Title: Her Mother's Daughter
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: R
Characters: Amelia Booth, Peter Jones, Henry, Aurora, Emma, August, & Granny (in spirit); Amelia/Peter, Emma/August, & Ruby/Killian
Summary: Emma Swan had never made intelligent decisions in regards to men. Her life has been a long, complicated road filled with mistakes and it seemed that her daughter was doomed to repeat them.
Warnings: Non-graphic forest sex.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: I have a lot of Amelia feels. She's such a broken little thing, like her parents. This is for Malz and wifey, who are probably the only two who appreciate my babies' babies.

Emma Swan had never made intelligent decisions in regards to men. A string of one-night stands were what she considered to be a love life and her longest romance had been a five week long teenage tryst that had landed her in jail with a baby on the day. It wasn't until after her twenty-eighth birthday that she'd found true, lasting love and even that hadn't been easy. August was far from perfect and Emma wasn't the most forgiving or trusting person on the planet but eventually, and with Henry's help, they'd worked through their issues and became a family.

Her life has been a long, complicated road filled with mistakes and it seemed that her daughter was doomed to repeat them.

Amelia Booth slung her bag over her shoulder and stared down at the sleeping form before her. Images of their night together flashed before her eyes and she shook them off with a short sigh. This had been another stellar decision on her part and it was best to leave now, before he awoke. Things were going to be awkward enough without the mess of the morning after.

No good could come from the two of them being together, even if things were to go that far. Her experiences with men had taught her to know better. They were all the same in the end and it was best to spare herself the heartache. Things may have worked out for her mother, but while everyone seemed to think they were one in the same, Amelia knew her story wasn't going to end with her falling stupidly in love with the perfect man who was willing to literally die for her; twice.

He stirred and reached out for her and she turned away from him and quickly slipped out of his room. She made sure she wasn't noticed sneaking out of the Inn and headed for home.


Amelia hurried down the stairs as she pulled on her sweater. She was running late, again, and even though Aurora was her godmother, Amelia seriously doubted she'd still have a job if she kept opening the bookstore late. While the shop wasn't much, it was the only place in town where she could sit on her laptop and take her online classes. She cursed being stuck in this damn town with her only choice for escape being Hook's ship through a portal to the Enchanted Forest. Amelia would rather not; she enjoyed things like tampons and hot showers.

"What's your excuse this time?"

Henry looked up from a large mixing bowl filled with Fruit Loops and Amelia groaned. She was not in the mood for this. She opened the pantry and cursed when she found it empty of cereal.

"Don't you have your own house? Or is married life not all it's cracked up to be?" Amelia slammed the pantry door shut in annoyance, sick of Henry literally being here every time she came into the kitchen. It didn't matter what time, day or night, finding her big brother raiding their food supply was a guarantee. She got the whole wanting to have a break from the kids and shit but always hanging out at your mom's house? She scrounged up an apple and moved to the door.

"He's at work, the kids are at school, and Neal is down at the docks. Plus, August and I are going to finish working on the book. I don't know why you're in a hurry, mom already called Aurora to tell her you'd be late, said you weren't feeling well. What's up with you? You're bitchier than usual."

"Fuck off, Henry," she replied with a roll of her eyes. She went back for some juice since she had a few minutes to spare thanks to her mom and Henry reached out to muss with her hair. She frowned and slapped his hand away. "Asshole! You know, it's not easy looking this good all the time."

"And here I thought it was a family trait."

Amelia groaned and Henry just laughed as she went for the front door.

"Just remember, I'm here if you need to talk and maybe next time don't drink so much on nights when you have to work the opening shift the next morning."

She flipped him the bird and let the door slam shut behind her.


"Are we just not going to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

Amelia didn't even bother to look up from her book. She could feel him near her and while she felt like crawling out of her own skin to touch him she resisted. He sighed and the bell above the shop door chimed. He lingered for another moment before muttering a greeting to Aurora and leaving the shop.

"Did you two have a fight, sweetheart?"

Amelia glanced up as Aurora tucked back a loose piece of her hair and kissed the top of her head. She stared out the door as a Peter Jones descended down the street and shook her head, finding that lies slipped through her lips far too easily.

"Of course not."

