Trinity: Origins

"That doesn't sound very promising does it?" Alec's voice was soft.

"Not at all." Nessa responded quietly as well as she shook her head.

"We should probably go back and explain a few things." Sam smiled as he put his arm around his wife's shoulders. "You are both well aware of the origins of the Covenant, but there was more to the story than what we told you initially, one of the reason why our Druid ancestors decided to leave their quiet lives and venture out into the world."

"I'm sure you have both heard rumors or stories of the ancient Druids practicing magic." Anna patted her husband's leg. "Magic was very much a part of their lives, and one of the clans leaders had a vision, a vision of a great evil spreading throughout the world. She foresaw three beings of power standing together and defeating this evil, a Trinity of power."

Vanessa's hand wrapped around her pendant. Her head was swimming with a thousand thoughts as she listened to her parents' message from beyond the grave. It was taking nearly every instinct she had to remain calm and collected. She could feel the tension radiating off of her brother through their clasped hands.

"The woman had seen three siblings standing together." Sam continued for Anna. "She was able to tell that they were descendants of their people, and this vision was the answer to all of their questions. They knew that they had to spread out into the world and protect whoever they could as they waited for the three prophesized children."

"Over the generations no descendant of the original Druid clans were able to have more than two children." Anna smiled gently from the screen. "Until me."

Vanessa and Alec glanced at each other questioningly. They couldn't understand what their parents were saying. All of their lives it had only been the two of them, surely they would have known if they had another sibling.

"After Alec had been born we thought that like everyone else in the Covenant that he would be our last child." Anna's musical laughter floated around them. "Imagine my surprise when I found out I was pregnant for a third time."

"That's when we knew that the ancient prophecy was coming true." Sam kissed Anna's cheek. "That's when you were giving the codename Trinity, Vanessa. Being the oldest child you represented the first link between the three of you."

"No fucking way." Vanessa breathed. "Language my dear." Anna smiled from the screen. Vanessa and Alec's eyes bulged in shock. "No, my darlings, I can't hear you, but I know both of you, and I'm sure one of you just said something nasty. I know I would if the situation was reversed."

"When the leaders of the Covenant found out about our third child, they demanded that the baby be separated from the family." Sam's voice was filled with pain and anger. "They would not explain to us why. We were simply told that it would be safer if the three of you weren't together until you were older. Your mother and I think that there are evil forces out there that are aware of the Trinity prophecy, and they were on the lookout for three siblings."

"Having to send our baby away was the hardest decision we ever had to make." Anna wiped tears from her eyes. "We knew though that all of you had to be protected, and we did what we felt was best. Both of you were too young to realize that your mommy was pregnant. For the final months of my pregnancy your father and I went away on a little 'business trip.' The baby was given to another Covenant family. There isn't a day that has gone by that I haven't wondered what would have been if we decided to keep all of you together."

"We have a brother or a sister out there?" Alec's voice was raw from holding back his emotions.

"I can't believe this." Vanessa shook her head.

"I know this is a lot for the two of you to understand." Sam smiled sadly. "Muse will be able to provide you with more information. We don't have much time left. The two of you are about to wake up from a nap."

"The baby was a boy." Anna's voice was soft. "He's a year younger than you are Alec. You're now an older brother."

Alec bit his bottom lip as tears threatened to spill down his face. The news was shocking him to his core. He had always wondered what it would be like to have a younger brother, but facing the reality of that was very difficult. Vanessa wasn't exactly sure what to think at that moment.

"The family that took him agreed that they would not keep his adoption a secret." Sam continued. "If anything were to happen to us, then a message similar to the one you are seeing would be sent to him as well. In fact, he probably saw the message a few days ago."

"Why would he find out before us?" Alec asked his sister.

"He's on his way." Anna's voice stopped Vanessa from answering. "It was agreed that when the time came, he would come and join the two of you at the Manor. If he follows our request, he should be showing up tomorrow."

"We're not sure if they would have changed his name or not." Sam glanced at his wife. "The name we gave him was Reyhen Jeremiah, or RJ for short."

