"Still no sign of them?" Taylor asked, playing a game of poker with Lila.
"Still no sign of who?" Lila asked, not looking up from her hand.
"No one, sweetie. Just an old friend of mine." Isaac answered, shaking his head.
"She'll show." Taylor said stubbornly, setting his hand down. "4 of a kind."
Lila grinned, setting hers down. "Flush."
Taylor glared at Lila. "Damnit girl, why do you have to be so good?"
"Tay…" Isaac warned, sitting down on a couch the venue had provided for them to sleep on, if needed.
"Sorry… But God, Ike. Your daughter plays better than most card sharps I've met."
"You're the one that taught her." Isaac pointed out, opening a notebook he brought with him.
"Damn me…" Taylor mumbled, just as a loud knocking on the door started.
"Come on in." Isaac called, not bothering to look up from his notebook.
The door opened, and a burly security guard and a woman with long black hair in her mid-20's walked in. Isaac then looked up, hearing two sets of footsteps. He looked the woman over, then turned to the security guard.
"Yes?" he asked.
"The woman you requested?" the security guard said, stepping to the side.
"My God Dave, if you say it that way then I might as well… Never mind." Isaac shook his head, remembering Lila was in the room. He turned towards the woman, who was starring at Lila.
"Well…?" she asked, her arms crossed.
"Would you mind coming with me?" Isaac asked, beckoning her to follow him. They walked out of the room and down a hall a bit until they reached what looked like a dressing room. Isaac ushered her into the dressing room, slamming the door behind them.
They stood there just looking at each other for what seemed like an eternity, until Isaac sighed.
"You went Goth." He said, talking about her now black hair and black top.
She just shook her head. "No, hair's naturally black and I'm not really into bright colors these days."
He nodded, resting against a wall. "So why'd you do it?"
"Do you want to know what your surprise is first?"
"Why'd you do it?"
"I was going crazy… I had no one to talk to, you were gone half the time working on the album, Kendall had… She… Well. Wasn't around, and the kids were all over me. I'm so sorry… I didn't know it would be this long…"
"That little girl out there cried for months because she didn't know where her mother was, or why her mother had chosen to take her little sister with her instead of herself. Explain that to me."
"Dakota was… Young… And she wouldn't remember me." Chloe just shrugged. "There really is no explanation."
Isaac sighed. "So what do you want me to do? Take you in again? Huh? Is that all you're here for?"
Chloe smirked. "I should think you know me better than that, no matter what the circumstances. No, I just wanted to see our children and tell you something. I know about Nicole, the whole world knows that you have a mistress. I'm not surprised, and I don't expect you to even acknowledge that I'm alive after this. I care, but I don't expect you to."
"You can see them… But what are you going to tell me?"
"Curiosity killed the cat." Chloe picked up a cell phone from her pocket and dialed a number quickly, then handed the phone to Isaac. He took it, not knowing what to expect.
Someone picked up, and after a moment of shuffling around, a voice of a girl around 2 years of age spoke softly. "Hi Daddy."
"Dakota?" Isaac's eyes filled with unexpected tears.
"No, I'm Anna." Isaac stood there in shock, his tear filled eyes threatening to overfill. He finally looked at Chloe, who looked exceptionally pale, her eyes downcast. He handed the phone back to her, and she took it almost gratefully.
"Anna-baby, do me a favor and get your sissy on the phone." A few moments later, Chloe held the phone back out towards Isaac. He shook his head, refusing to take it.
"First you're going to explain all of this to me." Isaac said, still in shock. Chloe nodded and said goodbye, then hung up.
"She's why I was afraid to come back." Chloe said softly. "And I know, no amount of excuses is going to make up for that… And sorry isn't going to cut it. For what it's worth, my mother took care of her until she got sick, and Mom wouldn't let me see either of them. I wanted to tell you, I tried so hard to get hold of you… They both know all about you guys, and Dakota knows you love her."
Isaac leaned against the wall once more, then slid down into a sitting position. He tried to process the information with no avail.
"How could… How could you do this to me?" Isaac whispered, his head in his hands.
"I'm so sorry… I didn't know until I was 3 months, and by that time I was in serious therapy and my mother never let me out of her sight. I tried to call you… But no one was ever there… I'm so, so, so sorry…" Chloe cried softly.
They sat there for what seemed like hours, but what was really only a few minutes.
"I want them." Isaac said suddenly. Chloe's head shot up, her eyes studying him.
"No… You can't take them from me…" She said firmly.
"Yes I can."
"Please… Don't…" Chloe begged weakly, hugging her knees to her chest.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't."
"Have you ever loved me?"
The question took Isaac by surprise. "Of… of course. You were my life, you and Lila… Until the others came."
"Have you ever stopped loving me?"
"When you took Dakota away, I would have killed anything to get her back… Including you, if it came down to that."
"But do you still love me?"
"…Yes."
The silence was almost deafening. Isaac stood up and offered his hand to Chloe, who reluctantly took it.
"At least give me custody." Isaac asked. Chloe sighed.
"I can't… We're not divorced."
Neither of them could suggest, or even comprehend getting a divorce. Isaac finally shook his head, then opened the door.
"I'll get the children… Go back to the greenroom and we'll figure something out."