"Amelia, he's your best friend, I think I know a quarrel when I see-"

"It's just near wolf's time is all, you know how he gets," she muttered as she shoved away from the counter to stack a new shipment of books. She could feel her godmother's eyes on the back of her skull but Aurora soon decided to drop the matter and they spent their day in relative silence.


"You're not going out tonight?" Her father kissed the top of her head before joining her on the sofa. Amelia shook her head and let him pull her against him with one arm. August made a face and reached for the remote and Amelia quickly felt her blood boil.

"What?"

"Nothing…I'm just glad you're spending a Saturday night in with your old man, is all."

He gave her a warm smile and she felt her anger fade slightly. She had her mother's temper and while his charm didn't affect Amelia the same way it did her mother it still worked.

"And what is that supposed to mean? Are you going to start trying to control my personal life now?"

A hurt expression crossed his features before he gave her a stern gaze.

"I would never tell you how to live your life, no matter how much I may disapprove of some of your decisions. And don't give me that look, this is a small town, I know what goes on." Amelia quickly bit her tongue, knowing better than to argue with him. "You're worth ten of those boys you waste your time with. I don't know why you think you don't deserve better."

Amelia scoffed.

"Yes, because Storybrooke is ripe with options."

"Maybe you would have options, if you weren't so stubborn, like your mother," he replied before kissing her nose and heading for the kitchen.

"Please, dad, list these wonderful options I have."

He moved around and stuck a bag of popcorn in the microwave. Resting his elbows on the kitchen counter, he watched her for a moment before shaking his head.

"If you made up with Peter-"

"We're fine."

"Not according to Ruby. She says he's holed himself up in his room. Won't come out for days. Even his dad's worried about him. Says you broke his heart."

Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Peter's a good boy, Amelia. You've known him your whole life. His father's a rat bastard but Ruby's a good mother. And if there's anyone in this town who I think would treat you like the Princess you are, it's him. I just wish you'd open your eyes and see that the poor boy's been in love with you since you were children and stop running around with jerks who don't deserve you. I gather he's reached his limit on waiting around for you and that's why he's so heart broken."

She gazed down into her lap, too ashamed to tell him the truth. Everyone loved to associate Pinocchio with being a liar but her father was the most honest man in this town. She was the only dishonest person in this family.

"Why are you bothering to throw your hat in for Peter? I thought no man was good enough for me."

"I never said he was good enough, I just said he was the best you're going to get in Storybrooke, there isn't a man in this world, or any other, who will ever be worthy of you, baby girl."

Amelia set her eyes on the television, unable to look at him.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Emmeline," she winced, he never used her given name, "why are you so unhappy? Your mom and I tried our best and I thought we raised you well but…sometimes I look at you and you're so broken, the way your mother used to be, and I can't figure out what we did wrong. You always seemed so happy."

She cleared her throat as she became choked up and shook her head. She composed herself and turned to give him a small smile.

"You and mom were perfect, dad. I'm not unhappy because of you, it's just…"

"You feel stuck?"

Amelia nodded.

"Your mother and I wanted more for you than Storybrooke, but there wasn't much to go back to in our land. You…could always leave, there's nothing keeping you from crossing the town line."

"But I would be leaving you and mom behind. You need magic, dad, you can't leave again, and mom and Henry would never leave you behind and there's no use in seeing the world if I can't-"

The microwave beeped and Amelia was glad for it. She didn't want him to feel guilty. She could easily leave everyone behind but she'd miss them. And her unhappiness had nothing to do with Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest or being stuck with the bizarre knowledge that was magic. She was damaged; guarded, distrustful, and unwilling to allow herself to be happy for no reason other than fear.

She came from a world filled with fairy tales where everyone had an epic story and she was nothing more than the daughter of a former puppet and a snarky, reluctant princess. She wasn't extraordinary in any way, she didn't have a great destiny, and being around so many people who were literally larger than life was daunting. No matter what she did in life it would never compare to everyone around her and truth be told, she wouldn't mind having what her parents had; to find someone who would accept her with all of her faults and who would still be stupidly in love with her even after twenty years of marriage. It wasn't adventures with dragons and ogres and hidden realms, but it would be enough.

Which made her feel incredibly silly.

