The Next Generation

"Oh, I see," Rose responded, shifting her wight a little. "Well, that's definitely a bit of an issue, huh?" She gave a subtle laugh and then pulled her arms back, folding them across her chest. "So it looks like we're going to have to take a trip back to New York for a bit, in that case." And yes, she had said 'we'. He couldn't possibly think that he was going to try and fly all the way back to New York and put up a charade in front of his parents without his girlfriend present, did he? Besides, she might help make the whole illusion a bit more convincing. "So when do we leave?"

"Yeah just a bit, especially since I haven't told them about what I do for a living," Neal said as he looked over at Rose. Hopefully they would be able to sell the deception well enough so that they wouldn't arouse any more suspicion. As Rose offered to go with Neal, he couldn't help but smile. Once Neal explained the situation to Cyborg he was certain that he would be fine with it. "Well, we should leave as soon as possible to get everything ready," he admitted. "I told them I needed a few days to set up my vacation leave from work. So that'll give us time to fly over and make sure everything's ready for when they arrive"

Neal smiled more as he thought about it. He could talk about work, mention how he had joined a new gym and gotten in shape, mention that he had a serious girlfriend and introduce her. Of course, Neal suddenly had a flashback to when Sarah had to do the same thing with her parents. "By the way.........do me a favor and don't pack a string bikini. Just don't even ask, just don't"

"Uh.... okay?" Rose responded, giving Neal a bit of an odd look. He had said not to ask, but that still left her confused. She didn't even own a string bikini... hers was pretty normal as far as bikinis went; after all, when she felt like swimming in less, she just took it all off. "I guess we should go let the Tin-man know about the situation, then. Then we can go pack and head out."

Within the next couple of hours, they were ready to leave. Cyborg gave them permission to go, as expected, and then they quickly packed a few days worth of stuff to tide them over. She still didn't know what Neal was going to do about a living situation to show his parents, considering he didn't really own an apartment in New York or anything, but she supposed they'd figure it out when they got there. As far as her attire went, she'd be wearing her typical blue jeans, turtle-neck sweater, since it was chilly up in New York this time of year, and leather jacket. Neal didn't have to worry about a string bikini.

A few days later, and they were in the apartment that they were using to sell the deception. Much like the last place, Neal had gone around and cast various illusions in order to make it feel more like his apartment, with various pictures of Neal, Rose, and other colleagues that were supposedly from Neal's work at the bank. Thankfully they didn't want to see Neal's work, they only wanted to see him, and his new girlfriend that Neal had actually mentioned a few weeks back to them.

After walking through the house and making sure all the details were secured, Neal was in the living room with Rose. He looked nervous clearly, as it had been quite some time since he had seen his family in person, and this was the first time that they had come to see him. "Alright, so my mom's coming. She prefers Jill over Mrs. Anderson but she'll accept both. My dad is also coming, just call him Clint. And lastly my little sister Jordan is coming, just make sure you mention a congratulations to her. She just got accepted to the college she was aiming for," Neal said as he looked at Rose. He suddenly had a last minute thought. "Oh yeah, and we need to decide how we met......how do you wanna tackle that?"

Rose sat on one of the chairs in the apartment's kitchen, leaning forward against the counter as she watched Neal going around the place to make sure that everything was in perfect working order. With all the illusions he'd cast on the place, though, she didn't think he really needed to worry that much. It looked very much like he lived there. She felt like she should be a little more nervous than she was, but for some reason sh was actually kind of looking forward to meeting his family. He already knew hers, after all... not that that was saying a whole lot, considering.

As Neal started to explain everything she needed to know, she nodded along and made sure to remember, though with her mind, she couldn't really forget. "Right, Jill, Clint, Jordan, congratulations on getting accepted to college," she repeated. "Got it. As for how we met... you bumped into me at a coffee shop and made me spill my drink on myself. You were all apologetic and cute about it and tried to offer to help clean it up, but I just said you could buy me another drink to make up for it. We ended up talking over coffee, and the rest is history. How's that?"

