Title: Family Secrets

Summary: The Sons aren't the only ones with secrets. She's coming back to Ipswich. PogueOC, CalebSarah. Rated for future language, violence and themes.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Have the DVD, though. Original characters such as Emily are mine, as is the story.

Author's Note: Hate the Kate character; girls like her make me sick (a guy as gorgeous and genuinely nice as Pogue has to know he can do better). This is my way of correcting that part of the movie without really changing anything, and then looking at what happens after the events of the movie.

Reading Key: Italics indicate emphasis or thought. One "x FS x" left justified is a change of point of view. Centered line breaks of multiple "x FS x"s equal a scene change.

Prologue takes place during the movie, should be clear what part from the context. Chapter 1, which immediately follows the prologue, takes place just after the end of the movie.

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Prologue

They probably wouldn't have heard the quiet sliding sound if it hadn't come just as Kate stopped typing. It also happened to be in a lull in their conversation, mostly because Sarah was getting tired of trying to placate her roommate with empty platitudes. Both of them turned to look at the door, catching sight of what appeared to be a photo that had been slipped under it.

Sarah watched in surprise as Kate scowled fiercely and stalked to the door, flinging it open with a loud bang. She could see Kate as the other girl looked both ways down the hall. Apparently she didn't find what she was looking for, because she slammed the door shut and stooped to pick up the picture. Kate crumpled it after a quick glance and a sneer, tossing it into the trash.

"What was that about?" Sarah asked when the other girl had sat back down at her desk.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Nothing important."

Her curiosity peaked, Sarah closed the cap of her lotion bottle and got up from her bed. Going to the trash can, she pulled out the crinkled picture. Kate watched her with a frown but didn't say anything. Smoothing the photo, Sarah was surprised to find that it depicted Pogue Parry and a young woman she didn't recognize. The girl was beautiful; long dark hair, medium blue eyes and a slender but curvaceous figure. She was sitting on a motorcycle, a yellow one Sarah recognized as being Pogue's. The long-haired Son was standing behind her, arms around her waist as his chin rested on her shoulder. What really struck her was the happiness and contentment in Pogue's eyes and the set of his face.

She'd never seen him like that. Granted, she hadn't actually known him long, but even when he and Kate weren't fighting over her flirtations with other guys, they never seemed truly happy. Just a few minutes earlier Sarah had told Kate that she and Pogue were perfect for each other. Truth was, she didn't know either of them at all well enough to be making that call. But she was scared that if Kate and Pogue did split, Kate would go after Caleb.

That first night on the Dells when Kate had told her about the Sons, Sarah had noticed the breathless way Kate had said hello to Caleb. Before she'd greeted Pogue, her boyfriend, the one she should be most excited to see. Sarah was sure there was a history there that she didn't know. And she didn't have anyone to ask. Being friends with Kate evidently precluded being friends with any other girls at Spenser. So it was better for Sarah, and her chance with Caleb, that Kate stay with Pogue. But this was too intriguing not to risk irritating the other girl.

"Who is she?" Sarah asked.

Kate's lips pulled down further. "Emily Simmons. She was a local, friends with the Sons from childhood. She and Pogue dated from the time they were freshmen. Then five months ago she left town, and I started dating Pogue."

"Why'd she leave?"

Kate shrugged. "No one knows. But every time Pogue and I have a disagreement, one of those shows up under the door."

"Pogue?"

"No. He won't even say her name. He was beyond pissed off when she disappeared. It has to be either Reid or Tyler. Caleb's not that cruel."

Sarah hummed thoughtfully. "What's the point of sending them to you?"

"No idea," Kate sighed. "Even if Pogue is such a jealous jerk and overreacts sometimes, I'm still here. That's very important to him. I don't think he'd break up with me even if I did cheat."

Sarah had to work really hard to hide her disdain at Kate's words. There was no doubt in Sarah's mind that Kate would one day test the truth of that statement… if she hadn't already when she and Chase had gone to the movie theatre un-chaperoned. Sarah wouldn't have been surprised. Kate seemed to have quite the sense of entitlement when it came to the young men she wanted. It was almost enough to make Sarah ask to be moved to another room. But Kate was the only one to be friendly to her, even if it was a condescending friendliness. She was willing to put with the other girl's unfortunate personality flaws for now.

"Have you ever confronted Reid or Tyler about it?"

