Asuntos de Familia [complete]

[Anna Fernandez]

"Si, Mama. Estoy tomando mis vitaminas prenatales." Anna sighed, but knew her mother's concern was only because she had waited so long to tell her the news of the impending grandchild - the fourth in the family. "Do not worry so much!"

"Do not tell me not to worry about my only daughter," Teresa Fernandez proclaimed over the phone. "I will of course come out for the birth. January?"

"Si Mama, January fifteenth is my due date. A long time from now."

"Not so long as you'd think! Oh, your papa wants to talk to you. Just a minute..." Anna heard some muffled conversation on the other side of the connection as Santiago pried the receiver away from his wife. At least, that was how she was picturing it.

"How is my princesa doing today?" Papa's warm voice made Anna smile.

"I am fine, Papa, just a little tired."

[Anna Fernandez]

"Well, you should be taking it easy."

"I am," Anna said quickly, then remembered everything that was going on around the house, and felt guilty. "Well," she amended, "I am trying to. There's just so much to... do."

"You need more help! Get Jacob on the phone, let me talk to him."

"Oh, well... he's not here."

"Did he get a job?" Papa's voice was hopeful.

"Ah, he's still looking. But anyway, he is a great help to me. He's great with the kids, too. Helps me keep them in line, not that we've got any real trouble makers right now." Anna tried to steer the conversation away from Jake, and soon found herself floundering. "The garden is doing great, by the way. So many tomatoes! I've been canning Mama's famous spaghetti sauce, but I still have too many!"

"Then the mulch I suggested helped with the growth?" He sounded pleased, and sufficiently distracted.

"Oh, si." They talked about mundane things for a while, and then the question Anna had been dreading came.

"We've been hearing some things on the news, Anna. About a gang war between mutants in Los Santos? You're not near that, are you?"

"Oh, ah... well... its not really between mutants, its sort of between... um."

"Anna!"

"We're perfectly safe, Papa!" She could hear the strain in her own voice, though, and knew he wouldn't be convinced so easily.

[Anna Fernandez]

Her father sighed through the phone, and Anna continued, "We are as safe as we can be."

"That is not very reassuring, Anna."

"Well, I can't very well move the house," she said quietly. "With Jake and Aidan - you remember Aidan Fox - around I feel much safer."

"What happened to that Apollos fellow?" There was a pause, and then Santiago continued, hesitantly, "He isn't... the... for the baby..?"

"Dios mio!" Anna exclaimed, "No, no, no. No. He is not. No." She took a breath, and added, "He isn't around anymore, anyway. Moved on a couple months back."

"Oh, okay. I am sorry, I just thought... well anyway." Papa was trying to extricate himself from the topic, which made Anna smile. "Still, he seemed a handy fellow to have around."

"Yes... yes he was."

The conversation lagged a bit, and then Papa made his way back to the topic most on his mind. "If things are too dangerous around you, you should call your brothers. Joaquin was just here with Antonio - gave him a ride home from UCLA."

"With laundry for Mama, I'm sure!"

"Of course! I'm beginning to think the laundry basket is a permanent part of his body."

[Anna Fernandez]

"Well, I hope she is making him do it himself," Anna replied, but knew that Teresa Fernandez would do no such thing. "What are his plans for the summer?"

"He is going to live with Joaquin in Corona and work for Alonso. He has a house addition he's working on at the moment."

Anna tried to imagine the three brothers on a job site together, and laughed. "I can just see all the trouble Joaquin is going to cause with two brothers to pick on."

Her father laughed, "Si, si, it will be interesting!"

"Well..." She looked around the kitchen, ready to end the conversation before Papa decided to -

"Anna."

"Yes, Papa?"

"What you are doing... it is important. But not more important than your life. It would be a tight fit... but your madre and I agreed that you can bring all your kids here to Bakersfield -"

"Papa, no, I couldn't."

"-just until things calm down. We are happy to keep you safe, Anna, so at least think about it."

Anna felt tears welling up, and blinked them away furiously. "Muchas gracias, Papa. Really. Thank you."

[Anna Fernandez]

"De nada," he replied, and she could almost see him shrugging off her gratitude. "You are my only daughter, Anna." There was a pause, and Anna imagined her papa struggling for words, and it broke her heart a little.

"I will think about it, I prom-"

"I am sorry, your madre wants the phone back. Te amo, Anna."

"I love you too, Papa." Anna shifted in her seat and thought about getting something to drink while the sounds on the other end of the line indicated the handset was being juggled between family members.

"Anna! How's it going down there on the mean streets of Los Santos!?"

She laughed, "Antonio! Papa said you were back from school. How did your finals go?"

"Oh, they went. And they're over. The good news is I passed all my classes and they're letting me come back next year!" Antonio was her youngest brother, twenty years old, and currently holding the phone hostage from their mother. Anna could hear her in the background, laughing and telling him she was going to throw his wet laundry into the backyard instead of the dryer if he didn't give over. "Un momento, Mama! Anna, I'm going to be living with Joaquin this summer down in Corona, I'm going to try to get over to visit. I promise! Not like last time."

"Last time you never made it over and I was muy decepcionado," Anna reminded him light heartedly. "I do not want to tell Jake you're visiting and have it fall through again. He cried all night."

"He should visit us, the lazy bastard! Ow, Mama, sorry. The lazy, um, boy. Ugh. Anyway, here's Mama."

"That boy!" Teresa Fernandez was laughing. "Shoo! Get away from those, they're for dinner! Lo siento, Anna, you know how he is. Anyway! Dinner, here. When can you come out?"

"Dinner? Um... I don't know, the kids are busy with summer activities..."

"No excuses! Your father is planning his famous carne asada. Two weeks from now, for July 4th?" Mama Fernandez' tone indicated she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

[Anna Fernandez]

"Si, Mama, we will be there." Anna didn't feel like putting up a fight. It was a long drive, but it had been too long since she'd visited her parents. The van was working better than ever, thanks to the combined attentions of Ty and Aidan, and even had Redención House repainted on the side of it. "I'll pile everyone in the van. We might need to stay the night, though?"

"Of course, of course, we will make room for everyone. It will not be a problem. Your brothers are coming also. It will be fantastic!"

"Are we all going to fit? Mama..."

"You let me worry about that."

"Okay..!" Anna played with a piece of her hair, and looked up. "Oh, Mama, I have to go. Dinner isn't going to make itself."

"Naturalmente! Thank you for the call, Anna. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Mama. Te amo, Mama."

"Te amo, Anna."

She stared at the phone in her hand for a moment, and then sat it down on the table with a little sigh.