Chapter 87: Promises

Warning: Language



   "Mom?"

   Luna still couldn't get over the fact that this tall, handsome young man with the deep voice was her little boy Trevor.  Where had all the time gone?  "Yeah?"

  Trevor grinned.  "I got it."

 

   Luna squealed.  "You did?"  She hugged him tightly.  "I'm so proud of you!"

  "Mom!"  Trevor laughed.  "I need to breath!"

  "Oops, sorry."  Luna smiled and let him go.  "When do you start?"

  "Tomorrow."

  "So soon?"  Luna said, disappointed. 

  "This is my big chance Mom, I'm ready."

   "I know you are, it's just..."  She sniffed, trying to keep her tears at bay, "I'm just really going to miss you."

  
   "Mom, it's okay!  You act like you're never going to see me again."  Trevor chuckled.  "I'll still be around."

  "Maybe." Luna acknowledged.  "But with your big important job, you might not have time to come visit little old me."

  Trevor shook his head in exasperation.   "I'll always have time for little ole you Mom."  He hesitated for a moment, and then said,  "Now don't freak out, but Mayor Raas has put me in charge of setting up a program to help prevent domestic violence."

   Luna stiffened, and then forced herself to relax.  "Really?"

  Trevor nodded.  "I want to help make sure that others don't have to go through what you went through."  He paused for a moment, and then said in a rush, "Mom, what really happened to my father?  Do you know?  I haven't seen him since I was a little kid, and I always wonder if he's going to show up one day.  And then what would I say to him?  I know I'd like to punch him for what he did to you."  

  Luna sighed heavily.  She had known that eventually she and Trev would need to talk about Trevor's biological father, she just hoped that what she had to say didn't hurt him any further than he had already been hurt.   "For many years, I didn't know."  She paused, gathering her thoughts.  It was so hard to think of Devin, and to remember her younger self, and how much she had suffered, how much Trev had suffered, all of it needlessly.  It shamed her even now to think of it.

  "I didn't want to know."  She confessed.  "I was so torn and mixed up, but a few years after moving here, I finally asked your Grandpa, just what had happened, how did he die."

  Trevor stared straight ahead, his face emotionless.  "He's dead?"  He was silent for a moment, he had hoped his father was dead, and then felt guilty about it.  Shouldn't a son love his father no matter what?  But he hadn't, he had only felt relief as a kid when his father had suddenly stopped coming around, so much relief he hadn't even asked why.  He had always considered Tanner more his father than his real one anyway.  "And what did happen?"

  Luna looked away.  "Something I never expected."

 

  Trevor turned back towards her, curious.  "Like what?"

  "Trev..." Her voice trailed off.  "I'm scared that you'll pursue this, and I don't want you to."

  "Mom, I'm an adult now, not a little kid.  I can handle the truth, and I'm fully capable of making my own decisions."

  Luna bit her lip.  "I know.  I just..."  She sighed again.  "When your father, well, that last time he hurt me pretty badly, and I ended up in the hospital, I nearly died.  Your Grandpa was so p*ssed, he didn't even pack a bag, he just left for Bridgeport, with one thing on his mind.  Finding your father.

  He wasn't gone very long, and when he came back, as you've heard, he refused to talk about it.  Until that day, when I finally asked him.  Did he kill him?  I was so sure he had, because the police reported that your father disappeared, and he has never been seen again."

 

   "Whoa!?  You mean his body was never found?  Couldn't he still be alive then?"

   "Yes, his body was never found, and no, he's not alive.  According to your grandfather, after searching the city for a couple of days with no luck, he found out that a Mr. Nickolas Alto owned the team that your father played for.  He marched into Mr. Alto's office, and demanded to know where Devin lived.  Mr. Alto threatened to have your grandfather arrested if he didn't leave immediately, which, " Luna sighed, "Dad didn't take too kindly to.

  After Dad took care of Mr. Alto's security team, Mr. Alto decided it would be wise to hear Dad out.  So they talked, for hours I guess.  Dad told him why he was looking for him, what had happened to me, and about you, and Mr. Alto then let Dad in on a few truths about Devin.  One, he had married Mr. Alto's sister right after graduation."

  Trevor was stunned.  "He did what?!"

  Luna smiled sadly.  "Yeah, he did.  He married her, because her brother owned the best team, and your father, Devin," Luna corrected herself, Devin had never been a true father to Trevor,  "was an ambitious man.  He was determined to make it to the top, by any means necessary."

  "But, what about you, or me?  Why?  I don't understand!"


 

  "We just fed his ego, that's the sad truth.  Me, I was his conquest, proof that he could juggle more than one woman at a time, and what did I ask of him?  Very little.  I was such an idiot.  You, you were his only son, and that went back to him proving his manhood."

  "His only son?  The way you said that..."

  Luna said quietly, "He and his wife had two girls, twins."

   Trevor stared at his mother.   "So, I have twin sisters?"

  "Yes, but Trev, please leave it alone!  The Alto's are bad news, they're part of the mob, you'll get yourself killed snooping around.  It was Mr. Alto that had Devin disposed of, before your grandfather ever had a chance to get anywhere near him.  Mr. Alto had Devin cemented and deposited into the Bridgeport River.  Mr. Alto owns the police around there, so no law will ever find him, he didn't take too kindly to Devin playing his sister like that."

  "I don't know what to say."

  "Tell me you'll stay away from them."

  Trevor hugged his mother.  "Of course Mom."

 

   "I have all the family I need, right here."

  Luna sighed in relief.  The truth was out, and she was so relieved that Trevor wasn't going to pursue it further.


~<>~


  Skye felt nauseous.  What had she eaten for lunch again?  Oh yeah, a corndog.  She had been craving one, but it seemed the corndog was not loving her back.  She put her hand over her mouth, and groaned.  Definitely no more corndogs, they weren't worth this misery.

