Chapter Thirteen: Confession Time

Looking at her baby boy, so much like Hunter as a child, Nathalie knows that she can't keep she can't keep this secret to herself anymore. She loves Ned, and although Hunter's magic was completely against her will, she just feels horrible about not telling Ned right away about it. So she tells the one person who can't speak about the situation, but deserves to know the truth.

"Thorne, I love you very, very much, but I have a secret to tell you. A secret is something you can't tell anybody, especially Papa Ned. I don't know how much of this you will understand, but I really need to talk to somebody about this big secret. Can you promise to listen and not tell anybody?" Confused, the little toddler looks up at Nathalie with sad green eyes.
"Po-miss." He repeats solemnly.

"Papa Ned is not your real dad Thorne." Nathalie says with a small, sad smile. "He loves you very much, and he will always be there for you, but your real Daddy, Daddy Hunter, isn't here anymore, and he wanted Papa Ned to be your dad. Does that make sense Thorne?"
"Papa love me, but Dad not here?" Thorne says, his little mind trying to comprehend what Mama is telling him.
"That's right sweetie. Your Daddy Hunter was a very sick man, and he had to go up into the skies with all the other very sick people." Nathalie tries to explain, unsure how to tell a toddler about death.
"Dad 'Un-er gone?" Thorne asks with tearful green eyes. Nathalie is amazed that he understood the situation so quickly, he really is a smart little toddler.
"Yes baby, but Papa is here, and he'll always love you. And your Daddy loved you very much too, but he was just too sick to be able to be there for you."

"Now Thorne, you can always talk to Mama about Daddy, but you must not talk to Papa about this. Papa Ned does not know about Daddy Hunter, and it must stay like that." Thorne just stares at Nathalie, with eyes much older then they should be, and Nathalie feels a pang of guilt. He really is a little boy, he shouldn't have to hold onto such a burden. But he's a smart boy, he would figure out soon that he is nothing like Papa Ned.
"I know that this is hard to understand sweetheart, but this would make Papa Ned very sad, and I don't like to make Papa Ned sad." Thorne nods, he understands that being sad is not nice, and he doesn't want to make Papa sad.
"I po-miss Mama, no tell." Nathalie breathes a sigh of relief, and smiles at her little boy.

Tyson isn't sure what to think about what he's just overheard, so he just concentrates on his book while he thinks about the fact that Thorne is really his half brother. He's upset, but even through his hot-headed nature he knows that he shouldn't say anything. The most important thing he knows about Ned was that loyalty to his "clan" is vital, and a betrayal like this would make him leave. And he loves being with Papa Ned, even if he is hardly around anymore because of all his fishing.

Thorne comes over to Tyson with his doll. He doesn't seem to want to play with Tyson though, just lean on Rosaline and be with the only reliable member of the family.
"What if I have this Hunter guy as my father too?" Tyson suddenly thinks to himself, fighting tears over the thought. He only manages not because his little brother was right next to him.

The next morning, as Nathalie looks for coupons and Tyson eats some of Ned's delicious apple pancakes, he decides it is the perfect time to ask the question that's been bugging him since he found out about Thorne's father.
"Mom, I'm just wondering, is Ned my father?" Tyson asks in the most nonchalant voice he can.
"Of course Ty-Ty. You look just like him you know, with his hair and eyes. You look like me too, with those chubby cheeks of yours." Nathalie suddenly eyes Tyson with a worried expression. "Why do you ask?" Tyson shrugs, trying to delay answering. He didn't really think of a reason why he would ask this.
"Um, it's just that, uh, a few of my friends at school are adopted, and they don't know who their parents are. I just wanted to know for sure that Ned is my father." Nathalie smiles, accepting the answer, and returns to her newspaper.

Tyson can't quite stop his worrying though, even his imaginative play in the bathtub becomes frightening.

As Tyson goes to sleep for the night, he worries that his whole world will completely go off it's axis if this secret would come out. In the recesses of his mind however, he wonders to himself if it's really fair for Ned not to know that Thorne isn't his son. Is he being selfish for wanting his family to stay together or being selfless by sparing Ned the news? He falls asleep, still undecided on what he should do.