Disclaimer: I don't own Malcolm In The Middle
"Mom," Reese asked, "Why are you so tough? Don't you love us?"
"Of course I love you," Lois said, "I'm tough because I love you. I KNOW what damage can be caused if I am not tough."
"What do you mean," Dewy asked. Lois sighed.
"Did you know that Francis is not your father and my first child," Lois asked.
"WHAT," Francis Reese Malcolm and Dewy exclaimed at the same time."
"You boys had a sister. Her name was Francine Renay Mallory Darcy Wiliker"
"Why so many middle names," Malcolm asked.
"Well we both liked the name Francine. I promised my best friend I would name my daughter Renay when she died. It was her name so I had to somehow honor that. Your father liked the name Mallory and I kind of did too and Darcy was the name of my sister who was killed in a boating accident. Anyway I was a very doting mother and Francine was probably the easiest child you could ever meet. Well one day she wanted to go horseback riding. I didn't think it was a good idea. Something told me to say no but she begged and pleaded and promised to be careful. I gave in. It was the biggest mistake of my life. Mind you I was pregnant with Francis at the time and almost lost him due to stress."
"Mom," Malcolm said, "You never told us that."
"No I didn't," Lois said, "I never told you that because I LOVE YOU. I don't want you to know about bad things that have happened. I don't want to scare you. But I want to protect you." The boys nodded. They finally understand why their mother acted so tough. Besides she did have a soft side. After burning Mr. Muggles (Frances's stuffed bear) because Frances was playing with fire she bought him a new Mr. Muggles to replace it and then pretended Mr. Muggles was just away on vacation.
"Now get dressed and ready," Lois said, "We're going out to dinner tonight."
"Where are we going," Malcolm asked.
"I thought we'd go to fun zone," Lois said here again showing her soft side