Chapter 1:

Shoko slipped down the rope with all the care and precision that Finn had taught her years ago. The slim candy-person dropped to the ground with an airy grace that reminded the Captain of the Guard of her mother. She was of a body-type with Bonnibel Bubblegum–tall and slender, though with yellowish hair instead of pink, and just starting to develop the round bubble-butt her mother sported. Finn had no idea who her father was, but he half suspected Bonnie had mixed her up in the lab somehow and 'gotten pregnant' with her.

And Finn? He loved her like she was his own kid. He'd all but raised her. When Bonnie was too busy with affairs of state, Finn did his best to teach her the finer points of being a person. When the bully at school dared to threaten her, he taught her how to ably defend herself without resorting to calling out the Banana Guards. And now he had another lesson to impart.

As the pretty princess came sneaking across the lawn to the door of her room, Finn stepped out of the shadows. Immediately Shoko threw a ninja-kick, which Finn deftly countered. Grabbing her by her ankle, he hoisted her aloft, causing her dress to slide up. Embarrassed that somebody was seeing her panties, Shoko struggled to hold her dress in place against the tug of gravity. "Shorts, Shoko," announced Finn. "If you're going to be active wearing a dress, put on some shorts for Globsake."

The mortified princess stared at the Captain of the guard in horror when he let her down. It was bad enough the idea that a stranger was peeping her bod. The idea that her mom's guard-captain got to see her?! *Shudder* "W-what're you doing out here," demanded the princess? "Keeping you out of trouble," retorted Finn. Shoko blushed. She was caught. Lieing and bluffing wasn't going to do any good. Finn's word was law when it came to the Heirs. Sometimes even Princess Bonnibel herself got overruled–much to Shoko's chagrin.

Taking her by the arm, he steered her inside her quarters and shut the patio door. He'd lobbied Bonnie to let her have a room on the ground floor. He knew the risks, just as he knew why it was that it was suddenly so important for Shoko to have access to the patio. He'd lobbied and won. Shoko hadn't disappointed on one score. She'd done just what he expected–slipping off to have adventures in town. He honestly wanted her to have that. It was an important part of growing up. Kids needed to learn to push the boundaries. They needed to test themselves to see just how far they could go, and they needed to feel like there was no safety net so they learned to be safe.

Finn couldn't let Shoko go out and experience the world the way his daughters did, but he was giving her what he could. She was almost old enough that he thought he might twist Bonnie's arm to let the young woman go out with his kids the way her older brother sometimes did. There had been fireworks when he brought the matter up on her son's behalf. Bonnie had ranted and raved for over an hour. Finn won in the end, but it had cost him a lot, and Bonnie had spent over a month not speaking to him. Still, he would have dared her wrath for Shoko. He loved his little princess. Just now, though, with the Candy Kingdom experiencing a little bit of unrest, he had to rein in the Princess's daughter.

Seeing she was caught, Shoko just went around behind the screen and got out of her dress. As she pulled on her nightgown, Finn waited patiently. "How did you know I was sneaking out," asked Shoko? Finn chuckled, "I knew what you were planning when you asked for this room." That news stunned Shoko. She'd thought she was so clever. Seeming to guess where her thoughts were going, Finn laughed, "hey, man, I was a kid once too." Which was to say she wasn't doing anything he hadn't already thought of.

The beautiful young girl came out to find the handsome guard-captain sitting there staring at the wall. He always did that. He never looked, never did anything that was in any way untoward. Part of her was glad. She was still in that stage where this was all new to her. She knew she was pretty. Everybody said she was, and she never lacked for admirers at school. Still, part of her wondered. Did the studly captain of the guard, who kept two wives (and some said a heap of mistresses too), find her pretty? She was curious.

Strolling around in front of him, she said, "well, you waited out there for me. Why?" Since he seemed to have expected her to slip out, he could have just been waiting for her when she was going out. He could have caught her over a dozen times! At those words, Finn finally looked at her. She was growing up, was his little princess. She would be a heart-breaker like her mother someday. He just hoped that wasn't going to be literal. Bonnie had literally built a robot to satisfy a too-persistent suitor. She had just never been interested in having a man. Finn hoped Shoko would be able to balance her life better.

Shoko found herself fidgeting under his gaze. The nightgown was opaque. Her mother wasn't going to let her have anything sexy for another six years or so. She did have something sexy. She'd snuck down to Ms. Lollipop's shop and bought a nighty to wear with her boyfriend, for when she managed to land one. That was hidden under a secret panel in the bottom of her wardrobe. At the same time, she knew the nightgown she was wearing did reveal some of her body to Captain Finn. Did he find her pretty?

"So who's your boyfriend," asked the Captain? Shoko blushed to her long, golden hair. "I-I," stammered the young heir. Rising, Finn hugged her and said, "be careful, princess. Marshall's kind of a rogue, and he can be a butt sometimes. He's a lot like his mom. He can be caring, but he's literally got demon in him..." Shoko was a little startled by his words but unsurprised that he knew about her activities. "You don't approve," she murmured. His blue eyes gazed into hers steadily. "It's not my place to approve or disapprove," said Finn. "I'm... just warning you of the consequences. Some things can't be undone." "Like me getting pregnant," sighed the teen. Finn nodded. He thought the message was received.