"We're sorry that we can't be with you and tell you all of this in person." Anna wiped tears from her face. "We both hope that you will be able to accept your brother into your hearts. Acceptance is the only way to open the door…" A baby's cry could be heard in the video. "It seems that you're awake, Alec. We must go. Remember that we love you both, and we are so proud of you…all of you."

Sam echoed his wife's statements and the video faded away to static again. Vanessa and Alec didn't move for awhile after the video ended. At that point in time neither one of them was even sure which way was up. Vanessa finally stood up slowly and moved around the chair to pull her brother into a tight hug.

"This is un-fucking-believable." She said with a nervous laugh. "I can't believe we have a little brother."

"I don't know what to think." Alec shook his head. "This is going to change everything. Does that mean we go on missions as a threesome? Is he even a Covenant member? Just because he was raised by a family doesn't mean he's part of it…."

Vanessa laid a hand against her brother's mouth to stop his rambling.

"Whoa! Slow down there, Tiger." She grabbed his hand and led him out of the Dungeon. "That's something we're just gonna have to ask him about tomorrow."

"We're gonna have to setup a room for him. What if he doesn't like it here? What if he doesn't want to stay? What if…"

Vanessa tuned out the rest of her brother's rambling. She knew that once he started there was no way he was gonna stop until he had talked himself out. It was one of the very few nervous habits he had, and it was almost comforting to listen to him ramble on and on. Her stomach churned as she thought about the next day, a hundred different scenarios running through her head. She hoped that RJ, their brother, would be able to fit in with them or they with him.

She dragged Alec into the kitchen and started to prepare lunch. Nessa was able to get him to relax and stop talking by giving him a smoke and telling him to chill out. She easily slipped into a motherly role and enjoyed the familiarity of it. She wondered what their baby brother would be like or what he would look like. Nessa calmed herself down as she pulled some hamburgers out of the freezer. She would just have to wait and see what tomorrow would bring.



The next morning Vanessa woke up to the sunlight streaming through her window. She stretched for a moment before looking at the clock and seeing that it was barely eight o'clock in the morning. Just as she was snuggling back under her covers to sleep for another hour she heard a large thump coming from one of the guestrooms. Her hand shot off the bed and under the mattress. Her fingers clutched around a handgun that was hidden there.

She quietly eased off the bed, ensuring that she didn't make any sound. Her bare feet moved stealthily across the hardwood floors. Nessa kept the gun close to her body as she moved towards her open bedroom door. She leaned over carefully and looked into the hallway. After making sure it was safe she moved into the hallway and towards the source of the sound. As she moved along the hallway, her back against the wall, she heard soft cursing. Vanessa approached the first of two guestrooms on their second floor. She took a few calming breaths before swinging her body into the open doorway, her gun drawn.

"Freeze mother fucker!" She screamed at the figure standing in the shadows by one of the dressers near the window.

"NESSA!" Alec yelled as he stepped into the sunlight, his hands raised in front of him. "Jesus Christ you scared the fuck out of me!"

Nessa leaned against the doorway and blew a strand of hair off of her face. She lowered the gun to her side and looked curiously at her brother. He was standing there in his ratty gym shorts and beat up white tank top, a rag clutched in his hand. His thick blonde hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. The look on his face was just too classic, and she couldn't help the giggles that rose up inside of her.

"Do you think it's funny that you almost fucking shot me?" Alec spat. "I'm trying to get this room cleaned up and dusted before our brother gets here, and you're freaking out on me. "

"Sorry, Tiger. I woke up and heard that thump and, well, you know how long it takes the brain sometimes to remember that we aren't on a mission." Nessa flipped the safety on her gun, and she stuck it in the waist of her pajama bottoms. The white man's undershirt she wore barely covered the handle. "Why the hell are you up so early anyway?"

"We have no flippin' clue when the newest addition to our family will be here." Alec went back to dusting off the furniture as Nessa pulled her hair back in a ponytail. "Besides, I really couldn't sleep last night and figured I may as well be productive if I was awake."

"Are you okay?" Vanessa warily eyed her brother. She could see how tense his body was.

