I don't own CHERUB: Robert Muchamore does

Two days later, the siblings were gathered in Meatball's room again. James Sr was out, so they could be as noisy as they wanted: a good thing, as Meatball doubted he would be able to contain his energy. All of them except Gwen had agreed they would contact their dad's friends to organise a CHERUB reunion, but even Gwen had admitted it would be something interesting to do, so let herself be roped in. This meeting was the second since James had revealed all, so this time they were ready to discuss who should invite each Cherub. By the end of the hour or so of mucking around, Jo – who had insisted on writing everything down – called her siblings to order to give them their 'targets'.
"Ok guys, the list runs as follows:
Gwen – Aunt Lauren and Uncle Rat, Amy
Me – Kerry, Callum & Connor
Meatball – Kyle, Shakeel
James – Bruce
Hannah – Gabrielle
Terry and Keith – initial party plans
Any problems?" Everyone shook their head. "Good. See you tomorrow: same time, same place, but everyone must have invited their Cherubs. How you do that is up to you – we have their phone numbers, emails and addresses." The brothers and sisters nodded solemnly and went their separate ways.

GwenChoke says: hey cuz
ShaneRathbone says: hey long time no talk :)
GwenChoke says: yeah catch up wiv u l8r is Lauren there
ShaneRathbone says: :( i'm offended but yeah she is…why?
GwenChoke says: soz can i speak to her
ShaneRathbone says: why?
GwenChoke says: can i speak to her?
ShaneRathbone says: why?
GwenChoke says: soz classified. pls can i speak to her?
GwenChoke says: Shane? you there?
GwenChoke says: I no your annoyed wiv me but…
ShaneRathbone says: hi this is Lauren
GwenChoke says: oh…hi…
ShaneRathbone says: look, if you don't want to talk to me, Shane wants to talk to you and I have stuff to do
GwenChoke says: do you want to come to a CHERUB reunion?
ShaneRathbone says:…
GwenChoke says: Saturday 23 April
ShaneRathbone says: is your dad there?
GwenChoke says: no…sorry..why?
ShaneRathbone says: how the HELL do you know about CHERUB
GwenChoke says: we found The Box…
ShaneRathbone says: JAAAAAAAAAMES!
GwenChoke says: oops gotta go nice talking to you say hi to Shane and Rat etc. Oh and the reunion is 1500 to midnight, dress is smart casual, rsvp by tomorrow and we're running a babysitting service if you need it…
GwenChoke has logged off

Gwen put her head in her hands and groaned. "That's got Dad in deep shit, now what'll he do? Gah. Amy next." With that, she picked up the phone…

"Amy Collins."

"Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Um, my name is Gwen Choke, I think you know my dad?" There was silence on the other end. Gwen supposed Amy was searching her memory…
"No, I've never known anyone called Choke before. What's his first name?"
"James. Hang on," she consulted her little piece of paper, "James Adams?" A splutter came from the other end. Gwen quickly back-tracked. "I'm sorry, did I say some-"
Amy interrupted her. "James Adams? Seriously? You're his daughter?"
"Yes."
"Wow." A chuckle came from the older woman. "Any other children?"
"Seven of us in total. What I wanted ask you is: do you want to come to the CHERUB reunion we're holding?"
"He told you about CHERUB?" Amy tutted. "Just like James. So when is this reunion?" I'd've told you by now if you hadn't kept interrupting me, thought Gwen irritably.
"23rd April 3pm to midnight. Dress is smart casual, and we're babysitting if you need it."
"Thanks, I'll call you back soon, alright?"
"By tomorrow please?"
"Ok…bit of short notice…"
"Ok, bye." Gwen hung up quickly. Thank goodness that was over.

Jo bobbed up and down nervously, double- and triple-checking the address. She was stood outside Kerry Chang's house waiting for someone to answer the door. Sure enough, the door was thrown open and a small woman stuck her head round it.
"Yes?" she barked.
"Good afternoon, my name is Jo Choke, I think you might know my dad…" Jo began her rehearsed speech.
"No, I don't think so, goodbye," was the sharp reply as the door began to close.
"Wait!" Jo jammed her foot in the door. "His name was James Adams."
The other woman froze. "J-James Adams?" she spluttered. "Are you sure?" When Jo nodded, Kerry looked around in panic. "Is he dead? He can't be dead, he's James Adams!"
Jo looked confused. "Why would he be dead?"
"You said he was!" Kerry wailed.
Jo was completely and utterly lost by now. "When?"
"You said 'his name was James Adams'! Was! Not is!" Kerry pointed an accusing finger at the shaking girl on her doorstep. "Don't lie, that's what you said!"
"Yes," began Jo, understanding beginning to dawn, "because he changed his name back to James Choke!" There was silence.
"Oh." An awkward pause. "Do you want to come in?" When Jo nodded, the door opened wider and the sound of a baby crying floated down the corridor. "Oh sugar," Kerry muttered and hurried towards what looked like the kitchen. "Come this way. Sorry for the mess – we weren't expecting any visitors."
"That's ok," Jo said gingerly as she trod carefully around the toys littered on the floor, "our house is just as bad."
"So how many of you are there? Of James' spawn, I mean."
Jo screwed up her face. "Ewww! We're not spawn!" When Kerry raised an eyebrow, the teenager laughed. "Ok, I guess you could think of it like that, but personally, I prefer children."
Kerry smiled. "I guess my kids would rather be children than spawn, too. Oh, and please blame this little one – Gabby – for my bad mood earlier." She gestured to the little girl in the high-chair. "Now what did you want to talk to me about?"
Jo spent the next hour or so explaining what they were doing and about the reunion, before Kerry burst out laughing when she heard that James had seven 'spawn' with only two wives. According to her, it was a miracle that only two women involved. Jo left the house feeling three times more bemused than when she had arrived, but at least Kerry had said she'd come.

