Gemma sat in silence with Rudy, Nana and Mrs. Reyes, none of them knowing what exactly to say to each other to fill the silence. After Mrs. Reyes had cleaned Gemma's cuts she had lost track of time, but she did know that they had been waiting for too long. Something had to have held them up, and Gemma found herself standing up that she was too anxious to remain seated. There were so many things that could go wrong.

She and Jaime were barely able to make it out alive, in fact they probably would have been dead if it wasn't for Jaime's Nana. Worst of all was that the Scarab must have been damaged or was still recovering from the transfer.

Carapax was still out there and stronger than ever. And that thought alone had Gemma beginning to pace across the aircraft.

"Can you stop that now you've got me all anxious." Rudy said as he leaned back against the pilot seat. He was sitting there making sure they were ready to leave the moment the others returned, but the fact that he had leaned back was a bad sign. At least Gemma was taking it as a bad sign.

"Sorry." She muttered as she took a seat, but the moment she did multiple footsteps were heard coming up the ramp into the aircraft.

"Rudy we need to go." Milagros ordered as she ran inside followed by Javier, Jenny and Jaime. They all were out of breath from running but the panic in their eyes said that they were still in danger. Regardless Gemma felt herself release a sigh of relief knowing that they were all accounted for.

"What?" Rudy asked not having enough time to be relieved that they had seemingly come back in one piece.

"Like right now. Let's go!" Jaime yelled and as he did a series of explosions were heard in the distance. The chilling sound immediately had Rudy making the aircraft take flight.

It was as if everyone held their breath until they all felt like they were a safe distance away from the island. The Reyes family all looked at each other their happiness fleeting as they realized that they weren't all present. That Mr. Reyes was gone and that their family would probably never be the same again.

"Ahora podemos llorar." Nana declared and those seemed to be the words that the Reyes family needed to hear so that they could finally allow themselves to really feel their grief. A grief that they had been denied.

The remaining five members of the Reyes family came together in a large embrace. Gemma met Jenny's eyes realizing that she had just lost someone too. Whatever Victoria Kord had done didn't take away that fact that she was still Jenny's aunt. She had been the only family that Jenny had left.

And as they both looked to the Reyes who still held each other as they cried, Gemma and Jenny both seemed to realize that neither of them had that. The idea of family seemed so far away and almost unattainable to Gemma that she could feel herself become overwhelmed with emotion. Both from the guilt over what had happened and a long ignored desire to have grown up in a family like the Reyes.

Suddenly Mrs. Reyes looked up and motioned for the rest of them to join them. Gemma, Jenny and Javier hesitate for a moment not wanting to ruin the moment for any of them, but maybe they all needed it more than they thought as the joined the Reyes family in a group hug. And for a moment Gemma felt like she was part of their family, even if it was for the couple of seconds that the embrace lasted.

Gemma spent the entire flight back to the abandoned Kord mansion looking over everyone's injuries. The small cuts and bruises would heal soon enough for everyone, though there were other wounds that would never heal for them entirely.

Gemma sat beside Javier feeling at a loss of words ever though there was so much she wanted to say. She was grateful that he was here and yet she acknowledged how selfish that made her. They hadn't really had a chance to talk since she and Jaime had found him and Jenny the other night.

"I'm sorry." Gemma said feeling so guilty that she couldn't properly put it into words.

"What are you sorry for?" Javier questioned looking genuinely confused. Like if he hadn't just gone through what was undoubtedly one of the worst nights of him life.

"I'm sorry you got involved in all of this. It put your life in danger and I would understand if you want quit." Gemma said quickly feeling slightly panicked that he might actually leave. Javier had been part of her life since she was a child, he was probably the only constant that she had in her life.

"You don't get it. Do you kid?" He asked and although his voice was stern there was still the kindness in his eyes that she had always known. "I've never had children of my own. I have watched you grow up and you are family to me."

Typically hugs were like a foreign concept to Gemma, maybe it had been the way that she was raised but she wasn't a very affectionate person. But suddenly she found herself hugging Javier feeling as if some part of her had been healed by his words. Most of her life she had had always thought of herself growing up entirely alone but in just a couple of hours Javier had proven himself more than her father had her entire life. And she hadn't realized how much his presence in her life meant to her until now.