She wasn't even sure what she wanted and her daring attempt at an escapade back to their land with Henry had proved to be nothing short of a suicide mission; she could handle having a werewolf for a best friend but facing down an ogre? Not so much.

Storybrooke wasn't much, but it was safe and familiar; it was home. She supposed she could try to hate it less and…

Well, she refused to admit that her father had a point. Peter was her friend, nothing more. She'd made a mistake by sleeping with him. Too much alcohol, the daze of being alone in a corner booth at the bar, she'd let things go too far and that was her burden to carry, not his. She should fix things but her father's words stayed in the back of her mind.

If there's anyone in this town who I think would treat you like the Princess you are, it's him.

She was brought out of her thoughts by kissing the top of her head and giving her the popcorn bowl. He rejoined her on the sofa and thankfully didn't resume their conversation.

"So…Princess Bride?"

Amelia smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Sure thing, daddy."


"You came."

Amelia stepped through the brush. She had been lingering in the woods, watching him, but his keen wolf's senses could detect her scent. She stepped on a twig and the sound echoed through the empty forest. She approached him and took a seat on an overturned log.

"Did you really think I'd abandon you during wolf's time?"

Peter lay in a small pile of leaves, curled up. The transformations had gotten easier and he was able to control the wolf, thanks to his mother, but it didn't stop the guilt he felt from killing, even if it was only small animals. A small smile tugged at her lips as she pondered her wonderful best friend; the vegetarian werewolf.

"Seeing as you've already abandoned me in general? Do you really want me to answer that?

She frowned and slid down the log until she sat mere inches from him. He was angry and she was confused but she couldn't bear to see him in pain. She reached out to stroke his hair and let out a small sigh.

"I could never abandon you, Peter," she whispered. "I love you, just not in the way you want me to." She reached out to check a scratch on his back but he pulled away from her. She tried not to let the fact that he was behaving like a child annoy her; she'd done this. She'd let things get too far that night and now he was paying the price.

She closed her eyes and pondered her father's words. Would it be so bad, to try to love Peter back? She wasn't stupid; she knew the way he looked at her wasn't the way a best friend was supposed to look at you, but…

They'd been best friends since they were children. She couldn't risk losing him. She needed him in her life and when it came to relationships, there was one guarantee; she would screw it up. He'd be hurt now, but he'd move on. If they dated and things ended badly…

She wasn't willing to risk that.

But…

Her dad was right. Peter wasn't like the other men she'd dated. He already loved her, he knew all of the ugly parts of her, and she could depend on him. What more could she really ask for?

And she had to admit, sleeping with him hadn't been bad, in fact, it'd been pretty amazing. She smirked at the memory and ran her fingers through a few wet blades of grass.

"Why are you smiling?" He was so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. Amelia jerked away in surprise. When had he moved?

"Um…nothing, I was just thinking about something my dad said."

He gave her a small smile, one that said he knew she was lying, and reached out to toy with her hair. She found herself leaning into his familiar touch. He licked his lips and she met his eyes to find a familiar look in them. It was the same look he'd had that night and, she realized, the same look he often had around the full moon. His primal side was taking over and before she could stop him his lips were on hers.

He crushed their bodies together and she kissed him back, but only for a moment.

"No, we can't," she whispered as she pulled away. He tried to kiss her again but she turned her head and his lips landed on her neck. Peter decided to go with it and trailed his hot mouth over her skin. She momentarily forgot why this was a bad idea and let out a small moan as heat pooled in her center.

"Peter…" she mumbled futilely. She wasn't going to stop him, just like she hadn't stopped him before. She knew it was wrong and he'd end up hurt but she still pulled him back up to her so she could press her mouth to his.

He slowly peeled off her layers of clothing and pressed her into the dirty forest floor, where he made love to her desperately and passionately. When they finished he pulled her back against his chest and she lay in his arms, chewing on her lower lip. She couldn't escape him this time, so she chose to avoid the subject by bringing up one that had been weighing on her mind as of late.

"Why…" she sighed. "How was your mom able to forgive your dad?" Amelia whispered. Peter, who had been drawing small squares on her side suddenly froze and gripped her waist painfully. She winced and he immediately let go.

"I'm sorry, I just…what do you mean?"

