A shrill cry broke the silence of Skeldale house. Seven of the house's eight occupants looked up at the sound. Siegfried looked at his younger brother and sister-in-law. "I believe that's for you two..." he stated.

Cecilia sighed. "Tris,you go and deal with it." she commanded,laying back on the couch. "I'm far too tired. Hazel's been acting up all day,and besides,Annabelle likes you more."

"Hey! I have not been acting up!" the 8 year old Hazel cried. She gave her mother a look that was a cross between a glare and a pout.

Rolling her eyes,Cecilia answered with a simple "whatever you say dear."

"She does not like me more." Tristan shook his head,standing up and dusting himself off.

"Yes she does." stated James and Cecilia in unison. "Trust me on this one,she likes you much more." Cecilia added.

"Just go and deal with your daughter. Her crying is getting louder." Siegfried interrupted.

"Fine. I'm just saying that Annabelle does not like me more than she likes Cecilia." Tristan sighed,walking out of the living room and up the stairs. He pushed open the door to his youngest daughter's room and winced,Annabelle's crying was much louder up close.

The senseless wails echoed in the empty room,their source being the thrashing baby in a plain white crib. She continued to cry even as her father picked her up and began to rock her gently.

"What's wrong Annie? Come on,shush..." Tristan pleaded,not knowing what to do with Annabelle. He'd been absent for the first six years of Hazel's life,due to being in the war,and since he and Cecilia had only had Annabelle for about 3 months,he was completely in the dark about being a father.

This didn't work at all,in fact,it seemed to make things worse. Annabelle just began wailing louder and wriggling around more. "Gah! Gah!" she smacked her mouth a few times and cried.

"I don't understand! What do you want?!" Tristan shouted,losing his temper with the infant. "Honestly,all you do is cry and eat! You spend more time with my wife than I do!" he ranted,doing nothing but upsetting Annabelle even more.

"Tristan! Stop yelling at her!" Cecilia snapped,striding into Annabelle's bedroom (which was also her and Tristan's room). "You're just making it worse!" she continued,taking Annabelle into her arms.

Tristan sighed. "I'm sorry,but I don't know how to comfort her. Can you please do it?" he begged.

"Of course. And,since you can't tell,she's hungry." Cecilia smiled. "Which means you need to leave." she added,making a shooing motion with her left hand.

"Bu-" Tristan began,but he was cut off by Cecilia.

"Oh no mister. I don't care who you are,I will be feeding Annabelle in peace. And besides,you need to look after Hazel while I'm up here."

"Ok. I'm going downstairs."

"Good."

Tristan smiled briefly at Cecilia and walked back downstairs,shutting the door behind him. He then went straight back into the living room and sat down. "She'll be down soon." he announced. Sure enough,ten to fifteen minutes later,Cecilia walked into the living room and resumed her spot in the couch.