"No. And I'm not going to until I catch one of them in the act. Reid's a jerk; he would complain to Caleb and Pogue in a heartbeat. I'm reluctant to blame Tyler for it without proof. He's a sweetheart when he isn't being led around by Reid."

Sarah nodded. There seemed to be more than one reason the rest of the Sons called Tyler "baby boy."

Kate heaved a sigh as she turned off her computer. "I'm going to bed."

"Night," Sarah said distractedly.

She stared at the picture of Emily Simmons for almost an hour before succumbing to sleep as well. She didn't see the figures in the photo shift, Emily moving away from the bike as both she and Pogue's expressions changed, reflecting true heartbreak.

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A figure in the hallway closed eyes gone completely black and Used the picture back to the way it had originally looked. He'd been hovering near the ceiling, listening to the two girls until he felt Sarah fall asleep. Caleb seemed serious about this new girl, and Emily would need all the support she could get when the time came for her return. He would do anything to make sure her transition back into their lives was as smooth as possible.

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Chapter 1

Sarah's head rolled tiredly against the headrest of Caleb's Mustang as he drove them back to Spenser Academy. There were disturbing gaps in her memory. She searched mentally for something to take her mind off what might have happened through the long hours of the night she could barely remember. She wondered briefly how Kate and Pogue were doing, if they were both better now that Chase had been, if not killed, at least stopped. The thought made her wonder if he might have had more to do with Pogue's emotional pain than they'd previously considered.

"Do you think Chase might have something to do with Emily Simmons' disappearance?"

Caleb swerved and then slowed as he got the car back under control. "How do you know about her? I didn't think Kate would tell you…"

"She didn't have much choice," Sarah said, a hand over her heart to calm it's racing from the fright of Caleb's startled reaction. "The night before the spider bites, someone slipped a picture of Emily and Pogue under the door of our room. I asked her who was in the picture and she told me a little about the situation."

Caleb frowned and mused aloud. "I wonder who did it. But to answer your question, if Chase did know about Em, he would have used her against Pogue, not Kate."

"Maybe he tried and something went wrong," she suggested quietly.

Her boyfriend shook his head. "No. He didn't come to town until just before you did; Em's been gone five months. Besides, just making someone disappear wasn't his style."

"That at least seems true," Sarah agreed. "Did Emily know about the Covenant?"

"No, at least not all of it. There were times when she saw us Use, especially when we all first got the Powers when we were thirteen, but Pogue wasn't allowed to tell her. We weren't old enough. I kind of broke the rules by telling you before I Ascended."

Sarah reached over and squeezed his hand gently. "Will me knowing get you in trouble?"

"Probably not. If any of the guys' fathers find out that it technically took place a couple days too early, they'll likely let it slide because of the Chase situation."

She nodded acceptance.

"Tell me about the picture," Caleb requested.

"Emily was sitting on Pogue's motorcycle. He was standing behind with his arms around her. They both looked so happy."

Caleb smiled. "I took that the day she got the bike."

"She bought it for Pogue?"

"No," he corrected. "It was hers, a birthday present from her parents when she turned seventeen. She let Pogue borrow it all the time when he fell in love with riding it. It was the only thing left behind when she and her parents disappeared."

"What do you think happened? Do you know why they left?"

Caleb shook his head. "No one does. It was very sudden. They were there one day and gone the next. Pogue was… crushed. I wish you could have met him before, he was never bitter the way he is now. Tyler took it pretty hard, too. Em was his best friend. We were all friends."

"You miss her," Sarah observed.

"Yeah, I do. It's hard for us to make friends outside the Families because of all the secrecy, but she always just fit with us."

"That sounds nice," Sarah said genuinely.

"Yeah."

Caleb was quiet and seemed thoughtful the rest of their drive. He pulled up in front of Spenser and put the car in park without turning off the ignition.

"Get cleaned up, eat, and get some rest," he instructed. "I have to go deal with my mother and making arrangements for my father. I'll be back tonight if you feel up to doing something."

Sarah nodded. "Come whenever you're done. Even if we just stay in the room, I want to see you."

Caleb smiled and leaned in to kiss her tenderly. She opened her door when the embrace was over and started to slip out, stopping when Caleb set a hand on her arm.

"Don't say anything to Pogue about Em. I'm not sure how he'd react on top of everything else."

"I won't," she promised.