She swallowed as she tried to gather her words, not wanting to offend him. She knew what it was like, to have imperfect parents. Her dad had screwed up a lot but he'd also always tried to repair his mistakes and eventually he'd made up for them, but his dad? Well, Captain Hook and Pinocchio were two different people. One was a lost, misguided youth and the other…

A bona fide villain and bastard of the seven seas, as her godmother liked to call him.

"Come on, Peter, you know who your father is," she whispered. "He killed people, did horrible things. He shot your Aunt Belle, he took Aurora's heart, and hell, he even tried to kill my mom. He hurt all of the people closest to her and not just…in ways you can easily forgive.

I just…

My parents aren't perfect, but…

How did she do it?"

Amelia loved Ruby and she even liked Hook. Hell, her dad and Hook were best friends and Hook adored Amelia, so she understood that there was love there but she couldn't fathom how love could be enough to get you through any of that. Or how it would even be possible in that situation. She was surrounded by all of these epic love stories and she didn't understand how any of them managed it. Maybe if she could…

Well, she wasn't sure she'd be able to get the whole love thing right, but maybe she'd be less wary of it.

She glanced up to meet his gaze and the hardened look in his eyes softened when he saw her expression.

"You really just want to know?"

"Of course I do. I love your parents, I'm not judging your mom's choice in men; I just want to understand it. I mean, my grandparents are like…" she shook her head. "It's not even fair to try to understand or have that kind of love and my parents were always meant to be or something. It seems like everyone in this town has that whole fate and true love thing going for them and I just want to understand how the rest of us are supposed to manage it."

She looked away from him, embarrassed. He knew her insecurities better than anyone but even he didn't know how deep her cynicism about love ran.

Peter toyed with her hair and gave her a sad smile.

"What?"

"Nothing, you just astound me sometimes."

She gave him a questioning look but shook it off once he started speaking.

"Mom's never condoned the shitty things he's done, in fact, I'm pretty sure the only reason they hooked up was out of mutual loathing," he teased. She smiled, able to see that. "But I think she saw something in him that she recognized in herself. She killed her first love, so she knew that pain. Only, unlike dad, she didn't have a way to seek vengeance. She wasn't about to kill herself.

She didn't like it, but she understood dad's thirst for revenge. While she decided to control the wolf, he lost his control. He did all of those things out a need to avenge the person he loved and while she didn't agree with his methods, she learned to accept that was who he was.

And I'm sure me coming into the picture sort of just sealed the deal," he whispered with a small grin.

"So you're saying knocking your mom up was your dad's trick to conning her into being with him for real?" Amelia knew full well the Jones' had spent a lot of time having hate sex before Ruby'd wound up pregnant. Amused at the thought of taming the wolf queen and passing on his name to a son, Killian Jones had agreed to make an honest woman of Ruby, though Amelia suspected Granny's crossbow had played a big part in his decision.

But she also knew the good captain had been completely in love with Ruby, even if he wasn't the type to admit it. No, Ruby was the reluctant one. She'd loved him but she was also proud and unwilling to forgive him for his sins, until Peter came along.

"Yes."

Amelia smiled.

"I think maybe your mom subconsciously let herself get knocked up so she could stop feeling guilty for loving such a rat bastard," she teased, earning her a small laugh.

"Either way, I'm cupid, at least for everyone else."

And there it was. She wasn't ready for that talk, not yet, so she leaned in and kissed him, knowing it would probably complicate things. Hell, she knew it would. He returned the kiss and she straddled his hips, pushing him onto the ground. By the time she was done, all thoughts of relationships were gone from his mind and his body, aching from the transformation and exhausted from their activities, gave out and he fell asleep curled up next to her.

Amelia watched him for a long moment, more confused than ever, before pulling her knees up to her chest. Her feelings, as jumbled as they were, weren't the most important factor here. Her actions had consequences. Consequences they'd both been dealing with over the past few weeks and she couldn't keep avoiding the issue.

She loved Peter, more than she cared to admit, and she knew that he loved her. So she had a choice to make; take the risk of ruining what they already had or break his heart now in the hopes that they could keep what they already had. Either way, she'd be losing him.

Who says it won't work out? It did for your parents and his. You're just a fool, Amelia Booth.

Amelia mentally swatted away the voice that reminded her eerily of dearly-departed Granny. She did not need a sassy old broad as a conscious.