To: Connor Reilly; Callum Reilly
From: JoChoke
Date: Sat 13 Mar 2030
Subject: CHERUB reunion
Message:

Dear Mr Reilly,
My name is Joanna Choke, daughter of your friend James Choke (also known as James Adams). I, on behalf of my father, would like to invite you to a CHERUB reunion held at 7 Wishers Avenue, London, NW5 6HJ on Saturday 23 April from 1500 to midnight. Dress is smart casual and babysitters will be provided through myself and my brothers and sisters. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me via email. Please confirm your attendance by tomorrow.
I look forward to hearing from you

Jo Choke

To: JoChoke
From: Connor Reilly
Date: Sun 14 Mar 2030
Subject: Re: CHERUB reunion
Message:

Dear Jo,
Thanks for the invite. Cal and I would both love to come. See you on the day

Connor and Callum Reilly

Kyle Blueman. What had this man done that Meatball should get his name? Meatball wondered as he dialled the number in front of him. Unfortunately, he couldn't just ring up and say 'I'm your best mate's son, why are you awesome', could he? His train of thought was paused as the call went through.
"Kyle Blueman speaking."
"Hi, my name's Meatball-"
"Oh, James' kid, right?" the voice on the other end interrupted him.
"Yeah."
"How you doin'?" Kyle's voice got more cheerful.
"Er, fine thanks, I guess." This was definitely different from what Meatball was expecting.
"Great. What can I do for you Meatball? Feels weird calling you Meatball – I was there when Lauren got Meatball the Dog," Kyle trailed off.
"We're holding a CHERUB reunion for Dad." Meatball said it all in a rush, hoping to get it out of the way. There was a long silence. "Hello?"
"He told you about CHERUB?"
Awkwardly, Meatball tried to explain, but was cut off. "Not exactly, but-"
"You can explain at the reunion. Now when is it?" Meatball gave him the details, thanked him, and hung up. That dude was definitely awesome.

"Hi. I'm Meatball."
"Ya what?"
"My name's Meatball. You know my dad."
"I do, do I? And what's ya dad's name?"
"James. James Adams." Meatball had been warned by his sisters that they knew him as Adams, not Choke. Recognition flashed in the older man's eyes.
"Oh, him. What does he want now? Needs some help with the wife, does he, and knew he could come to Shak to sort her out? Put her in the kitchen where she belongs? Sensible guy." Meatball didn't like the look of or sound of this man, and secretly wondered how his dad could be friends with such a douche-bag and whether or not he had to be invited. He decided he had to be. Unfortunately.
"Er, not exactly. There's a CHERUB reunion at ours in about a month. And you're invited." I don't know why, the teenager thought to himself, but hey ho. He gave Shakeel the invite he'd written out so he wouldn't have to repeat everything again and again, proving to be a good move – he couldn't bear to be near this creep for much longer. "Laters." And he ran.

James Jr was wandering along whistling, when he was tapped on the shoulder. Spinning around, he readied himself in a fighting stance. The man in front of him was barely his height, but he had learned – to his credit – that size didn't mean anything. The man stared at him, then gave him an almighty bear hug.
"It is you James!" he cried. "Haven't seen you in donkey's years!" James just stood there, stock still, wondering how on earth this guy knew his name. "Surely you remember me? It's Bruce, Bruce Norris!" And everything clicked. People had always said that the two Jameses looked alike. If one of his father's oldest friends had mistaken one for the other, it must've been true! James eventually realised Bruce was waiting.
"I'm sorry, if you mean James Adams, well, that's my dad."
Bruce just stared at him. "No…" he said disbelievingly.
"Uh-huh."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"Wow." A pause. "Awesome!"
"Thanks…I think. Anyway, I was looking for you."
"You were?" Bruce looked flattered, then slightly bewildered. "Why?" Handing the ex-Cherub an invitation, – he too had had a brainwave – James explained. "We're holding a CHERUB reunion."
"Cool! I'll be there, you can count on it. Anything to see that old fart James again."
At that moment in the life of James Choke Jr, when he caught a glimpse of Bruce's business cards stating:
Bruce Norris kicked your arse!
there was no cooler person in the world.

"Gabrielle O'Brien speaking, how can I help?"
"Hello, I'm Hannah. I think you know my dad."
"I do? What's his name, honey?"
"James." There was an impatient sigh from the other end.
"James What? I know a lot of Jameses."
"James Choke. But he used to be called James Adams. I think."
A dry laugh floated down the line. "So he finally settled down, did he? What did you want to tell me?"
Hannah swallowed. Now was the bit she'd been dreading. "We're holding a CHERUB reunion," she squeaked, "and do you want to come?" Once more, the details were passed over, and the recipient promised to ring back soon. And to the bemusement of a certain James Robert Choke, his house was quiet and still…for now…

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you have a great time. Just a few things: thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, favourited or all three! It made my day. I couldn't be bothered changing everyone's surnames so they're just their Cherub ones. I know some of them are a bit OCC but I couldn't help it. Oh and the conversation between Gwen and Shane/Lauren is supposed to be FaceBook but I don't have FB so can only go by what I've seen and heard...killed me to use grammar and spelling in that way, but oh well...

Bye!

~wolfergirl

Today's Bible Verse: "So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." Luke 2: 16-20 NIV