  Another wave of nausea hit her, and she tried valiantly to beat it back, but it didn't work.  She raced for the bathroom, and puked her guts out into the toilet.

 

~<>~


  "Hey Nate!"  Colin greeted his best friend.  Not only had they instantly hit it off, but Colin had discovered that Nate was also highly skilled in the art of Wu Ying Tao.  They had both agreed to get together at least once a week to test each other's skills, and spar.   Colin had kept up with the discipline, using a training dummy that Wu had gifted him long ago, but to have an actual person to spar with?  F*cking priceless. "Are you ready to get your a*s kicked?"  

 

   Nate smiled.  "I wasn't the one on the ground last time buddy." He said easily.

  Colin smirked.  "You took me by surprise, that's all.  Don't expect it to f*cking happen again."

  Nate chuckled.  "You must love the taste of crow."

  Colin and Nate good naturedly traded insults until Nate's daughter interrupted with a groan.  "Really guys?  Are you ever going to spar, or am I going to die of old age here?  Do you really need me to count points Daddy?  If you don't, I'd rather go to bed, I'm tired."

  "Go head Tasha.  That way there won't be an audience to Colin's defeat, he has a delicate psyche you know."

  "Ha!"  Colin snorted.  "Delicate my a*s.  Prepare to eat your words a*shole."

  "Bring it on."

 

  Colin did a left front kick, which Nate easily blocked, and the game was on.  While they sparred, they talked, like they usually did, about their families and such.  "Smart move giving that position to Trevor."

  "He was the best qualified."

  "Of course he was."  Colin said as he blocked a downward strike.  "He's a smart kid, takes after me."

  Nate laughed.  "Sure he does."

  "Just you wait, someday he's going to be f*cking doing your job, and he'll do it better."  Colin bragged.

  

  "I hope so."  Nate commented, as he blocked another kick.  "I want to retire someday, and just sit and do nothing for a change. Trevor is ambitious, empathetic and he's got a good head on his shoulders, he'd make a great mayor.  "

  Colin chuckled.  "Yeah right, like you would ever f*cking retire.  What the h*ll would you do with yourself?"

  Before Nate could answer, his wife, Bethany opened the front door.  "Nate, the baby wants you."

  "I'll be in a minute."  He bowed towards Colin, and Colin returned the bow.  "Duty calls.  Until next time?"

    "Saved by the baby again."  Colin snickered.  "Other than family, you're the only person I know of who has more kids than I do, what do you have, a dozen of them?"

  Nate's eyes twinkled.  "We're working on a baker's dozen, after that, well, we'll see."

  "That's a sh*tload of kids."

  Nate laughed.  "What can I say, I find my wife very attractive."

  Colin shook his head.  "On that note, I'm getting the f*ck outta here."  Colin didn't begrudge his friend's happiness, he just couldn't f*cking stand to be around it too much.  It just reminded him of what he had lost, who he had lost.  Even all these years later, he still couldn't f*cking move on, despite the many interested looks thrown his way, and despite the urging of his kids.


~<>~

    
  Hawk tried to concentrate on his book, but he was too worried about his wife, and he kept sneaking glances at her.  She was always pale, tired, and she couldn't keep anything down.  Thinking she was pregnant at last, he had bought a pregnancy test for her, but the test was negative.  She wasn't pregnant.

 

 

  If she wasn't pregnant, then what was wrong with her?  She was supposed to have seen the doctor today to determine that.  He resisted the urge to wake her up, she needed her sleep.

  He flipped another page without reading it.

  She had lost weight, and there were hallows under her eyes.  He had mixed up some herbs for her, to help her stomach settle down, but nothing had seemed to work.  He hated to see his wife so miserable.

  Skye stirred, and then sat up with a yawn.

 

  She noticed Hawk quietly studying her.  "Hey, you're home."  He nodded.  "Did you find the rare herb you were looking for?"

  "No,"  Hawk answered her, "but I'd rather hear about your appointment.  Are you okay?"  His worst fear was that something was seriously wrong, and that he would lose her.

  She smiled.  "I'm pregnant."

  Hawk stared at her.  Had he heard her right?  "What?  But the test..."

  She shrugged.  "I guess I took it too early."  She bit her lip.  "I don't want to tell anyone yet, because I could still..."  Her voice trailed away.  She left the word miscarry unsaid, but Hawk heard it anyway.

  He hugged her.  "Whatever you want Skye."


~<>~

  "...and I don't ever want kids."   

 

   The local highschool had a Real Baby program to help prevent teen pregnancy by giving them a small taste of what it was like to be responsible for a baby.  Each teen had been paired with a partner, Kalen had been paired with Mona Capp.  She had decided their 'baby' was a girl and had named her Kate.

  Kalen hadn't cared what it was, or what the name of it was, he had thought the whole thing was stupid.   What could he learn from dragging a dumb doll around for a couple of weeks?  Turned out he had actually learned quite a bit from it, the most important of which---he definitely didn't want kids.  They were a pain in the butt.

  "All it did was cry, cry, cry!" he complained.  "I didn't get any sleep for two weeks straight!"

 

  "Kate did cry a lot."  Mona agreed.  "Mr. Lamour says that some babies are like that, they have colic, they're not always smiling and happy like they show them in the baby commercials."

  "Ain't that the truth!"

  Mona smiled shyly.  "I'd still like to have kids though, someday."

  Kalen stared at her.  "Really?!  Why?"

  She shrugged.  "I like kids."

  Kalen shuddered.  "I don't.  I'm glad we don't have any real babies around the house.  Mom's done with having kids, and Aunt Skye has never had any.  I think she's getting too old now anyway."  Kalen nodded his head.  "Yep, too old."  Besides that, he didn't like to think of any of the adults in his household having s-e-x, it was just too gross.  Aunt Skye and Uncle Hawk?  His mom and dad?  Ewww!