"I'm fine." Alec kept is back to his sister, knowing that she could read him like a book. "How about some breakfast?"

"Okay." Nessa decided to let him off the hook for now. "I'll take a bath and get dressed while you finish up in here. I'll have something ready by the time your dressed."

Vanessa waited for a response, but all she got was a short nod. She sighed and headed back into her bedroom. After securing her gun back under her mattress, she locked her bedroom door and headed into the bathroom. Nessa didn't normally lock her door, but after her accidental scaring of her brother, she was worried about retaliation. She ran some hot water and added some bubble bath.

As the tub was filling up she crossed her room and entered her walk-in closet. Nessa grabbed her favorite pair of faded blue jeans off the shelf. She added a white shirt that was pink across the arms and shoulders with the word "Popular" written across it in pink glitter. Alec had gotten it for her as a joke, but it was comfortable and she didn't mind the color pink. She put the clothing on her bed and stripped off her pajamas. After enjoying her hot bubble bath she got dressed completing her outfit with her favorite pair of black boots.

Vanessa whistled softly to herself as she moved through the house and into the kitchen. She threw some bread into the toaster and started to scramble some eggs for omelets. Just as she was adding some cheese and ham into the pan Alec walked in. He was wearing a pair of black leather pants and had a black and silver dress shirt on. The shirt was only buttoned half way and its sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

"Looking good, oh brother of mine." She grinned as she folded some of the egg over the cheese and ham.

"Thanks." Alec quietly replied as he sat down at the kitchen table. He focused his gaze on the toast he was buttering.

"Ok. Talk." Vanessa commanded as she set their omelets down on the table. She poured them both a glass of orange juice before she sat down. "What is going on in that head of yours?"

"I'm just nervous about today." Alec blew on a piece of his omelet before putting it in his mouth. "This is good, thanks, Sis."

"You're welcome." Vanessa bit into her toast. "What are you nervous about?"

"What if I'm not a good big brother?" Alec sipped his juice. He kept his gaze focused on the table.

"You're an awesome little brother, so why wouldn't you be an awesome big brother?" Vanessa reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Besides, there is something we have to consider."

"What's that?" Alec finally looked up at his older sister.

"He's only a year younger than you are. So he's either twenty four or twenty five, depending on when his birthday is." Vanessa sighed. "He might not need a big brother, Alec…or a big sister for that matter."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Alec pushed the food around his plate with his fork. "The three of us have missed out on so much with each other. I don't know if I should be pissed at Mum and Da' or not. I understand they thought they were doing the right thing, but I mean, come on, a prophecy about three siblings? I'm sure we're not the first family to have three kids."

"That's what I was thinking too." Vanessa agreed. "But they were very serious about it. We'll definitely have to talk to Muse and to Reyhen about it. Though I'm not all that sure about visions or magic either."

"I could care less about all that hocus pocus crap." Alec sighed. "For our parents' sake though, I hope that it's true. Because if it's not, then that means we were separated for no reason."

"This whole thing though does explain some things." Vanessa thought out loud. "Mum and Da' did always seem a bit off during the holidays and stuff. How much do you wanna bet they weren't missing Grams as much as they claimed? I bet they were missing Reyhen."

Alec nodded and continued to eat his breakfast, though it all tasted the same to him that morning. He had gotten two hours sleep, maybe a little more the night before. His mind just kept racing around with different thoughts about their brother and the prophecy. What was Reyhen like? Was he excited about seeing them? They were questions that only his brother could answer. Even thinking the phrase "his brother" was enough to make Alec's stomach twist. It was something that excited him and scared him.

Vanessa's earlier statements echoed some of Alec's own fears. They were old enough at that point that Reyhen might not need to look up to his older siblings for guidance. He could already be perfectly happy with his adopted family. Hell, he might not even want anything to do with them, their destinies together be damned.

"I'll load the dishwasher." Alec said as they finished their meal. He stood up and gathered the plates together. Alec dropped a kiss on the top of Vanessa's head as he walked past her. "Thanks again for breakfast."