Before she could ponder the matter further two arms slid around her middle.

"You let me fall asleep?"

Peter laid his hand on her stomach and she flinched at the intimate contact. She immediately scolded herself and forced herself to lean into his embrace, to test out how it felt.

"We should go before someone comes looking for us," she whispered once she realized she could easily lay here with him all day. She knew was her heart wanted but her brain was determined to fuck everything for the both of them.


"How are you feeling? Better?"

Amelia shrugged and she took another spoonful from her pint of sorbet, which was thankfully settling her sour stomach. Emma looked up from where she was stirring a pot of soup August had started for dinner and watched her intently.

"I'm fine, mom, really, I think it was the lasagna at the diner."

"It's frozen, you know," her mother teased with a wink as she rested her elbows on the counter and reached out to steal a spoonful of the frozen treat. Amelia gave her a mom a 'look' but she only shrugged. "What, I had to make sure you weren't contagious first."

Amelia shook her head as her mother went back to chopping up herbs to throw into the pot. She loved her mother, truly, but she was a horrible cook. Sure, what Amelia was used to was nothing compared to the horror stories Henry had to share, but it was bad. Her mom left the cooking to her dad and stuck to contributing in ways that didn't end with the house burning down like throwing in spices or stirring things.

"So, what's wrong?"

Amelia glanced up with a frown.

"What?"

"Come on, I'm your mother, I know when something's on your mind, so what is it?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and sighed as she pushed away her pint and leaned on the kitchen counter.

"What changed for you? Dad always likes to make is sound like you two had some great, epic romance but you don't talk about it much. Dad was a huge fuckup and after Henry's dad…just, how were you able to move past all of that?"

Her mother gave her a quizzical look before exhaling and resting her hip against the counter before shrugging.

"Your dad is a romantic, so he enjoys telling stories. I let him because it makes him happy, he doesn't need my snarky input while he's doing it." She smiled and shook her head. "He's like an adorable puppy that you don't want to wound because he'll just beat himself up.

That's how it started. I knew how sorry he was. He wasn't just saying words to get me to forgive him; he meant it. And he worked hard to make things right. Your dad's a good man; he just made mistakes, like I did. We were both just…"

She shook her head and sighed.

"After Neal I didn't let myself love anyone until your dad. I didn't want to; he just got under my skin. He has a way of doing that to you. He sneaks up on you, grows on you, and then before you know it you're a goner. I fought it for a long time but it's hard to keep fighting something that feels right and he kept risking his damn life for me and your brother, the little shit."

Amelia glanced down with a smirk. That sounded like her dad all right.

"He really wanted a family and for a while we were fine with just us and Henry and Neal," Emma rolled her eyes. Amelia didn't blame her; her dad, Neal, and Hook were all pretty insufferable together. "And it worked. I gave Henry up because he deserved better and I had no idea how to be a mom or how to have a family and I finally had one. And then I got pregnant with you and I wasn't happy at first, I was terrified, but…

Eventually I realized that I was ready to do the whole mom and family thing for real and that I was good enough for Henry and if I was good enough for him I could be good enough for you."

Emma reached over and ruffled Amelia's hair.

"You're what changed me. If it hadn't been for you I would have eventually pushed your dad away because that's who I was. Even with your brother and finally having my parents back I was too emotionally shut off to think love was real and could work."

"So I forced you to grow up?" Amelia teased.

"Something like that; now are you going to eat that or can I steal it?"

Amelia chuckled and pushed her pint over. She watched her mom for a moment before leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"Thanks, mom."

"For what?"

"Being you."

If Emma Swan, a broken, damaged orphan who refused to fall in love could give it a shot and it worked out for her, then why couldn't it work for her daughter? It was time to take a page out of her mom's book and give Peter a real shot; before she changed her mind.


"Here, careful, it's hot," Amelia whispered as she handed Peter a steaming mug of hot chocolate. She gave him a small smile before joining him on the sofa. She ignored her own mug and instead fiddled with her hands in her lap. Peter watched her for a moment before setting his chocolate on a coaster and taking her hands.

"Look, I know what you're going to say and-"

"No you don-"

"Just don't."

"Peter!"

She had a whole thing worked out and he was ruining it.