 

 


  "After we finish up this school report, do you want to go to a movie or something?"  Kalen had always found schoolwork a deadly bore,  but at least with this assignment, he had someone else to do the work for him.

  "Sure, I'd love to."  Mona handed a pencil.  "I'll speak,  you write."

  "What?!  It was supposed to go the other way!"

  Mona rolled her eyes.  "Nice try Kalen."  He blew a raspberry at her, and she grinned back.  "Let's get to work."

  "I hate that word."  Kalen grumbled as he sat down beside her on the ground.



~<>~



 "I think we're really going to have a baby!"  Skye's eyes shone as she looked up at her husband.

 

  Hawk hugged her.  "What all did the doctor say at your appointment?"

  "He said everything seems to be okay so far, there's no real signs of my body miscarrying this one.  I've had a few twinges though, and since I'm a high risk pregnancy he gave some rules to follow.  Like no heavy lifting or anything.  I might have to stop teaching for a while, and go on bed rest towards the end of this pregnancy.  He said we'll take it step by step.  Oh Hawk!  I can hardly believe it!  You always had faith that it would happen, but I didn't!"

  He smiled weakly.  "Yeah, I always knew it would happen sooner or later."  He had just assumed it would happen sooner, and now, after all these years, they were finally going to have a baby.  A son, the child of promise...  The ramifications of it all started to hit him.  The prophecy.  His mother.  He had to keep his son and Skye safe.  But how?

  Skye frowned.  "Aren't you happy about it?"

  "Of course I am."  He answered swiftly.

  "Oh, you just seemed, I don't know, troubled."

  He forced a smile, to try and reassure her.  "I'm just stunned."

 
  Skye smiled happily.  "I know!  Me too!  It's a wonderous thing, I think it's time to let the family know."

  Hawk nodded.  "I'm sure your dad will be thrilled with another grandson."

  "You seem so sure that this baby is a boy.  What if it's a girl?"

  "I just have a feeling it's a boy."

  "Really?  Well, I for one, hope it's a girl.  I can dress her up in those frilly dresses, do her hair, I could teach her how to dance, oh, it would be so lovely to have a little girl."

  Hawk pulled away from Skye, and talked directly to his son.  "Hey there little guy, this is your daddy.  You stay nice and cozy in there, and don't worry, I'll always protect you."  Somehow.

 

  Skye laughed.  "You persist in the son thing, hmm?  Well, I wouldn't mind a little boy either, just so long as our baby is healthy."

  Hawk smiled at his wife, this time his smile was genuine.  "Agreed." 


~<>~


  When Skye told her dad, he didn't seem all that surprised at her surprising news.

 "I've had a few kids."  He reminded her as he gave her a congratulatory hug.  "I can spot a pregnant woman a mile away."

 "But I didn't even know until not that long ago, how could you have known?" 

 

  "My heebie jeebie radar went off."

  Skye rolled her eyes.  "Daddy!"

  He held his hand up.  "Scout's honor."

  "I know better, you were never a scout."

  He sighed.  "Too true.  If I had been, I wouldn't have my built in heebie jeebie pregnant woman radar."

  She shook her head.  "You're impossible."

  ~<>~

    The first thing Hawk did in the mornings, after kissing his wife, was to say hello to his son.

 

 
  He was worried, but he kept it to himself.  Who would he tell after all?  To confess why he was worried, would be to confess to a few other things, and he just wasn't ready for that yet.  He needed more time.  As more time passed though, the more he worried.  Would Skye ever forgive him?  Could he keep her safe?  Could he keep their son safe?

  And what about her family?  His mother had something special planned for Skye's father, but she had never clued him in on that plan.  At the time he hadn't cared, but now...what was she planning?  He hadn't contacted her for a while, and he knew his mother didn't have much patience to start with, he really needed to send another message, soon.  Before leaving Midnight Hollow he had set up some safety protocols, redirects and the like, with the hope that it would slow her down, and give him more time...

  But how long would it work?  That he didn't know.  He knew that eventually she would tire of receiving encrypted electronic messages from him, and she would seek him out.  Only to find that he wasn't in Midnight Hollow anymore.  She would be furious.  He cringed.

  That was why whenever he was left alone in the house, he spent all his time practicing, honing his skills, for as many hours as he could. He couldn't afford to become rusty, his family's life depended on it.

~<>~


  Hawk held Skye's hands.  "How are you feeling today Beautiful?  Aren't you supposed to be lying down?"

    Skye sighed heavily.  "I'm bored."  After a rather serious scare and some time spent in the hospital, Skye had been diagnosed with preclampsia.  She had been released under strict orders, most of which boiled down to bed rest.  Lots and lots of bed rest.

 She had managed to get her husband and doctor to agree to let her lie on the living room couch, so she could at least watch tv, but she was even bored with that now.  She was an active person, lying around and being waited on hand and foot wasn't the life for her.  "I just wanted to stand up for a minute and stretch my legs.  It's so hard just lying there doing nothing."

  "You're not doing nothing Skye, you're taking care of our baby."

  "I know, I just hadn't expected it to be this hard.  I'm sorry I'm so whiny."  Skye knew logically what she was doing was best for her baby, that every day their baby stayed inside the womb, would make the baby stronger.

  "Well," he teased, "if anyone was entitled to be whiny, it would be you."  He smiled at her.  "I'm done with the day's herb scavenger hunt, so my time is all yours."

 "Well, you can watch reruns of Simnanny 911 with me, I've only seen them a hundred times or so." 

  Hawk grinned.  "Only a hundred?"  Skye scowled at him, and he chuckled.  "You're cute when you're all disgruntled.  Well, we could come up with a name for our son."

  Skye rolled her eyes.  "Our daughter you mean?"