"You've always been family to me too." Gemma told him grateful that he was here now even if that made her a little selfish after everything that she had put him through.

The flight to the Kord mansion wasn't long, but the drive back to the city was going to be more of a hassle. For the most part they had remained silent since they escaped the island they were all too exhausted to try to have any kind of conversation so they all accepted the empty silence.

"What now? Milagros questioned as they all waited for Rudy to start up what was left of his truck. Considering the state that the Kord mansion as in there was no way that it was suitable to stay in even for just a night.

"You are all more than welcome to stay at my house as long as you need." Gemma told them wishing that there was more that she could do. But there was nothing that she could do to replace what they had lost.

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Reyes questioned looking both hopeful and a little embarrassed. Gemma could imagine that it wasn't easy to be asking for help from someone who was still very much a stranger to her.

Gemma nodded knowing that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. It was already so late and they were all exhausted. There was no point in them struggling to find a place to stay when Gemma had an empty mansion with more than enough rooms for them to stay in as long as they needed to get back on their feet.

The drive back to the city was almost an hour but it was worth it knowing that they all soon would have a bed to sleep in. Now that the adrenaline had completely left her body Gemma felt like she was moments away from collapsing and sentiment that she knew was shared bye everyone around her.

"Where do you want us mija?" Mrs. Reyes questioned as they all stepped inside. They all looked around the mansion in awe like they couldn't entirely believe that they would be spending the night. It was almost nice to see them all inside considering that Gemma was sure that there had never been this many people in the house in years.

"You can pretty much pick any room. Make yourselves at home." Gemma told them knowing that there were more than enough room for them.

Nothing else needed to be said as they all headed upstairs to pick out their room. Out of the eight rooms the only one that was being occupied was her own so they had plenty to choose from to have their privacy for the night. Privacy that she was sure that they all desired.

"Thank you for this." Jaime said as he stood back beside her and Jenny. They hadn't spoken since he stepped back on the ship, but Gemma wasn't sure there was really anything to say. They were both clearly exhausted from everything that had happened to them the last couple of days.

"Its the least I can do." Gemma said wishing that there was more that she could do for them. They were still mourning and they had to be exhausted. She would have to go back to Metropolis soon but even after she left they were more than welcome to stay for as long as they needed.

Jaime looked like there was more that he wanted to say but he thought better of it. "Good night."

"I feel terrible." Jenny said softly as they both watched Jaime head upstairs. If Gemma already felt consumed by guilt she could only imagine that it was unbearable for Jenny.

"None of this was your fault." Gemma assured her, because the only person to blame was Victoria Kord. It had been her greed that had killed Mr. Reyes and some many other people killed. The fact that Jenny was related her was no reflection on who she was. Though it was easier said than done considering that it was something that Gemma continued to struggle with herself. "You couldn't have known."

"Well, my sheer stupidity of giving a complete stranger the Scarab says otherwise." She countered as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Gemma shook her head knowing that there was no point in thinking about all the things that they could have done differently. There was no changing the past and now the just need to give themselves time to move past it all. "You should stay the night too."

"You sure?"

"We have a lot of work to do tomorrow anyways." Gemma reminded her because this was all far from over. Both of their companies were involved in all of this and it what happened was something that would not be able to be entirely covered up. They needed to come up with a good story. "Might as well just stay here."

Jenny groaned as she stepped towards the staircase. "Don't remind me."

The business side of all of this was Gemma's worst nightmare. She wasn't a business woman and Ivo Tech was already struggling to clean their reputation, all of this was only going to make matter worse. Especially considering the board already hesitated on letting her run the research department.

She probably wouldn't even be able to stay at Palmera City for much longer. There were already meetings and surgeries that she had postponed just to come and talk to Jenny Kord. The plan hadn't been for her to stay as long as she had, but this trip had become entirely unpredictable.

A/N: Only four more chapters to go until the end of Part One. Like I said I find writing actions scenes difficult as I mostly enjoy writing character moments. The last few chapters have some very exciting character moments that I think you will all enjoy.