I walked back through the mud, until I was finally home. My heart was pounding, and I wasn't sure if I should knock on the door. Finally, I decided it would be better to go inside and be warm, even if it meant my parents hating me. I knocked on the door, and waited.

Finally, the door opened, and my mother peeked out at me.

"Leona!" she cried, hugging me. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Mom," I said right away. "We need to talk about something. It's really important that I tell you now."

"Oh, honey," she cooed. "You're all wet! Come inside before you catch a cold."

Mom's behavior worried me even more. I was twenty, and my parents still treated me like a baby.

"So," Mom said. "Why are you back so soon, and why didn't you let us know you were coming? We could have planned something nice for you. Our little actress…"

"I quit," I said promptly, sitting down on the couch.

Mom's jaw dropped.

"But…why?" she asked. "That was your dream! You've always wanted to be an actress."

"I had to quit," I replied, taking off my cloak again. "The production is in…five months." I put a hand over my stomach, and looked over at Mom. She looked incredulous, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, Leona," she said, hugging me. I started to cry as well.

"I…just told Leif," I said. "He was in shock, but I…I can tell he won't be of any help."

"Leif is the father?" she asked. I nodded, and she hugged me tighter.

"It was before he went away," I whimpered. "Before he brought back that…that woman he met. He told me it was because I'm so…selfish and possessive, and he needed a break from me!"

Neither of us said anything for a few minutes, and I cried into Mom's shoulder.

"We're going to need to let your father know about this," she finally said.

"Good," I replied. "I can't wait for him to teach that jerk a lesson." Mom paused briefly, as though unsure of what to say next.

"You should go to sleep," she said. "You're going to need it. You can tell your father in the morning."

"I really am tired," I admitted. Then, I frowned. "I don't have any dry clothes. I sold just about everything so I could pay for the trip here." I sighed. "It really doesn't matter, though…nothing would fit me now."

"You have a few nightgowns in your room," Mom said. "And those will definitely fit you. Now, go right upstairs. You need to develop better habits if you want that baby to be born healthy."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," I replied crankily. Either way, I went upstairs.

It felt like a long time since I had been home, let alone in my own room. I quickly lit the lamp by the door, and for a moment, I just looked at it. Finally, I walked over to my closet, grabbed the biggest nightgown I could find, and changed into it. I felt like crying again when I realized how tight the fabric of the nightgown was around my growing stomach. I decided instead to go to sleep.

It didn't seem like I had been asleep for long when I woke up to the sound of voices right outside my door. I sat up quickly in my bed.

"Mom and Dad," I whispered.

I jumped out of bed, scared to leave my room, so I stood at the door, listening.

"Mist," Dad was saying. "I can understand nostalgia, but this is a little ridiculous."

"Well," Mom said. "You wouldn't understand, Raguna. You are a man, after all."

"What do you mean by that?" Dad asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Mom said. I heard Dad sigh.

"Please," he said. "Put the maternity clothes back in the attic."

Damn it! I thought. I wasn't one to swear, not even in my head, but Mom had really messed up my chances to explain everything myself. I was only a little sick to my stomach when I woke up, but as I became more and more terrified, I could practically see the color draining from my face.

Suddenly, my stomach heaved, and I knew I didn't have any time. I opened the door, and ran for the bathroom across the hall. I threw up for quite some time, and I was exhausted once I had finished. I sat down on the cold floor, trying to calm myself down. Unfortunately, Dad walked into the bathroom, and I felt sick all over again.

"Are you all right, Leona?" he asked. I was a little surprised at first, because I didn't know that he knew I had come home.

"Yeah," I replied, sighing heavily. I stood up, but I realized what a stupid decision that was once I heard Dad gasp.

"Leona," he said quietly. "What…is that?" He pointed to my stomach.

"Your grandkid," I replied boldly. I usually wouldn't have said something like that so easily, but I was annoyed from morning sickness, and angry that he wasn't more sensitive about the whole thing.

Dad didn't say anything. I watched in horror as his face turned red and his knuckles turned white from him clenching his fists too tightly. He turned, and started to run away. I heard him go down the stairs, and finally, out the front door.

"What's he doing?" I asked Mom, walking back out into the hallway.

"I…don't quite know," Mom replied. "But whatever he's doing, I'm sure it's nothing good."

I suddenly caught sight of some large boxes on the floor, which I assumed contained Mom's old maternity clothes.

"Ah, yes," Mom said. "We need to get you properly dressed. A mommy-to-be shouldn't be showing her cleavage quite so much." She went over to one of the boxes, and started looking through the clothing.

"Mom!" I cried, quickly crossing my arms over my chest.

"Here's something to change into for now," Mom said, pulling out a blouse and a pair of pants. "Wow, fashion has changed so much over the years…" She handed me the clothing.

"Thanks," I said, taking it from her.

I quickly went back to my room, and started to change. I felt immediately relieved of some of my tension, since Mom's old clothing was not only more comfortable, but it also didn't squeeze me to death.

"Much better," Mom said as I went back out into the hallway. "You'll fit in perfectly with your friends."
"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," Mom said. "Kevin and Doriane's baby is close to a year old now, as is Rex and Luna's little girl. Luna's also expecting again, and according to Doriane, it's a little boy. He'll only be a little bit older than yours."

"Wow," I said quietly.

Suddenly, I heard the front door open, and it slammed against the wall.

"Ah!" Leif's voice cried. "Let go of me, Raguna! Are you out of your freaking mind?"

"Shut up!" Dad shouted. Mom gasped and I smiled, as we both realized what was going on. We both ran down the stairs to confirm what was happening, and all the way down, I laughed at how pathetic Leif was.

Finally, the moment I had been waiting for had come.

Cliffhanger!

The next chapter is where the actual plot will be revealed. You may also have to look back at VLA to get a refresher on the Trampoli second gen characters. For now, at least.

And...I think something in Raguna's brain exploded. XD