  Hawk shook his head.  "No, son."  He smiled at her again.  "I was thinking we could name him after your father, then he might actually like me."

  Skye cringed.  "No!  Oh no, that would be like tempting fate, and there's no way I could handle two of them, one of him is more than enough!"  She paused, "I like the name Julia though."

  "Julia?"  Hawk pretended to ponder the name.  "I think that's a terrible name for a boy."

  Skye groaned.

 

  He sat on the couch, and tugged her down until she was snuggled on his lap.  "What about Peregrine?  We could call him Perry for short."

  Skye loped her arms around his neck.  "Another bird name?"

  "What's wrong with bird names?"  Hawk asked.  "It's kind of a family tradition."

  "Is it?  You never talk about your family at all, and I haven't pushed it because I sense there's some pain there, but..."

  Hawk realized his error too late, he had slipped up, and given her an opening.  Or given him an opening.  He looked at her, at the trust and love reflected in her eyes, and he just couldn't do it.  He didn't want to lose her just yet, he wanted a little more time, so he took the coward's way out again.  He distracted her with a kiss.


~<>~


  It was in the early hours of the morning when Skye woke up to a sharp pain across her stomach.  She gritted her teeth, and carefully sat up.  Her water had broke, soaking the bed, but worse than that, were the blood red streaks on her sheets. "Hawk," she shook her husband," Hawk,  I need to go to the hospital, now."  Hawk mumbled something.  She shook him again.  "I'm bleeding.  I need to go to the hospital."

  Hawk's eyes flew open, and he bounced out of bed.  "Sh*t!"

 

  "Hold on Baby, I'll come around and carry you out to the car, just let me throw my shoes on."  He glanced down at his bare chest.  "And a shirt."  He picked up the shirt he had thrown on the floor the night before and pulled it on.  He didn't care if it was dirty, time was of the essence.  Once he had his shoes on, he grabbed Skye's jacket and shoes, and helped her put them on.

  He gently lifted her into his arms, her face was pale, and she moaned as another pain hit her.  "It hurts."

  "I know, Baby, I know.  Hold on, I'll have you at the hospital quicker than you can say spit."


~<>~


  The Hospital front door banged open as Colin quickly strode through it.

   
   He made a beeline for the Nurse's desk to find out where they were keeping Skylar.  He had come as soon as f*cking birdboy had phoned him, letting him know that Skye had lost too much blood, and the doctors were trying to save her life.  Colin couldn't even f*cking conceive of losing his baby girl, so the f*cking doctors had better f*cking fix her.  Or he would f*cking fix them.

  He was directed to a small waiting room, where f*cking birdboy was frantically pacing back and forth.  "What the h*ll is going on?"  He barked, and Hawk jumped.

  "They kicked me out."  Hawk said, his voice was thick with emotion.  "They won't let me in to see her, she's lost so much blood.  So...much...blood."  His voice broke.  Hawk had learned at an early age, never cry, tears were weakness, but he couldn't stop them, no matter how hard he tried. He worst fear was coming true, but in a way he had not expected, or anticipated.  It wasn't supposed to go like this.

  "What the f*ck?"  Colin snarled.  "They better f*cking tell me what the f*ck is going on..."  He stopped his rant, when the doctor came into the room.  Colin pounced on him before the doctor could say a word.  "How the f*ck is my daughter doing?  What the f*ck is going on?  Where the f*ck is she?"

  The doctor tensed.  "Please, calm down Sir, and let's all sit down..."

  "F*ck that, talk before I f*cking shove your a*s down your f*cking throat."

  The doctor began to talk...


~<>~


  Hawk was torn.

  He wished he could be in two places at once, at home with his daughter, and at the hospital with his wife.  No, more than that, he wished his wife was well, and at home with them, where she belonged, not lying lifeless in a coma, in a hospital bed.

  Hawk had only heard bits and pieces of the doctor's explanation of what had happened to Skye; something about her uterus rupturing, which had immediately endangered her life, and Julia's.   It had been touch and go for several hours, they had successfully saved his daughter, in fact, she had been able to go home within a week.  His wife, on the other hand, still battled for her life.

  He cuddled his daughter, and smiled sadly.  He had named her Julia, because that was the name Skye had chosen if they had a girl.  He only wished that Skye could hold her, that he could hear her voice tell him, "I told you so."  She had hoped for a daughter, he had believed they would have a son.

   Why had he believed so strongly that they would have a boy?  The prophecy had said a child, it had not said whether it would be a son or a daughter,  yet he had assumed...out of his arrogance...that of course it would be a son!   Now he held a daughter in his arms, his precious daughter...

  He looked at her sweet, innocent face, and he felt an intense, overwhelming rush of love for her, and a fierce desire to protect her, and keep her safe.  "My Julia, if only your Mama was here."  He brought Julia to the hospital with him, to visit her mother, as often as he could, but hospitals were no place for a newborn.

  He traded time with his father in law, so that Skye would never be alone.  Tanner and Luna helped out as much as they could, but none of it was right.  It was all wrong.  Skye was supposed to be the one that rocked Julia to sleep at night, who fed her, cuddled her, played with her.

  Julia yawned sleepily.  He smiled at her.  He regretted a great many things, but he could never regret having Julia.  Never.  He gently laid her in the crib.

 

  Julia waved her little arms and legs about, and Hawk stroked her soft, downy hair.  "Sleep well Pumpkin, I will keep you safe, I promise."

___________________________________________________________________________________


Notes:  Mean cliffhanger, yeah, sorry.  We'll find out if Skye recovers or not, next chapter.  It was so hard to make Skye and Hawk wait so long to have a child.  They both rolled immediate baby wishes right after they got married, but I wanted to do something a little different.  Skye is part fae---and as I wrote many eons ago---they do have troubles conceiving, and that is why their numbers are down---and why Ellie sought out a human mate (Reilly).

