabrielle."

"We'll come back Mam. I know how much Gabrielle loves you guys. I know how much you love her. I really want us to be able to work this out.... even if it's only for her sake."

"Thank you Jack."

Trust Mom to calm the situation when it is spinning out of control. Now if she can do the same on Dad and Madalyn maybe this can have a happy ending.

Why do I think I am about to be targeted?