A/N Hey y'all! We are back with The Beginning of Tratie sequel, The Beginning of Kids! lunar and I hope you guys love the sequel just as much as the first story. :) :)
Prologue
It was a normal day at the Stoll's house. Ten year old Jacob and Ana were busy playing on their swing set, waiting to go to camp since it was summer vacation. Katie and Travis were busy packing the car.
"Hey," Ana said, wiping the sweat off of her eyebrow. "Want to go get a popsicle?"
"Sure." her brother replied. "But I get the last blue one!"
"Not fair!" said Ana. "I said I was getting a popsicle first, so I should get to pick the color."
"Nooo. You asked if I wanted to go get a Popsicle. So I get to choose!"
"That's not fair! It was my idea!"
"Hey, are you guys done arguing? There are two blue Popsicles left," Travis, their dad, commented. "You better hurry up. Blue is my favorite.."
Jacob and Ana looked at each other and jumped off the play set. They ran inside and each grabbed a blue Popsicle from their dad's hands. They ate the Popsicles while playing with Madison, their baby sister. Madison was 3 years old.
"Let's play Star Wars." Jacob suggested.
"I don't know where you get your delusions, laserbrain."
"Was that supposed to be mean?"
"No." Ana replied.
"Whatever," Jacob huffed.
"Kids! It's time to go! Make sure you have everything!" yelled Katie, their mom.
"Okay, mom," Ana and Jacob yelled.
They ran to their rooms and grabbed their bags off their beds. Their bags contained toys, a DSI XL, a few books for Ana, and a few other stuff.
And of course, a few bags or so of candy Jacob decided to smuggle along.
Jacob and Ana climbed into the car, fighting over who had to sit in the back.
"You have to sit in the back because you're younger." Ana told her twin.
"Yeah, by like two seconds."
"Five and a half minutes."
"Whatever."
"Oh, I forgot to mention, I set up little movie screens, so you guys could watch a movie. The biggest screen I think I put in the back," Travis commented.
Ana and Jacob looked at each other and both shouted," I'll sit in the back!"
Travis chuckled," I knew you two would say that. This is why there are three seats in the back." They have a van. Ana, Jacob and Maddie sat in the back seat. Maddie was in between them, sitting in her car seat.
Twenty minutes later, despite the movie screens, Jacob was bored.
"Are we there yet?" he asked.
"Not yet." Katie answered.
"How about now?"
"Shut up, stupid. I'm trying to watch a movie!" Ana cried.
Katie frowned. "Ana, don't call your brother stupid."
"But Mom-"
"No buts. If you call your brother stupid again, I'll turn off the movie."
"Fine."
"Hey Mom," Jacob asked again. "Are we there yet now?"
"Jacob, we are not there. Stop asking. We will tell you when we are. Take a nap or something," Travis answered.
"Ugh, fine."
Jacob late his head on the window and fell asleep. Meanwhile Ana was intently watching 'Finding Nemo.'
"There yet?" Madison asked, taking her thumb out of her mouth to talk.
"No, Maddie." Katie said, smiling. "We aren't there yet."
"Now there yet?"
"No."
"Now there yet?"
"No."
"Now there yet?"
"Madison!" cried Jacob. "Be quiet!"
Tears started to form in the base of Madison's eye. "You said."
"No, Maddie, don't cry. Shh," Jacob said, trying to quiet his little sister.
"Your a meanie."
"Maddie, you want some candy?"
"No."
"A banana?"
"No!"
"Soda?"
"Uh...Coke ca?"
"Yes, you can have Coke ca."
"Okay."
Jacob handed Maddie a bottle full of Coke. Maddie happily drank the Coke and eventually fell asleep.
"Um, Jacob?" Travis asked. "What did you give your sister?"
"Oh, nothing." Jacob said.
"You know, just a bottle of coke with 39 grams of sugar." Ana added.
"JACOB TANNER STOLL! You know she gets hyper if you even give her a little sugar!" Katie yelled.
"You can take care of her when she wakes up." Ana said. "Since its was your fault."
"But-"
"No 'buts', young man. You gave Madison sugar, knowing that she gets hyper! You will watch her when she wakes up. Do you except these consequences?" Katie asked.
"I guess," Jacob muttered.
"Excuse me."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Now, watch your movie. Or take a nap. Or play on you DS."
Jacob huffed but watched the movie. Finding Nemo had gone off, so The Secret Life of Arrietty was on. Ana and Jacob intently watched the movie, as curiosity filled them. They wondered if these bug-sized people actually existed.
Jacob wished he could just give Maddie another bottle of Coke. At least he wouldn't have to watch her for a while.
And Madison was bound to be grumpy, since she hadn't slept much last night.
"How much longer?" he called.
"About four hours." Katie called back.
"Ugh."
Jacob went back to watching the movie, fretting over when Maddie would awaken.
***ONE HOUR LATER***
"YANKEE DOODLE WENT TO TOWN RIDING ON A PONY! Is it a unicorn?!" Maddie screeched.