  Of course, neither Alder nor Colin had that trouble, lol

  I'm not a doctor or anything; uterine rupture is a real thing, and it is serious, but I have taken some artistic license with it. 

  Speaking of Colin, no, he didn't murder Devin, though if he had been able to get his hands on him before Mr. Alto had, he would have.  I thought about it a lot, and decided I didn't want to make Colin a killer---justified or not.  However, I couldn't let Devin live either, haha!  So, enter the mobster.  Devin was playing a dangerous game, convinced he would never be caught, except he was.

  Colin and Nathaniel are best friends.  As soon as the family moved to Sunlit Tides, it was like Colin knew he was there, because suddenly he was rolling wants to spar with someone.  I rarely ever bother with the martial arts skill, especially for inactives, but of course, Nathaniel Raas comes with level 10 martial arts skill.  So it's been fun watching the two of them spar.  Colin wins some, loses some.  But hey, he's sparring the Grandmaster himself!!

  I am missing Alder and Ryder quite a bit.  Ryder was my clean sim, and was constantly cleaning up after everyone.  It was very handy in this hands off generation!  Alder was always good for laughs, he was always up to mischief!!  And he cooked. lol

  A closer pic of Trevor's face, because the pics I used of him in this chapter, he's pulling different facial expressions, lol  I think he's pretty cute.

  Julia. <3  It is probably pretty obvious, but I will state it anyway,  Julia is my Gen 9 heiress.  I'm pretty excited about her storyline, and I can't wait to delve into it!

 Questions?  Comments?  Thanks for reading!  =)

Chapter 86: Sunlit Tides

 

Warning: Bad Language

  "Hey Dad, check this out!  I found yet another gecko!"

  Alder glanced back over his shoulder.  "I've seen enough of those, thanks."  He turned his attention back to cooking dinner.

  "This one is brown."  Ryder said.  "I wonder how they keep getting in?"

  "I don't know."  Alder grumbled, "but I wish they'd stay out of my kitchen!"

  The move to Sunlit Tides itself had been thankfully uneventful, living there however, had taken some getting used to.  The house was much smaller than the one they had in Midnight Hollow, it wasn't a bad size, just smaller, and some of the family's collection had to be put into storage, as there was simply not enough room in the new house for it all.

  Ryder picked the gecko up and released it back outside.  When he came back into the house, he could hear the howls of a certain young man.  "Out!  Want Out!  Out!!!  Out!!!!"

  Ryder shook his head and headed for the playpen.  "What's all this noise about?"  He smiled down at his great grandson.

   "Pa pa!  Up!  Want out!"  Kalen raised his arms up, and Ryder obediently picked him up.  Kalen called everyone Pa pa, even his mother.  Kalen nuzzled up against him.  "Pa pa hug."

  Ryder smiled again as he snuggled Kalen back.  Kalen could be very demanding at times, but he sure loved to cuddle.  "Let's go find Mommy."

  "Pa pa!"  Kalen said happily.


~<>~


  Trevor groaned, parents could be so embarrassing!  He was just really glad that Apple wasn't around to see it, or in particular, see his dad, Tanner, running around in really tight, brief shorts.

  Trevor had tried to talk to his dad about it, but his mom had interrupted and said she really liked them, which had made his dad smile, and had totally derailed his legitimate complaint that parents should dress like...parents!


 

  His dad had followed them to Sunlit Tides, to be a proper dad, or so he had said, but Trevor knew his mom was also a huge factor in his dad's decision to move.  It was so obvious that they were crazy about each other, he didn't understand why they kept pretending they were just friends.  He snorted.  Just friends.  Ha!  As if he was born yesterday.

  The other day he had inadvertently caught them making out in the car, he still didn't know who was more embarrassed over that, him, or them.   They had both started spouting off nonsense, like his mother had lost her contact lens, and his dad was just helping her find it.  Yeah right!  His mom didn't even wear contact lenses!

  He had point blank told them, then and there,  they should just make it official, instead of sneaking off like a couple of hormonal teenagers, sheesh, how old were they anyway??  They had stared at him for a moment before turning an interesting shade of red, then his mom had stammered out that she was late for a meeting and hightailed it out of there.  A meeting?  For what?

  His dad had finally noticed that he wasn't exactly ten years old anymore, and as such he wouldn't fall for such a lame story.  But all he would say is that it was "complicated".  Complicated? Complicated?!  Trevor didn't get it.  What was so complicated?  He loved her, she loved him, it was so simple.  Parents were so weird. 

~<>~


Hawk stared at the bottle of elixir that he had just made with a sense of satisfaction.

 

  He had hours and hours and hours of research and labor invested in this single bottle of Mandrake Essence, and it contained within it, hope, his hope. Hope that this elixir was the answer, and that it would allow Skye to conceive and have the child she so desperately wanted.

  The move to Sunlit Tides had overall been good for her, she smiled a little more, and she talked non stop about her kids, the ones she taught in school.  She seemed almost resigned to the fact that she would never have kids of her own.  He would even think that she had given up on the idea all together except that...sometimes...he could still see the longing in her when she looked at Kalen, he could feel her heartbreak.

  Hawk had never lost his belief or his hope.  He knew the prophecy would be fulfilled, that they would have a son, he just didn't know when.  He held the elixir up again.  Hopefully it would be soon, very soon.  Time was running out, his mother would not wait forever.  He needed his son to be of an age where he could protect himself from his grandmother.


~<>~


  Skye smiled.  It was a gorgeous morning, and it was so good to be alive.  She petted the soft fluffy chick that was in her hand.

  She was so glad that she had talked her family into getting the hen house and a few cows.  They had looked at her as if she had grown a third head at first, but in the end, they had acquiesced, and she had even caught her father out here playing with the chicks.  He would deny it of course, but she had seen him!