Neal looked over towards Rose as she repeated all of the information perfectly. It was just a few names and one fact about Jordan. He knew that she'd remember, but in his current state he had to make sure that everything was working perfectly. "That's perfect," he said as she made up the coffee shop story on the spot. It sounded like a cute way to get to know someone, and it was definitely one that his family couldn't dispute after all. He figured that if the family had specific questions for her, Rose could come up with them on the spot.

There was suddenly a knock on the door. "They're here," Neal said before quickly walking over to the door, taking a deep breath, and opening it. Rose would be greeted by the family as they came through the door. Jill moved forward and hugged Neal instantly, talking about how it was so good to see Neal and he seemed so much taller than she was. She was naturally short and held blonde hair, but she still looked like a woman that could take care of herself. Behind Jill, Jordan came through. It was clear that they were mother and daughter, Rose could see the similarities even with only one good eye. Jordan hugged Neal happily, saying that it was good to see her brother after so long.

The last one to come through the door might catch Rose a bit off guard. It was Clint, the father, but the strange thing about him was how he looked almost exactly like Neal. The only difference was that he had a full black beard while Neal's hair was brown and he had no beard on his face. If he was a bit shorter, broader, and a little younger, he could easily be mistaken for Neal. Clint took Neal in a hug as well, beginning to talk to him about the business.

It was at that point that Jill and Jordan turned and noticed Rose. "Oh, so you must be Rose. Neal has told us so much about you it's like I know you already," Jill said as she walked over to Rose and gave her a hug already. "It is so good to finally meet you Rose, we're sorry that we haven't come over sooner. But you know how busy life gets sometimes right?"

Rose stood off to the side at first, while the family came in and greeted their son after not having seen him for so long. She couldn't help but feel a tiny bit jealous at the sight, though. She'd give anything to have a loving family like that, rather than the incredibly dysfunctional one that fate had dealt her. At least she had the Titans, though, as annoying as they could be sometimes. It was amazing, though, how similar Jordan looked to her mother, and how similar Neal looked to his father. It was like they were miniature clones of their parents. That thought rather amused her.

When the attention finally turned to her, Rose stood a little straighter. She hadn't quite been prepared for the incoming hug, but she returned it in kind. "Hi, thanks, it's great to meet you all, too. Neal's told me a lot about you, as well." She couldn't help but chuckle at her comment about busy life. "Oh yeah, more than you realize." Rose took a moment to introduce herself to Neal's father, and his sister as well. "Hey, Jordan, congratulations on the acceptance. Awesome news."

"Oh has he now? Well I'm sure they couldn't be any nicer than what he's said about you. He speaks very highly of you," Jill said with a smile. Rose would be able to see the look in Neal's eyes as he felt embarrassed by what his mother was saying to his girlfriend. This was the only other thing that Neal had been worried about with Rose meeting his parents. He just hoped that Rose didn't think any less of him after all of this.

"Thank you Rose, I was really happy to get in," Jordan said with a smile as Rose was nice enough to remember that Jordan had just been accepted into the college that she wanted to get into most. "I think it'll be a great experience for me. We're even going to go visit the campus later today," she said excitedly.

Jill looked at Rose one more time and seemed to be debating something. "I hope that you don't find me terribly rude dear, but may I ask what happened to your eye?"

"Oh, he does, does he?" Rose responded, glancing back at Neal with a raised eyebrow. She didn't realize he'd been talking about her to his parents so much, and especially telling them all nice things about her. It was actually rather sweet to hear. She turned back to Jordan again and leaned up against the counter, giving the young girl a smile. "Oh yeah? Sounds pretty cool, you'll have to tell me all about it sometime." She couldn't say she'd ever been to college. In fact, she'd never even been to high school. Granted, she would have found school incredibly boring anyway, but still, it wasn't something she could relate to, though she knew how important it would be for Jordan.

When Neal's mother went ahead and asked her about her eye, Rose glanced up and shifted her weight a little. She cleared her throat and forced a smile. "No, don't worry about it, I get asked that question all the time, actually." She'd have to go and make something up on the spot now, considering she couldn't really tell them she cut her own eye out when she'd been drugged up by her father. That probably wouldn't go over too well. "It was a long time ago, back when I was just a kid... My mom took me to the park, and I was playing a little too hard on the playground. I ended up slipping and falling off the monkey bars and... well, I kinda caught my eye on a sharp corner."