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Eyes closed, Pogue drifted in the place between sleep and waking. He was beyond exhausted, having forced himself to stay awake all night worrying about his best friend. He hadn't even realized there was a spell on him making his injuries hurt worse than they should until it had lifted and he'd suddenly been able to breathe a bit easier. It was how he'd known Caleb must have won. He didn't think Chase would stop hurting him just because he'd gotten the first part of what he wanted.

Even without the spell, he was in considerable pain, and he knew his body needed rest. But the sun had risen a short time ago and it was currently shining directly on his face through the partially opened blinds. It was just enough to keep him from being able to drift off completely. Someone came in to the room and moved slowly but directly to the window. Pogue kept his eyes closed, assuming it was a nurse. If it was one of the other Sons he would have known, and he didn't think Kate would be up and about yet.

He frowned as his stomach churned at the thought of his girlfriend. Pogue wasn't blind. He'd seen how she was with Chase. It must have been laughingly easy for the other warlock to use the Creation spell on Kate with how close she'd let him get, encouraged him to get. Though it had made Pogue mad when she'd shamelessly flirted before, it had been different this time. He supposed it had a lot to do with the tension among the four Sons with Caleb's approaching, now complete, Ascension. His own was only a couple weeks away, Reid's two months from now. Then there would be a seven month gap before it was Tyler's turn as the final Son to turn eighteen.

Pogue relaxed a little more when the blinds closed, letting darkness touch his eyelids once more. It was time to let Kate go. Part of him didn't know why he'd bothered dating her in the first place. He'd known before they'd gotten together what she was like. Had known all along that she could never be trusted with the secret of the Covenant. The rest of him knew she'd been a placeholder, something to hold on to when everything else had seemed so uncertain.

He'd known when he'd been racing toward the hospital that it was time to end it. He had been worried about her, true, but it had been the kind of worry he would feel for anyone brought unwillingly into their world. Most of what he felt had been anger. He'd been pissed that he felt responsible for what had happened to her and worried that it might mean he'd have to tell her the truth if Caleb wasn't able to stop Chase. But there was no way he'd tell her now. Even if he had to delve into the darker side of their powers to find a spell to make her forget anything she might have seen that she shouldn't have. He wasn't going to punish himself for the rest of his life by being tied to her permanently.

For the first time in months, Pogue let himself think about the real reason he settled for Kate. She was about as different from Emily Simmons as she could be. Em… she he would have truly worried for. She he would have told when he could, no hesitation. He had, in fact, been seriously considering telling her before he was supposed to when she had disappeared. His chest hurt even worse thinking about her, and a sharp pang struck when he realized how trashed her bike must be.

He was sure the police had taken what was left of it to the impound lot when the ambulance had been racing him to the hospital. He'd get it back, even if he had to seriously dip into the family trust and grease several dozen cops' palms. It was the most important of the few things he had left of hers, and he'd do whatever it took to keep it.

Pogue had just started to drift more firmly into the realm of sleep when his whole body began tingling. It was like the sensation of getting pins and needles when the feeling came back to a limb, only warm. He would have been more agitated by the odd happening if it hadn't only lasted seconds… and left him feeling better. Before, every breath had been agony as his lungs pressed against bruised and broken ribs. He'd had multiple contusions and cuts, a sprained wrist and ankle, and a wrenched knee. Now, aside from still being tired, he felt perfectly fine.

He must have been wrong. Caleb must have come and healed him. Pogue lazily opened his eyes half way to thank his friend. He frowned, his eyes falling shut again, when he saw a young woman standing at the foot of his bed and not Caleb. It took him a few seconds to realize the figure had been Emily. His eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright in bed, still exhausted but more awake than he had been.

There was no one in the room with him.

It took him a full minute to calm down. Obviously Caleb had healed him long distance… he hoped it hadn't been too draining on his now Ascended "brother"… and the figure had been a figment of his tired mind and his thoughts of Em. It had been a long time since he had let himself think about her. It must have combined with whatever injuries he had sustained to his head and his weariness to make him think she had been there. There was no other explanation.

Pogue climbed from the hospital bed and walked into the bathroom. He was startled by his reflection. He still looked injured. He touched a particularly nasty looking bruise on his cheekbone, pressing harder when it didn't hurt. This was an impressive glamour. And very smart of Caleb to do. No doubt the hospital staff would have freaked out if he had healed so miraculously. Now no one but him could tell that he had been healed… well, even he couldn't tell visually. He really needed to thank Caleb for so unselfishly Using for him.

To be continued…