  She wished she could have children, but it seemed that was never going to happen.  She was tired of the yo yo emotions, tired of having her hopes crushed month after month, she couldn't live that way anymore.  It was time to focus on what she did have, and to be thankful for that.  She had a wonderful husband who adored her, two adorable nephews, more brothers and sisters than she knew what to do with, caring grandparents, and the best father in the whole world.  She was blessed.

  So she had made her peace with being childless, as much as she could anyway.  Part of her would always long for what could have been, but it was time to find a new dream.  She cuddled the little chick again. 


~<>~


  "Hold still Bob, this isn't going to hurt a bit."   Jack didn't know why he bothered talking to Bob, it wasn't like he would ever answer back, Jack had never given him that ability.

  Still, it felt strange not to talk to him.  "You had a slight malfunction Bob, but I'll have you fixed up in no time at all."  Of course, his grandfather would disagree with the word slight.   Jack didn't see what the big deal was.  Sure Bob went around gathering dirty clothes only to dump them in piles around the house.  Sure he tried to fix things that weren't broken, or clean things that weren't dirty, people included.  Jack chuckled.  "Dumping that bucket of water on Grandpa Ryder was funny Bob, funny, but bad."

  A few more tweaks, and Bob would be less helpful around the house.  "Family, they never appreciate you like they should."  Jack muttered.



~<>~

  Trevor helped Kalen onto the Seahorse spring rider.  They were at the Carousel Park, and Trevor had volunteered to keep an eye on his brother, he sure hoped his parents took full advantage of the time alone.

  "Horsey go!"  Kalen squealed as he rocked back and forth. 

 

  "The tickle monster is going to get you!"  Trevor threatened playfully.  He extended his hands out, and wiggled his fingers. His little brother screeched, and Trevor winced at the volume of it.  Kalen sure had a good set of lungs.

   "No!  No!  No monser!  Go horsey!"

  "Go horsey!?"  Trevor repeated, "Well, tickle monster was going to go get some cotton candy."

  Kalen stopped rocking, and immediately held his arms up.  "Candy!  Candy!  Kay wans candy!"

  "Hmmm."  Trevor pretended to think about it.

  Kalen pouted.  "Candy!  Kay wants candy!"

  Trevor scooped his brother up off the seahorse and tickled him.  Kalen shrieked with laughter.  "Okay candy monster, let's go find some candy."  Once he found the cotton candy cart, Trevor set Kalen down on the ground while he paid for the treat.  "Yummy!"

 

  "Candy!  Candy!"  Kalen demanded.

  "Hold onto your horses there candy monster."  Trevor said as he tore a piece off and handed it to his brother.  "I think the candy monster is going to turn into a sticky monster."

  "Ticky!  Ticky!"  Kalen chortled happily.

  "Yes, you are sticky."  He sighed.  Maybe the cotton candy wasn't such a good idea after all.

 
~<>~


  Trevor wiped his hands nervously on his jeans.  Where was she?  Her parents were weirder than his parents, and had insisted that he couldn't go out on a date with their daughter alone.  They would have to be chaperoned.   Trevor rolled his eyes.  Who even did that anymore anyway?

  It was all because he had been caught kissing Apple on her porch, and it was a chaste kiss too.  His first kiss, with a girl he really liked, and she liked him too.  Then suddenly her father had come storming out, yelling and carrying on about how his daughter wasn't going to end up as a teen mother, and to get his filthy hands off of his daughter.  Talk about a mood killer.

 

  Apparently Apple's oldest sister had hidden her pregnancy when she was a teen, so Apple was automatically painted with the same brush.  Which was totally unfair.  At least her mom had been able to get her father to relent a little.  They could date, but only if they were chaperoned.

  There was no way he wanted to be chaperoned by her parents, that was just...awkward.  Imagine trying to hold hands with Apple under the intense glare of her father.  No thank you.  His parents had volunteered, but face it, as much as he loved them, they were nerds.  His dad geeked out about science stuff, while his mom geeked out over arty stuff.  

  Just the other day, both of them had attended the Science Art Exhibit, where it had fascinating, ha!, things, like: the planet formed from clay and tinfoil, with some weird yellow antennas attached, and it stood 10 ft tall.  His mother had actually wanted to buy it, but it wasn't for sale.  She said it symbolized her and his father, the perfect harmonic meeting of science and art, just like them. 

  She had finally stopped talking about it when he had asked her, "When is this perfect harmonic meeting going to finally stop being so afraid of commitment and get married?"  He had gotten two frowns for his efforts from that one.  Really, you could lead a horse to water, but you couldn't make them drink.  Suddenly he heard the megaphone, and he groaned.  What was his grandpa up to?  He had better go check on him...

 

  Trevor was horrified.  "Grandpa!  What are you doing?!" He closed his eyes, oh man!  Just his luck!  And it was Mr. Raas too, the mayor of Sunlit Tides, and only the most important man in all of the Universe.  And his grandfather was yelling at him, with a megaphone!  How embarrassing!

  He looked around, he sure hoped Apple and her parents weren't around to see this.  To Trevor's surprise though, both his grandpa and Mr. Raas broke out laughing.  How did his grandpa do it?

  "...and that is how you get lazy a*s teens out of bed."  His grandpa chuckled.  "It works every time."

 

   His grandpa noticed him standing off to the side, and waved him closer.  "Hey, this is my grandson, that I was telling you about, Trevor.  Trevor, this is Nate, Mr. Raas to you."

  Nate?!  How had his grandfather gotten on a first name basis with the man so quickly? Trevor sure wished he could be more like his grandfather.  "Pleased to meet you Mr. Raas."  Trevor said politely.  Now he wished Apple and her parents would show up!  He was talking to the most important man in the Universe!