"No! I know you and you're going to try to let me down gently and I'm not having it! I love you, Amelia, and I know you're scared but I think you-"

Amelia cut him off by pressing her lips to his, taking him by surprise. Once she was sure he wasn't sufficiently stunned and wouldn't interrupt her she broke away.

"Shut up, you stupid wolfboy, I'm not dumping you or whatever." She wasn't sure you could dump someone you weren't even dating.

"You're not?"

She shook her head and smiled.

"No, but I do want to apologize."

"You don't-"

"I said 'shut up'." She sent him a warning glare and he clamped his trap.

"I strung you along and I shouldn't have." He opened his mouth but a quick look from her had him closing it again. "I've been really confused and scared and I shouldn't have let things go as far as they have without understanding how I felt. It was really selfish and I'm sorry. You deserve better."

He gave her a questioning look and she sighed.

"You can talk now."

Peter gave her a long look with a small smile before leaning over to kiss her.

"I'm sorry too," he whispered as he pulled away.

"For?"

"Come on, Amelia, I know you. You're…you. I knew you weren't ready for anything serious and I still kept pushing you."

"Yeah, you are kind of a jackass that way," she teased with a smile.

He smiled and cupped her cheek.

"So…does this mean…"

"You get your way?" She asked, trying not to roll her eyes. He looked like a puppy happily sticking his head out the window, it was insufferable. He gave her a grin and shrugged and she laughed. "Maybe." Before he could protest she cut him off. "I just need to know something before I agree to put up with you, officially."

"Anything," he replied eagerly.

"I need to know that you're with, no matter what happens. You're my best friend and if I'm going to take this risk I need to know that you're here for me and that you're not going to cut out when things get bad. And they will get bad and I know you'll say you've always been there but this different, things are going to be different and I need to know that I can count on you."

Peter took her hands in his and kissed the backs of her fingers.

"I'd do anything for you, I promise you, I'm not going anywhere; I love you."

"Good," she whispered with a small smile. "Because you knocked you me up you asshole." She looked away from him quickly and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand before real tears came. Peter watched her dumbstruck for a moment before gaping at her like a fish.

"The first time?"

"Yeah."

"How long have you known?"

"Awhile."

"And you didn't tell me? Why did you put me through all of this-"

"Because I didn't want a baby to be the only reason I decided to be with you. I've always love you, Peter, but…I wasn't-hell, I'm still not ready for this but I'm going to try. I needed time to think about what I wanted and my mom made me realize I was being stubborn and scared and I just needed to give this a chance."

"So…you're not…I mean the baby isn't why-"

She shook her head and hid a smile.

"No, it just made me realize that I needed to grow up already."

Peter nodded and gripped her hand while he processed everything.

"A baby? We're really going to have a baby?"

"Yeah and I'm not happy about this, I'm way too young for this bullshi-"

Peter kissed her hard on the mouth, taking her by surprise. Amelia let him kiss her and pulled him against her; after all, it wasn't like he could get her pregnant twice. She could feel him smiling against her lips and she playfully smacked him on the chest.

"Try not to be so happy at my misery, stupid werewolf."

"Sorry, Princess, but you're stuck with me now."

"Don't be too sure," she warned as he went for her neck.

"Oh, look, they're making up…on my sofa…" Her mother glared in Peter's direction as her father followed. He gave them a shake of his head and sighed.

"Peter…nice to see you, on top of my daughter. For fuck's sake, this is not what I had in mind when I told her to-" Amelia didn't hear the rest of his mutterings as he left the room to calm down her mother. She smirked and glanced at Peter, knowing the perfect way to wipe that grin off of his face.

"Well, since my parents are already here, I guess it's time to tell them, eh? You take this one, honey, show me what a man you are," she commanded as she slapped him on the back and stood to follow her parents into the kitchen where she hoped they'd brought home snacks.

"But, I…um…" He stammered and she shook her head as she left him to it.

"You have five minutes to show me what a manly man you are or I'll burst into tears and make it all about me. I'm sure your mom will happily join in on the hunting you down portion of our program."

Peter's eyes went wide as he realized he'd have to tell him mom and he rushed after her.

"Okay, I'll tell them, but you have to make sure she doesn't kill me."

"My mom or yours?"

"Both."

Amelia smirked; the next few months were going to be very amusing.