As Rose looked over at Neal, he just put on a big smile. Well, of course he had been saying nice things about Rose to his family. They were officially together now, and he couldn't complain about how their relationship had gone so far. Things were going well between them, so naturally he had to tell his family about it. Of course, it was Jordan who had been asking the most questions about her. Neal just assumed that she was feeling a bit protective over her big brother.

As Rose explained the story about what happened to her eye, it was Clint who spoke up next. "Well, I am sorry that happened to you but I'm glad that you're doing alright despite it," he said with a smile. "By the way Rose, I just realized that my boy Neal had failed to mention what you do for a living," Clint said as he was curious to what kind of a profession Neal's girlfriend was delving in to.

Before Rose could even answer Jill seemed to excuse herself. "I think I'll cook up a bit of a meal for us, I bet you haven't eaten decently in weeks Neal"

"I eat fine Mom, I don't just eat junk food. Can't you tell by how much muscle I've gained?" Neal asked in disbelief.

"Oh I'm sure I'm sure, but nothing is quite like home cooking right? I'll just cook up something so we can all sit down and eat," she said before excusing herself to the kitchen. She really was a sweet women. Neal was just thankful they had stocked up on food before having them over.

Rose blinked a little in surprise as Neal's father then asked her what she did for a living. Well, shit, she couldn't exactly tell him what she actually did, nor did she have something planned to answer this question with. Thankfully, Jill excused herself a moment later and talked about cooking up some dinner for them. It gave Rose a few extra moments to think. Eventually, she turned back to Clint and leaned back against the counter casually. "I'm in law enforcement, actually." Well, it was kind of true, in a way. A moment later, she glanced back into the kitchen. "Would you like any help with the cooking?" Granted, she was probably a terrible cook... she'd never actually tried it before, but it never hurt to offer.

Clint's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? That's marvelous. I don't mean to be rude but I wouldn't have guessed that if you asked me. That's amazing though," he said before moving forward and shaking Rose's hand. "I respect anyone that enters in to Law Enforcement. It's people like you that keep scum off the streets, it's people like you that make a difference everyday," he said before turning to Neal. "Wow son, why didn't you mention that before? You know how much I love those in Law Enforcement," he said before Neal began to answer.

"Oh thank you sweetie but I'm fine thank you, just enjoy your time with the rest of the family," Jill called from the kitchen. She would go out of her way to spend time with Rose later, but right now she would just focus on preparing the food for everyone.

While Clint and Neal were busy talking, it left only Jordan and Rose with one another. "So, do you two both live here? Or do you have your own place?" Jordan asked curiously as she looked over at Rose.

Well, apparently that had been the just right thing to say, as it really got her on Clint's good side. She just smiled back at him when he reached over to shake her hand. "Thanks, it's always nice when people appreciate our line of work. I do what I can to keep our streets safe, one scum bag a a time," she said with a small laugh. She pulled her hand back a moment later and folded her arms across her chest, just watching with a smile as Neal and his father began to talk about things. Jill didn't need any help in the kitchen, though, apparently... which left her along with Neal's younger sister, Jordan.

When Jordan asked whether or not she lived there with Neal, Rose couldn't help but give the girl a cautious look. It seemed like an innocent enough question, but what was she really trying to figure out? Again, she had to make things up on the spot, so she just went with what first came to mind. "Oh, we, uh... well, yeah, I moved in a few weeks ago, so... we both live here now."