"No Maddie. It was just a regular pony," Jacob replied. Ana had put headphones on to watch the new movie that was playing, Nico the Last Unicorn. Katie and Travis had put headphones on as well, just to block out Maddie.
"I WANT SOME CANDY!" Maddie yelled.
"You can't have candy."
"I WANT A PONY! LIKE YANKEE DOODLE! NO! I WANT A PEGASUS! WITH WINGS!"
"All Pegasus' have wings."
"I STILL WANT ONE!"
"I don't care!"
"PONY WITH WINGS!"
"Madison," Jacob said. "If you don't quiet down, I'm going to throw you out the window."
"MEANIE!"
"You're mean."
"I HATE YOU!"
"Too bad."
"I WANT MY MOMMY!"
"Window, Madison."
Madison whimpered and started crying. Jacob, not know what else to do, leaned over and hugged her. Maddie's tears soon stopped and she snuggled up to Jacob.
"I wove you, Jackob"
"I love you too, Maddie."
They both, then fell asleep.
"Finally." Ana said, removing the headphones. "Some peace and quiet. And only three hours left!"
"Three and a half." corrected Katie. "We're going to stop somewhere soon, okay?"
"'Kay, Mom." Ana muttered. "Can we get ice cream? It's so hot."
"Maybe. You need something more healthy. We will be stopping for lunch, so possibly after you eat."
"Yay!"
"I never said yes."
"But 'maybe' can mean yes. Or no. But mostly yes."
"Maybe means yes." chimed Maddie, who had just woken up.
"Not always." Katie repeated.
"There yet?"
"No, Maddie. We're stopping for lunch, okay?" Ana told her sister.
"Okay!"
"Wha...what's going on?" A groggy Jacob asked.
"We are stopping for lunch."
"Cool," Jacob said while stretching.
"Where are we stopping, mom?" Ana asked.
"Pizza Hut." Katie answered.
"Yay!" cried Maddie.
"Then how much longer till we get to Camp?"
"Hmm...about two and a half hours," Travis replied.
"Oh okay. What other movies do we have?"
"Um... The odd life of Timothy Green, Cars, and Barbie in The twelve dancing princesses," Katie answered.
"We are not watching the barbie one."
"Yes, we are!" cried Ana.
"Yes!" added Maddie.
"We're here!" cried Travis, stopping the car.
"Yay! Pizza!" The three kids yelled. The family got out of the car and walked into Pizza Hut. Well, Maddie was carried. They ordered a large cheese pizza and a side of bread sticks.
After paying for their meal, they got back into the car.
On their way out, Ana noticed the coolness and moisture in the air, and the fact that the sky was beginning to darken. She shivered, hugging Maddie closer.
Twenty minutes later, after they were back in the car, the rain started.
The radio suddenly came on. "There is a severe thunderstorm warning." it said.
"What's got Zeus mad this time?" Ana asked.
"Well, Hera got mad because she caught him cheating again and she accused him. He got mad and this storm has been created," a man replied. The man was sitting in the middle part of the van. He had salt and pepper sandy blonde hair and a mischievous spark in his eyes.
"Hey dad. How ya been?" Travis answered.
"I've been good. You?" Hermes replied.
"Never better, dad."
Maddie tried to hide behind Ana. "No thunder!" she cried.
"Maddie's scared of thunderstorms." Ana explained.
Eventually, Jacob and Maddie started watching another movie with headphones, and Ana just looked out the window.
Until, of course, something caught her ear.
"I heard what happened, and I'm so sorry." Hermes said, the usual smirk gone from his face.
"Yeah, she'll be fine, Dad." Travis said, looking down.
Something bad was happening? Butterflies started to form in Ana. Something about something happening to a "she?" So that ruled out Jacob, of course. Ana leaned closer.
"The twins have been a great help with everything." Katie said.
That ruled out Ana. Was something wrong with Maddie? No, there couldn't be.
She never seemed sick or anything. Maybe it was Katie?
No, that couldn't happen.
"Do they know?" Hermes asked quietly. Katie shook her head, her eyes slightly red.
"And we aren't planning to tell them unless it gets much, much worse. Which of course it won't."
"Have you tried asking Apollo for help?" Hermes asked.
"We have, and he can't help."
"What are you going to do with her when she's at camp?" Hermes questioned.
"Well, either Katie or I can take her to the hospital when the kids are busy." Travis sighed. "Hopefully camp will be a break for us."
So it was Maddie. Maddie, her baby sister was sick. Her only sister.
"Maddie's just my little baby." Katie cried, putting her face in her hands. Travis put an arm around her shoulders.
"The leukemia will get better, Katie." he told her.
Ana watched on with horror. Maddie- leukemia- no. It just wasn't possible.
"And then there's the new baby." Katie sighed. "It's going to be so hard to take care of a new baby with Maddie in chemo. And the twins will be going through middle school next year which means more homework, more tests."
Katie started crying and Travis looked lost. Travis pulled over and Hermes got in the drives seat while Katie and Travis sat in the middle seats. Travis hugged Katie while she cried.
"I'm only thirty two!" Katie cried. "I can't watch my daughter die. And they said the chemo isn't working."