  Mr. Raas held out his hand, and Trevor shook it.  "Your grandpa has been giving me tips on how to raise teens.  I have some teens at home that won't get out of bed until noon or later!"  He shook his head. 

  Trevor had heard that Mr. Raas had a lot of children, like ten of them, or more, and they all still lived at home.  Trevor couldn't imagine having that many kids.  "I never sleep in until noon."

   "That's what your grandpa has been telling me."  Mr. Raas smiled.  "In fact, I hear you're a real go getter, and I could use someone like you on my team.  Would you be interested in a job?"

  Trevor suppressed the urge to shout, and instead, very politely said, "Yes, Sir, I would be very interested."  He had just finalized all the particulars of his new job, when he heard Apple call his name.  He excused himself, and ran over to greet her.  "Apple!"

 

   Trevor could feel her dad's malevolent gaze on him, so he was really careful to just give her a friendly handshake, instead of the kiss he wanted to give her.  "I'm so glad you're here."

  Apple grinned at him impishly.  "You can kiss me when he leaves."

  Trevor grinned back at her.  "When is he leaving?"

  Apple shrugged.  "As soon as he gets bored with watching us stand here and just talk.  Is that your grandfather, talking to Mr. Raas?"

  Trevor nodded.  "Yeah, and you know what?"

  "What?"

  "Mr. Raas offered me a job working for him."

  Apple squealed.  "Really!?  That's awesome Trev!  Congratulations!"

 

   "Did you hear that Dad?"  Apple yelled out.  "Uncle Nate has hired Trevor!"

  Trevor's eyes widened.  "Uncle Nate?!"

  Her father honked the car horn as he left, and Apple waved good bye to him.  She nudged Trevor's shoulder.  "You're a shoe in now!" she exclaimed.  "You have the approval of Uncle Nate, and no one goes against him!  Not even my step-father!"

  Trevor was confused.  "Uncle Nate?!" he repeated.  "He just gave me a job not..."

  "If Uncle Nate didn't approve of you, there is no way he would ever hire you, he's a stickler for those sorts of things."

  "Oh, but how..."

  Apple smiled at him.  "My real Dad's sister is married to him.  Come on, let's go."  She tugged on him.  "Let's go hang out at the swings!"


~<>~


  Kalen's birthday was in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day, with only a babysitter around.  He was so gypped.

 

  He didn't even get any cake or ice cream.  He thought that would have made a most excellent birthday lunch, but the babysitter had disagreed.  The babysitter had even dared to give him green things to eat, they were...healthy!  Disgusting!

  He had refused to eat them, and had demanded cake instead.  The babysitter was mean then, and told him if he was going to have a tantrum, he could have it in his room.  Tantrum!  He wasn't no baby!  He didn't have tantrums! 

  Boy, just wait until his parents got home!  He was going to make sure that babysitter was... fired!

 

 
~<>~


  Hawk sighed.  His potion wasn't working as quickly as he had hoped.  Skye had rolled her eyes at him when he had started asking her to drink it, telling her it would keep her healthier, so she wouldn't get sick from her students.  To please him though, she drank it.  Every day.

  He just didn't understand it.  It should be working.  He would have to double check his recipe and ingredients, there must be something he was forgetting. 

  He brooded over it as he watched the sky fill with color.  He loved this time of the day, it was nice and quiet, and better suited for getting his thoughts together.  Now if only he could get his elixir recipe together, so that he and Skye could finally have their child of promise.

 

 
~<>~


  "But Grandpa!  I want to go swimming!"

  Colin didn't even look at Kalen, but kept his watchful gaze on the people swimming in the Ocean.  "After your homework is done, then you can swim."

  Kalen pouted.  He hated doing his homework.  He stared at it.  "I hate homework."

  "All the better to get it done quickly."  was his grandpa's response.  Kalen scowled.  He watched as his brother had fun running around the beach with his friends, and he scowled some more.

  "It's not fair."  He muttered.

  He wished he could tear it up into tiny pieces, and he thought about it, but one glance at his grandpa, and he reconsidered.  His grandpa could be lots of fun, but he never let Kalen get away with anything.

  "It's so unfair!  Trevor gets to have fun!"

   "Trevor already did his homework." 

  "His homework is easier, that's why!  Mine is so hard!"

  Colin sighed.  "Kay, stop your whining, and do your homework.  Or next time you can stay home."

  Kalen frowned.  Stupid homework anyway.  It was invented by mean teachers that wanted to make sure kids couldn't have any fun.  Maybe he could get his teacher fired for giving out excessive homework?  He looked up at his grandpa, and sighed heavily.  Nope, there was no way his grandpa was going to go for that.  He grabbed his pencil and started working on his homework.

 

  Within ten minutes he was finished.  "Can I go play now Grandpa?  I'm all done!"

  Colin resisted the urge to tell his grandson once again, that if he would just sit down and do his homework, and cut out all the complaining and procrastinating, he would have been playing a long time ago.  Colin sighed.  Kalen was headstrong though, and if he didn't want to do something, it was like pulling hen's teeth to get him to do it.  Colin had his ways though.  "Have fun!"

  Kalen whooped.  "Trevor!  I can play now!"

  Colin smiled as he watched Kalen race towards his older brother.  He was glad to see that the brothers were so close.  Which reminded him, he needed to give his own brother a call.  Brae had not made the move to Sunlit Tides with him.  Brae had fallen in love with Melinda, and Melinda had no desire to ever leave Midnight Hollow.  So now Colin kept in touch with his brother through phone calls.

  "Kay, don't go out so far!"  Colin yelled, then frowned when Kalen didn't acknowledge his words.  Kalen didn't know how to swim well enough to go out that far.  Colin ran towards the shoreline, it was time to drag the boy out before he drowned himself.

~<>~

  Colin stared at his father in shock.  "What the h*ll?!"  Colin tried hard not to curse, but sometimes the words slipped out anyway.