"Oh that's cool, sorry I just couldn't help but be curious," Jordan said as she smiled up at Rose. Jordan was eighteen, so she had a good idea of how things were progressing if the two were living together now. As long as Rose made her brother happy she wouldn't care. Neal's happiness was the most important thing to Jordan. "Hey, since everyone else seems busy would you mind showing me around the place? I've never really been here before, but I don't want to borrow my brother while he's talking to my Dad"

"Not a problem," Rose replied, giving the girl a small smile as she stood up straighter. When Jordan asked to be shown around the apartment, she waved for the girl to follow her. "Yeah, sure, come on and I'll show you around. It's not really a big place, but it's home. You've already seen the kitchen and the entryway." She moved through the apartment, showing off each room one at a time. "The living room is over here, then you have the bathroom, and over here is just a storage closet. No laundry room, but there's a public one on our floor, just down the hall." Opening the last door near the back of the apartment, she flicked on the light to reveal the bedroom. "And this is the bedroom. Like I said, not a big place, but it's nice."

Jordan followed Rose around, looking at the house and the rooms as she said that it was small. There definitely wasn't that much to it, but it was nice enough to live in. As long as they were happy in it that was all that mattered. They moved through each room, Jordan looking at each one buy not saying much as Rose pointed them out. As they arrived at the bedroom, Jordan moved forward and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking over at Rose as she did so. Rose would immediately notice that the change on Jordan's face, it looked like something was clearly on her mind.

"Rose, would you be okay if we had a few minutes to talk. I had some questions about my brother, and I was hoping you could be honest with me about what I ask you. Could you do that for me?" Jordan asked as she looked directly at Rose. It now seemed like there was another motive to asking for a tour.

It didn't take two eyes for Rose to realize that something was off when Jordan sat down on the bed. Her whole demeanor seemed to change, from that of a curious younger sister to someone with serious thoughts on her mind. She blinked a couple times when the girl asked her to answer honest questions about her brother, which was itself a little odd. What could Jordan possibly want to know about Neal that she didn't already, or that she couldn't ask him herself?

"Uh, well, yeah, sure, I suppose," Rose answered, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and sat down next to her, leaning back on her hands. "So what's on your mind?"

"I'm just worried about him for a couple of reasons," Jordan admitted as she stared forward but didn't keep her eyes on Rose. She took a deep breath before looking over at Rose. "First of all, is my brother happy?" she asked. It sounded like a strange question, but Jordan was going to explain it. "Relationships have always been really hard for Neal, he gets really attached and sometimes it hurts him," she admitted before looking over at Rose. "Has he ever told you about what happened with Sophia?"

Well that... really did seem like an odd question to ask. Was Neal happy? Rose certainly liked to think so... but was there some reason for Jordan to think otherwise? "Uh, well yeah, I mean... I'm pretty sure he is. I know he makes me happy, at least. I like to think I do the same for him..." Her expression grew a little confused, especially as Jordan continued. From what Neal had told her before, he certainly never had many problems with relationships... well, at least not with getting into a girl's pants, though that was after he'd started the hero business. What had happened to him before then? "Um... no, he hasn't. Who's Sophia?"

Jordan listened as Rose explained about how Neal made Rose happy. That was good, Neal wasn't the kind of guy that lead a girl into a relationship. When he went in, he really got committed. "I'm sorry for worrying you, I just can't help but wonder about several things," she said before she looked at Rose directly. "Sophia was the last girlfriend that Neal had before you. Although it's been about......four years since then," Jordan remarked. If Rose did the math she'd realize that would mean Sophia had been with Neal about one to two years before joining the Titans. "And it's not my place to say. You should ask him, but keep in mind it'll be hard for him to talk about,"

"I'm sorry Rose. I don't mean to be a bitch and dump all of this on you. I'm just really really concerned about him," Jordan said as she rubbed at the corner of her eye. It was pretty clear that she was a sister that was worried about her brother. "More than anything else though, I have a suspicion that I just can't get my mind away from. Will you promise to answer my last question honestly Rose? If what I think is true, I just need to know"

Rose listened curiously. Apparently, there was a lot about Neal's past that she didn't know. He'd never once mentioned anything about someone named Sophia... perhaps because it was a painful memory. That was the vibe she was getting from this conversation, anyway. Especially since Jordan couldn't even explain it herself, it not being her place. Well, she knew what she'd be asking Neal about later on, in any case.