"Not a problem, Tiger." Vanessa quietly responded.

Vanessa lit a cigarette as Alec loaded the dishwasher. She had smoked on and off since her teen years, normally succumbing to the vice when she was greatly stressed out. Alec had picked up smoking on the mission after the Joshua incident. Part of his cover was hanging out in a cigar bar, and the habit just seemed to stick with him. After a few minutes Nessa crushed the butt of her cigarette out in the ashtray. She looked over her shoulder to say something to Alec, but he wasn't there.

She was surprised to find the kitchen empty, since she didn't even hear him leave. Vanessa tilted her head to see if she could hear him moving around the house, but the Manor was eerily silent. She gently moved to her feet, pushing the chair back under the table. The boots of Vanessa's heels clicked on the hardwood floors as she started down the hallway into the foyer.

As she stepped through the doorway into the foyer, she felt something strike her back, causing her to tumble forward. She allowed her body to somersault forward and using her body's momentum she leapt from the floor into a front aerial. Nessa easily landed on her feet and she quickly spun around in a defensive stance. Her eyes scanned the area, but she didn't see Alec anywhere.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Nessa taunted as she crept into the sunken living room area.

She couldn't stop the smile that had appeared on her face. They were playing a twisted version of hide and seek that they had been playing since they were children. Whenever either of them got really stressed out the other would start the game. Alec obviously knew they needed something to take their mind off of their brother, and she was grateful for the distraction. Vanessa never noticed the thin wire that was strung between the couch and the coffee table. As she walked through it a large silver candlestick fell off of the fireplace's mantle.

Nessa spun towards the sound and almost immediately realized the mistake she made. Before she could even move she felt something press against the back of her head. Vanessa knew that it was only Alec's finger, but it still caused a shiver to run down her spine.

"You're slipping." Alec chuckled.

Vanessa reached back with almost super-human speed and grabbed his wrist. She let her body drop to the ground. As she fell down onto her back she pulled Alec over her. She pulled her knees to her chest, her feet planting themselves against Alec's stomach. With a quick push she sent her brother flying over onto the couch. She heard the air rush from his lungs as he landed with a thud, but she didn't wait around to see if he was okay. In their version of the game, she had just tagged Alec and made him "it".

She leapt to her feet and took off into the foyer. Nessa ran up the stairway taking two steps at a time. Her feet carried her into the second floor's Great Room, where the ceiling was done in beautifully polished exposed beams. She stepped onto a chair and leapt up with all her strength. Her hands clasped one of the beams, and she swung her body up onto the wood.

Vanessa quickly slowed her breathing down, ensuring she didn't make a sound. All she had to do was wait for Alec to come into the room and he was hers. After a few minutes movement from the other side of the room caught her eye. She glanced over just as the fireplace quietly swung open. Vanessa bit back a chuckle as she watched Alec creep out of one of the many secret passages the house had.

Alec never even glanced up in her direction as he crossed the room. His eyes were only trained on the open doorway. As he passed underneath her Vanessa leapt down onto his back. As Alec pitched forward from the sudden weight he planted his hands on the ground in front of him. His legs swung up fast behind him in a hand stand position. The sudden change in direction caused Vanessa to lose her grip, and she was thrown off of her brother.

"Tag." Alec laughed as he flipped back onto his feet. He leapt over his sister and took off towards his room, his laughter echoing behind him.

Vanessa swore loudly and stomped her foot on the ground. She hated losing, and hated it even worse when Alec laughed at her during the game. She knew he was only doing it to work her up in the hopes she would lose her focus. Nessa took a few deep breaths and then quickly followed her brother. She found the door to his room closed and locked. Vanessa stealthily moved back to her room and grabbed her lock picking kit out of one of her nightstands.

She tiptoed back to her brother's door and quietly picked the lock. As she slowly turned the knob to open the door she followed a hunch and threw the door open as hard as she could. The door swung quickly on its hinges, but never hit the wall. Just as she thought her hunch was wrong the door stopped suddenly and she heard Alec grunt.

"That's what you get for hiding behind the door, bitch." Vanessa laughed.