 

  Ryder repeated himself.  "A war between the Seelie, and the Unseelie is imminent.   I've been called into service by the Queen as an emissary, to try and stop the war, if I can.  Dad seems to think I'm pretty good about keeping fairies in line."

  "Well, it's true that you help keep Grandpa out of most trouble, but still, he's only one fairy, and he loves you.  Dad, you're talking about the f*cking Unseelies!  And how does this Queen even know about you anyway?  It's not like we've ever f*cking been there before!"

  "Well, my grandmother Elly, which you have never met, is very close friends with the Seelie Queen.  Dad has talked to Grandma Elly a lot lately, and..."  Ryder nervously ran his hand through his hair.  "Dad brags.   A lot.  About me.  Apparently."  Ryder was embarrassed, he didn't think he had done very much at all to warrant his Dad bragging about his so called talents.

  "Everything I said was true."  Alder said, as he joined the conversation.

 

   
   Colin shook his head.  "You're talking about the f*cking Unseelies!" He repeated.  "It's hard enough reasoning with a Seelie, but trying to f*cking reason with an Unseelie?  Sh*t!"

  "I know."  Ryder said. 

  "He can do it."  Alder said confidently.  "Your father has always had a good head on his shoulders, he's very logical, reasonable, compassionate, and he thinks before he acts.  He's stopped me many times from making a bigger mess out of different situations, ever since he was a little kid.  Do you know how rare that is among the fae?  Especially compassion, I don't even think there's a word for that in their language!  Your dad has the mind of a human, yet because of his fae blood, he understands the fae, and the way they think.  He's perfect for the job."

  "A mind of a human?"  Ryder laughed.  "Was that a backhanded compliment Dad?"

  "You know what I mean."  Alder smiled.

  "But, Dad..."  Colin protested.

  "I have to try Colin."

 

  "A war between the two courts could spill into this world, with disastrous results.  And Dad is going with me to Alfheim, so I won't be going alone."

  Colin turned to his grandfather.  "Sh*t.  You're leaving too?"

  Alder nodded.  "My mother has always wanted me to live there.  I'm a prized male you know."  Alder joked.  "I wasn't too interested in going before, but, now, I think it's time.  You kids are all settled here, and happy, you don't need us old guys hanging out."

  Colin could hardly take it all in.  He had never imagined that his father and grandfather might actually move away, let alone to Alfheim.  Only those with fae blood could travel the fairy realm, unless one was kidnapped by one of the fae, but that practice had ended many, many, many years ago.  Though, with the threat of this new War, it was possible that the ancient practice of kidnapping humans could resume.  "H*ll, you're hardly old, either of you."  Colin muttered.  "And I'll always need you."

 

  "Not in fae years, certainly."  Alder agreed.  "We'll practically be kids to them.  In human years though, well, that's a different story!"

  Ryder smiled warmly at his son.  He sure wished Cherie had been able to see the way their son had turned out; Ryder was really proud of him.  The younger Colin would never have admitted that he needed anyone, let alone that he needed his father.  "I'll keep in touch Colin."  Ryder promised.

  "D*mn.  I suppose there's no f*cking use in arguing with either of you?"

  They both shook their heads no.  Ryder said,  "I've made my mind up.  They really need our help, and I'd like to do what I can."

  "When will you guys be leaving?"

  Alder answered.  "After Trevor graduates.  That's just a few weeks away.  That'll give us some time to get everything ready, and say our goodbyes."

 
   
  "I don't f*cking like it, at all."  Colin said.  "But if anyone could talk sense to a f*cking Seelie or an Unseelie, you could Dad."

  Ryder clapped his hand on Colin's shoulder.  "Thanks for the vote of confidence Son."

  "You better f*cking keep your promise." 

  Ryder said solemnly, "I always do."

   "Well, if you run into any serious trouble, call me.  We all know I'm f*cking resistant to magic of all kinds, and I'd happily knock some f*cking heads together."

  Ryder eyes twinkled as he looked at his son.  "I'll keep that in mind."

 
 _______________________________________________________________________________________

Notes:  *cries*  Yes, it's true.  Alder and Ryder have moved out, so this is likely the last we'll see of them.  (we all know how terrible I am at keeping up with sims once they leave the household!)  It was super hard to let them go, but because of the rolls and upcoming storylines, I just didn't have the time to babysit the lot of them and make sure they were all behaving.  As soon as Alder moved out, I got this notice:

  So Alder is loose in the town, and he's already causing trouble, lol  I did make sure that neither he nor Ryder could have any kids.  I feel mean about it, but I don't want Alder to overpopulate my town, no matter how pretty his babies are.  Another reason why the family had to move from Midnight Hollow is that they were related to practically the whole town!

  I actually deleted all the pre-mades in Sunlit Tides, because, well, they all died in that War, lol  I added in a bunch of sims from some of the many saves I have.  So I have my versions of the Capps and the Montys, my family from my Sim Soap Opera story (the Mallorys, of which Twallan's self-sim was a part of), and even a sim or two from some of the Random Legacies I read.  One of which you may have recognized, and speaking of one of them, here are the type of notices I get from her:

 

 

  She is supposed to be having cute kids with Jesse, and populating my town with great genetics, but so far, the two of them have remained childless.  She's too busy terrorizing the males in town instead, lol 

  She even calls Colin quite often:

 

  Which I find really humorous.  Despite how tempting she is though, Colin still holds a torch for Ivory, and isn't interested in any one else.  So he politely declines her offers, lol :P

  So you guys might see some familiar legacy faces in the background, but they won't really be a part of the story.  Any progeny, on the other hand, might get drafted someday, haha!

    And just because---here's some pics that I couldn't use, but I really, really, really wanted to!

 

  Those last pics, she reminds me so much of her mother, lol  That temper!!

  Thanks for reading! =)