As Jordan kept going, Rose gave a comforting smile and held a hand to the girl's shoulder. "Hey, hey, no one's being a bitch. You're just worried about your brother, that's all. Believe me, I know what that's like." She gave Jordan's shoulder one more reassuring squeeze before pulling her hand back down and placing it in her lap along with her other hand. It seemed that Jordan's questions weren't done yet. "Sure, go ahead. Ask away."

Jordan just gave a small nod as Rose assured her that she wasn't being a bitch or anything like that. It was comforting, and she appreciated the comment. "Thank you, I appreciate your honesty Rose," she said before Rose agreed to tell the truth to what Jordan's next question was. "Please just don't think that I'm crazy, I've just had this thought in my mind and I can't get it out. And if anyone would know, it'd have to be you, you're the only one that can help me relax about Neal," Jordan said before taking several deep breaths. It was only at that point that Jordan looked directly at Rose with serious determination and asked the one question that she needed answered:

"Is my brother Fade?"

Well, Rose couldn't quite say she had been expecting that question. How on earth would she come to suspect that Neal was Fade? Didn't Neal say he hadn't been keeping in that close touch with his family lately? Heck, he'd been away for most of the past year, and they didn't even know he'd moved to San Francisco yet. So how on earth would this girl have figured out Neal's secret life? She knew she couldn't just go blabbing Neal's secret, though... at least not if Jordan didn't have a really, really good reason for suspecting it. Then again, it couldn't just be a shot in the dark... that would be far too coincidental. Instead, she'd just try beating around the bush for a bit here... "Wha- Fade? You mean that, uh, superhero or whatever? Why, uh... why would you suspect your brother is Fade?"

Jordan listened as Rose seemed to stutter when asking if Neal was Fade. "God I must sound like such an idiot," Jordan muttered as she put her face in her hands. "Maybe it was all just in my imagination, I'm so sorry I swear I'm not crazy," Jordan said before taking a long deep breath. "It began a few years back, I was doing some research on the internet when my friend told me to look up some video on the internet because it was cool. I did, and apparently he was in one of the areas that the Titans had rescued from some criminals," Jordan began. "Fade moved in front of the camera and began to speak......and I swear it sounded just like Neal, and as I thought about it he even looked like the right build and height too," Jordan added. "So I began digging around, trying to find any camera or cell phone video of Fade I could find. They were rare, but every time I found him it sounded like Neal's voice," Jordan insisted as she looked over towards Rose.

"At first I thought it was just my imagination, but then Neal said that he had to go on some business trips and he'd be busy for most of the year. It was right after the Titan tower was destroyed," Jordan explained. "And it was right at that time that some of the newspapers talked about how Fade wasn't in New York anymore, and no one had any idea where he was. Some people thought that maybe he was working on his own, but I just always suspected that maybe.........maybe it was my brother," Jordan said with a weak smile. "I guess I just know how good of a heart my brother has. If he got powers somehow I just imagined that he would respond to the call ya know?" she asked while giving a small smile. "My brother has always been my own hero after all, even if he doesn't know it,"

Jordan reached up and wiped a tear that was starting to form at the base of her eye. "I'm sorry, it was such a stupid question. Can we just pretend like it never happened?"

In spite of the touch demeanor that Rose liked to put up in front of others, Jordan's words warmed her heart, they really did. This girl really, really cared about her brother, and believed him to be a good person, with an even better heart. And she'd really gone through a lot of work investigating her whole theory; it was rather impressive really. The thing was, she was completely correct, too, but now here she thought she was an idiot for ever thinking it. And god, she swore, seeing this girl cry was like the saddest thing ever. Rose just couldn't bear seeing Jordan like that, especially when she was right all along.

Rose reached up and rubbed her own shoulder, debating whether or not she should really go and reveal Neal's secret like that. He'd probably be pissed at her if he found out, but at the same time, she didn't want Jordan thinking she'd been stupid this whole time and that all her investigation had been pointless. She was a smart girl, and deserved to feel like it. Eventually, she relented with herself and let out a small sigh.

"Sounds like you went to a lot of trouble checking up on your theory, huh?" Rose asked, turning her gaze away and kicking her feet casually back and forth. "Say I was to... confirm your suspicions... could you keep it a secret?"