Disclaimer: I do not own the anime Le Chevalier D'Eon or its characters. This is a modern times fic.

11. Nightmares

"What do you mean you are stranded in Spain?" D'Eon asked his sister. The twins had run into a disagreement over their story book and were having a little tug-o-war with it. Lia could hear their plaintive cries over the phone.

Lia rolled her eyes and glanced over to her husband in the police station. Maximilien had not expected that little rioting charge to stick after so many years. They had gone to the local authorities to arrange for Aunt Johanna's pets to be transported to France and apply for the necessary licenses for the animals. They did not expect Max to have that outstanding fine from his teenage days for participating in an animal rights protest. The idea of young Max streaking nude through a Spanish university fashion department to protest against their fur exhibition was too farfetched for words now.

"Well, we have some pet licenses and a fine to take care of. We should be delayed for a few more days… oh, could you get Durand on the phone? I need some help from him with the re-enactment shoot Vee-TV is doing for the documentary History of Ballooning." There was no need for D'Eon to know about his stepbrother's teenage hi-jinks. "We will try to get back as soon as possible."

Lia waited for Durand to come on. She peered down at the obedient Great Dane and Rottweiler at her feet. The three cats, a Maine coon, Turkish Angora and a nondescript ginger tom, lazed in their carrying-cases. Max was trying to talk his way out of a night in the local jail and apparently failing.

"Need some help?"

"Yes, you know Robert Wood the balloonist, right? And de Guercy…"

"Yes…" The English balloonist had helped with many of Vee-TV's programmes in between trying to break ballooning records.

"I need you to keep de Guercy sober enough for the shoot and from being killed by Wood." There was loads of bad blood between Wood and de Guercy ever since the latter destroyed one of Wood's balloons during a shoot during a drunken stupor at an event.

"Count on it…"

"Get D'Eon to take the children along. I did promise them a balloon ride with Wood…"

"…"

D'Eon peered into the refrigerator to gather ingredients for dinner. He was thankful Teillagory and Durand had remembered to load the groceries from the trunk of Teillagory's car in… The refrigerator reeked of urine. Something caught his eye in the crisper bin. Gingerly he fished it out. It was a soiled diaper. Another diaper had been crammed behind the mayonnaise and strawberry jam. He glared at the twins who were innocently smiling in his direction from the kitchen door.

"Seriously, has your mama ever spanked you?" he asked sarcastically. Two sets of shoulders shrugged in unison.

Now D'Eon would have to clean out the fridge and air it before dinner. Grumbling, he rolled up his sleeves and set to work. But first, he had to keep the twins out of mischief.

Taking them by the hand, he dressed them in new diapers and took them to the lounge. "Stay here and watch a nice cartoon, okay?" he sat them on the couch and selected a kiddy VCD from the selection. Lia and Max Sr. had assembled a large collection of Madeline, Barney and Disney shows to entertain their offspring.

When their uncle left, Max and Natalia slid off the couch and stared at the dancing purple dino. Boring… Natalia pressed the eject button on the VCD player while Max rummaged through their parents' CD selection for another movie.

How about this? Max waved a horror movie VCD aloft. Mama always cuddles up to Papa when they watch this kind of movies… dare to watch? Even Mama gets scared… Max sucked on his pacifier and looked at his sister with a challenging gleam in his eye.

I won't get scared, Max. Natalia nodded. They popped the new VCD in the player.

"Where're the twins?" Robin asked as he stepped into the hall from cleaning the yard. Lia would need a new flower box and plants for her upstairs back window. D'Eon was busy in the kitchen with the fridge and Teillagory was napping on the sofa. The redhead put away the broom and dustpan. Durand was sitting at the entranceway poring over a catalogue of electronic goodies that arrived in the mail.

"Seen the twins?" It was awfully quiet. Robin hoped they did not sneak out of the door.

"Should be in the lounge. No way can they get past me," Durand replied. His eyes remained glued on the much-coveted entertainment system advertised. Robin stepped into the lounger where the twins were holding each other tight on the couch.

Their little blue eyes were wide open and glued onto the wide-screen TV. They were watching The Exorcist. At a particularly scary scene, they covered each other's eyes. "You'll get nightmares…" Robin shook his head. Both looked as though they had peed in their diapers from fear. "Which imbecile put The Exorcist in for the twins to watch?" Robin called over his shoulder.

"The Exorcist? I put Barney in for them!" D'Eon poked his head out of the kitchen. He put down the frozen lamb's leg he was holding and hastened over. He picked up the CD case on the coffee table. On one side of the case was the title Barney and Friends. The video CD was still inside the case. That was odd. Then he noticed that the empty Exorcist Trilogy CD case was lying at the twins' feet. D'Eon had a sinking feeling he was going to pay for it that night.

The twins were tottering along a darkened tunnel. Mama? Papa? They searched the darkness around them fearfully. Uncle Dummy? Anna? The pair paused as the ground beneath their bare feet crumbled away into a gaping chasm. Then they were falling through the air as demonic laughter taunted them…

"WAHH! WAHHH!"

D'Eon groaned and flicked the light on. He had decided to spend the night in his old room, now turned into the twins' bedroom on a tatami sleeping mat Lia had stashed in the storeroom. His apartment was still without power and he could not take a hot shower there. It was the seventh time the twins woke him up. He stared at the Mickey Mouse clock on the wall. It was three a.m. The twins' screams quietened down as soon as the lights came on. Maybe he should leave them on. But with the lights on, the twins can't sleep and they will get fretful. He did not know what to do with them.

He staggered to his feet and over to the twin cot beds. Max Jr. and scrambled into his sister's bed and was huddled under the covers with Natalia. Warm milk did not work, pacifiers did not work… and when D'Eon tried to sing a lullaby, he was pelted with teddy bears and pillows.

"Mama… Papa…" the twins sobbed and rubbed their teary eyes.

"Sorry, mama and papa are away…" D'Eon hugged both tots. Maybe they would be more comfortable in their parents' bed.

Taking them by their hands, D'Eon padded across the hall to Lia and Max's bedroom. The tots eagerly clambered into the large double bed and snuggled up against the pillows. D'Eon stared at the wedding portrait of Lia and Maximilien Robespierre. The couple had chosen a very flattering Baroque-style painting depicting the seduction of the Spring Goddess by the West Wind. Maximilien, impossibly buff and with a mischievous smile on his face, embraced a gauze-swathed Lia. Lia's face was turned towards her would-be seducer, lips pursed for a kiss. D'Eon shook his head. It was not the type of painting he would like to have hanging on his bedroom wall. Why can't they have a typical suit and gown wedding photo?

"Good night," D'Eon turned to go but the children reached out to grab his sleeve. "You want me to stay?" he asked.

Two golden-haired heads nodded in unison.

"Very well then…" D'Eon switched off the lights and crawled in under the covers. The bed was scented with sandalwood and lavender. Max Jr. snuggled his little head against the crook of his neck while Natalia snuggled up against his back like a pair of kittens. The steady beat of his heart slowly lulled the children to sleep.

Author's Notes:

The parents are delayed in Spain.

A little fluffy moment for the twins and D'Eon.

The Exorcist is scary. The movie that really freaked me out as a kid was Jaws. I dare not even use the toilet alone after that one.

I believe it is in character for Lia and Max to do something different for their wedding pics.

Away in a balloon next?