Smiling, Finn hugged the young woman again, holding her tightly. Standing there, rocking with her, he was conscious of her budding sexuality. It was something he'd become aware of when his two daughters began to grow into women. "You're fifteen," said Finn. "He's sixteen. You're close, but he's got demon in him, Shoko. He's going to be much more mature than you. Don't let him rush you into something you'll regret. If he wants you, he needs to grow up and be a man, ok?" "Yes, Captain," sighed Shoko.

Finn let her go. Turning for the door, he said, "no more sneaking over the walls. If you want to go out, it'll be with a guard. The streets aren't safe right now." "Yes, Captain," sighed Shoko. Finn grasped the knob and turned it. Shoko murmured, "and Captain?" "Yeah, Shoko," he replied. "Thanks for caring about me," she sighed. "No prob, bob," said Finn, as he slipped out.

Shoko sighed. Growing up, she had sometimes wished he was her dad. She could see how much her mother cared about him–and conversely how much Finn cared about her. Rumors told that Finn had resolutely chased Shoko's mom for years until finally giving up and getting hitched to Simone and Emeraude. Shoko had teased Fionna and Star, pointing out that it took both their moms to equal hers. Deep down, though, she harbored a secret pain. Star and Fionna had a mom and dad. Hell, they had two moms–though that was sometimes more of a pain than a pleasure when Simone and Emeraude strove to outdo each other in disciplining the kids. Shoko wished that Finn was her dad. She loved her two best friends, but she wanted their dad for herself.

Finn headed out of the palace into the cool night air. Bonnie was working late again in her lab. You might not even have guessed she had children considering what she chose to spend her time on. That aspect of her life had never changed. Getting her to let go of work even for five minutes was a chore–one that Finn had long ago given up on. Just as he'd told Braco, loving Bonnie was a road that led nowhere. Shaking off the regrets and focusing on his own life, Finn turned and headed for the gates.

He was late getting home. He'd missed dinner with his family, something he despised. Unlike his dad and his brother, he did his best not to be absentee, even taking the time out to go home in the evenings even if it meant he had to come back out again in the middle of the night. It put a rather severe cramp in his sex life. Simone and Emeraude had both complained to him that he needed to pay more attention to them, and Finn had done his best to turn over a new leaf.

Unfortunately he'd had to disappoint Simone tonight. With Emeraude gone to Wizard City on business, she had him all to herself for a change, and she'd looked rather frisky when he left this morning. He'd called and canceled date-night after learning that there was trouble loose in the Kingdom in favor of keeping Bonnie's daughter safe. Honestly though, he'd needed to have that talk with Shoko anyway. Even beyond the risk of her getting hurt with the turmoil and unrest in the Kingdom, he needed to prepare her for what dating was going to be like. He didn't want his precious princess being taken advantage of, and though he loved Marceline's son as if Marshall was his boy, he feared the young man was straying into darkness.

Arriving home, feeling exhausted, he found Simone had laid out candles and put together a wonderful date-night feast. It was supposed to be sexy and fun. Their son, Billy, was working tonight and Fionna, their daughter, was off adventuring. Star, his child with Emeraude, was supposed to be at a sleepover with friends. They would have been alone. Instead work had intruded. Shrugging off his jacket, hanging up his sword, and exchanging muddy boots for slippers, Finn headed upstairs. Arriving in the bedroom he, Simone, and Emeraude shared, he found his wife sound asleep in their bed. At least he thought she was.

Finn came in, sat down on the edge of the bed, and started shedding his clothes. Halfway through, Simone sat up behind him and scooted over to the edge of the bed. Wrapping her long legs around him from behind, she lay her head on his shoulder, draping her long, white hair over him. "Did she listen, honey," asked Simone? There was concern in her voice, and Finn realized that Simone was concerned about Shoko's late-night activities too. "Yeah, babe," sighed Finn. "I think she did." Nodding, Simone said, "lay down, honey. You're all tensed up."

She insisted on having him on his belly, and then she straddled his thighs and began to massage his aching back. Her hands were strong from hours of martial arts training and even more hours of scrubbing floors and hauling buckets of water, and she began to drive the aches out of his abused muscles. It hadn't been a good day to start with, what with the riot at the train station in Candy-Town and the reports that the Prophet James was trying to raise trouble out in Butterscotch City. Learning that Shoko had been seen in several over-eighteen clubs with Marshall Lee had been the topper for a perfectly miserable day. "Oooh," sighed Simone. "You're all knotted up!" Finn nodded.

Rising, Simone went into the bath and came back with a couple of heated towels. She came back and applied the hot compresses to his aching shoulders as she continued to massage his aching back. As the heat soaked into his sore and knotted muscles, Finn remembered that today he was taking the day off to do some work on the tree-house. They needed a bigger hot-water tank because his two girls were using up all the water in the mornings. He'd get to spend time with Simone today, but not in the way he wanted. He was doing everything he could, but there just never seemed to be enough hours in the day.

Seeming to guess where his mind was going, Simone told him, "the kids are getting old enough to be on their own, honey. We won't have to live our lives for them too much longer." Finn nodded. Slowly his muscles relaxed, as the beautiful woman applied hot towels and her magic massage techniques to his battered body. She was a little disappointed too that they hadn't gotten to enjoy themselves tonight. At the same time, she was just happy to have him home. She worried about him sometimes when he was out late at night.

Finn's soft snoring told her he was asleep. He had been a mess, and that somewhat told her how the day had gone. Cleaning up the towels, Simone came back and drew the covers up on her husband before slipping into bed beside him. Cuddling up next to him, she put her head against his neck and drifted off.