Ana started to cry too. Eventually, Katie calmed down, and everyone got back into their regular seats.
"Oh, honey." Katie sighed, looking at Ana. "Did you hear all that?"
Ana nodded. "Mommy- is Maddie really going to die? And there's going to be another baby?"
"Yes." said Katie weakly.
"Katie, Maddie isn't going to die." Travis told her.
"You don't know that!" Katie almost-yelled. She would of if Maddie and Jacob weren't sitting in the back.
Hermes sighed, looking at his watch. "I'm sorry, Travis, but I really have to leave right now. I'll visit soon, though. I promise."
He disappeared in a flash of white.
Jacob took off his and Maddie's headphones. "The movie's over." he said.
"Oh okay. Do you want to watch another movie?" Katie asked as she dried her face.
"Why do I feel like I missed something?" Jacob asked.
"Um..no. We were just talking about Maddie's birthday coming up."
"Maddie's birthday is in October. It's June."
"Oh yeah. Right. We were talking about what we were going to do at camp. That's all. So what movie do you want to watch now?"
"Uh...Cars."
"Okay."
Travis handed Jacob the movie case. "Hey," he called. "Want to stop at McDonald's for ice cream?"
"Yay!" cried Maddie. Ana smiled slightly.
"Sure, Dad." Jacob called, his mouth full of pretzels.
They pulled up to McDonald's and they all got a vanilla cone. They went back out on the road.
***One hour later***
"Are we there yet?" Jacob whined.
"An hour," Katie replied.
"Ugh. We have been on the road for like twenty hours!"
"No we haven't. There has been stops here and there, etcetera."
"Yeah, whatever," Jacob went back to watching the movie.
"Can we watch Barbie now?" Maddie asked.
"No, Maddie." Jacob told her. "We're watching this movie."
"Please?"
"No."
"Just let her watch it, Jacob." Ana snapped.
"Geez, what's got your panties in a twist?"
"Nothing. Just...let her watch Barbie."
"Fine. Whatever," Jacob huffed.
Deep down Ana's heart was breaking. Her little sister had leukemia. And she had another sibling on the way. She didn't know what would happen to Maddie but she was determined to think positive. She was positive that Maddie would get better. Positive that their 'coming-soon' sibling would be okay. Positive that he parents would be fine. Positive that she would stay strong for Jacob. Positive that...that her heart was breaking.
"Hungry." Maddie complained.
"Want some cheerios, Maddie?" Ana asked, holding out the bag. Maddie happily took them.
"There yet?" Maddie asked sweetly.
"Yes!" cried Katie, pulling into the camp.
"Excited much?" Travis chuckled. They parked the van and grabbed their stuff. They claimed the hill and walked into camp. Ana and Jacob ran to the legacies cabin. Maddie stayed with Travis and Katie as they headed towards the Demeter cabin. They put their stuff on Katie's bunk and went to meet Chiron in the big house.
"Hello, Katie." Chiron said smiling. "And Travis. And who do we have here?" he asked, smiling at Maddie.
"Madison." Katie informed him.
"Jacob and Ana are in the legacies cabin." Travis said.
"Ahh. So I got your message. Come in. Let's talk for a bit."
The four walked inside and Travis, Katie, and Maddie sat on the couch and Chiron stood in front of them.
"So, what seems to be the problem?" Chiron asked.
"Well...uh...Travis?" Katie stuttered, looking close to tears.
"Maddie, here, has leukemia. She has chemo tomorrow, so one of us will have to take her. We were wondering if there was anything you could do," Travis explained.
Chiron scratched his beard. "I'm afraid not, Travis. Leukemia is a mortal disease, or else I would have known something."
Katie squeezed her eyes, the tears threatening to come out.
"Don't give up hope." Travis whispered to her. "And thanks anyway, Chiron."
"I just wish there was something, though." Chiron said. "Well, the mortal chemo seems to work well."
"Not well enough." Katie muttered. Maddie stared at her.
"It will be okay, Katie. We'll make it through. We always do."
"Yeah. Maybe you're right."
"My dear, would you like me to watch Ms. Maddie here? So you and Travis can have some alone time," Chiron offered.
"That would be amazing, Chiron. You don't mind?" Katie asked, a hopeful smile on her face.
"Not at all, my dear."
"Okay. If you're sure," Katie said, handing Chiron Maddie. Chiron took Maddie in his arms and he played with her a bit before feeding her. Then he burped her and later her down for a nap. This was the first time in decades that Chiron got to take care of a very very young child. He was going to enjoy it the most he can.
Meanwhile, Katie and Travis were sitting in a secret garden, past the strawberry fields. Katie was snuggled into Travis's arms and they both had their hands resting on Katie's stomach, where the soon to come baby was growing. Maybe there was hope for their family after all.
Maybe, just maybe.
A/N If you guys read Easy as ABC, yes this is the sequel, and yes it's now a story! Yay! So exciting! So, please review. The more you review, the more we will update! Until next time!
Goodbye and may the fandom be with you.
~Booknerd and lunarchroniclesandcockatiels