Princess Bubblegum hadn't seen much of Finn the last few months. As Simone got closer and closer to giving birth, Finn had more or less confined himself to the hotel room where they'd been staying. She'd given up on her quest to get him to move into the palace and instead just left it up to her surveillance measures to keep track of what was going on. She was aware of Simone giving birth. She even knew all the details about Finn's son–name, size, and weight–everything right down to his eye-color (a brilliant ice-blue).
As soon as Simone had given birth, the two lovebirds moved back out to the treehouse to take up housekeeping again. Bonnie had resigned herself really to not seeing much of Finn anymore. He was a dad–as important a duty as taking care of the Candy Kingdom. Thus she was a little surprised to be receiving a request to meet with him. In spite of her jealousy, Bonnie had made peace with the current state of affairs, and she'd even reduced some of the surveillance on him, letting him have his privacy. So why's he here, she thought.
Finn was pacing when she came into the throne room, which was completely unlike the happy-go-lucky sot she knew. Pacing implied nervousness or fear, and, as far as she knew, Finn wasn't really afraid of anything. As she approached, she tried to take his measure. He looked like he hadn't slept. That was the first thing she noticed. That thought came back. He was afraid of something. And if Finn was afraid, Bonnie thought she should be terrified.
"Come sit, Finn," said Bonnibel Bubblegum. Finn came across the room and joined her at the table in the corner. Peppermint Butler brought tea, and the two sat down and sipped, while Finn tried to figure out how to open the conversation. Finally, he decided to go all-in. Putting the cup down, Finn told her, "I'd intended to come back and get back to work..." Princess Bubblegum frowned at him. Part of her would have been happy to hear that. It would have suggested that maybe they were getting back to some semblance of the way things were–that she would still have Finn as a friend and maybe a partner in keeping order on Ooo. But there's another shoe to drop, thought Bonnie.
Finn didn't disappoint her, announcing, "I have to go on a quest... for Simone..." At Bonnie's frown, Finn said, "look, I thought we had it under control. Simone's been really good. I had her going to the Ice-Kingdom as a kind of therapy... She was normal. Well... mostly..." Nodding, Bonnie asked, "what changed?" With a sigh, Finn replied, "yesterday... Yesterday, I found Simone rocking Billy... only she was calling him Gunther..." Bonnie gasped. Nodding–staring down at her feet–Finn explained, "the house was ice-cold. She... she hadn't put any wood on the fire, and it was freezing in there. And..." "And what, Finn, demanded the Princess? This was already bad enough. "She was wearing the gown," sighed Finn.
Bonnie frowned. She'd seen the new Simone going in and out of town, buying sundries at the Candy-Kingdom's grocery stores and behaving like a perfectly normal person. She was a snappy dresser, ranging between Marceline's casual informality to the sharply put-together look that Bonnie maintained. One thing she never wore was that ugly gown that Ice-King imagined her in. If she had been wearing the gown, it meant the Crown had begun to exert control over her. That was almost worse than the other things.
Motioning for Finn to sit, Princess Bubblegum said, "you have a problem, Finn..." "Don't I know it," sighed Finn. Bonnie looked him in the eye and said, "I did warn you..." Finn cut her off, saying, "I'm not here for that, Bonnie..." "Then what do you want," snapped the princess?! "And if you call me Bonnie like that one more time..." "You'll what," growled Finn? "Sic the Banana Guards on me?" They had a staring contest for a moment, Finn staring her straight in the eyes in a way that he'd never done before. Not shy little boy, not even indifferent hero. He was angry at her. He thought she was kicking him while he was down. Bonnibel knew she had a problem with that.
Bonnie sighed heavily, "look, Finn..." Staring into those intense, angry eyes, she shut up. What was she going to say? Finn said, "I need to find Betty. I need to get busy finding a cure... I need you to look after Billy in case something happens to me." Bonnibel stared at him. Smiling for the first time since he'd come here, Finn said, "you're the only person I can trust to take care of Billy... I can't trust Jake. I can't trust Marceline. You're a pain in the ass, but you're my go to for things that are important."
Bonnibel sighed and said, "ok, Finn." Laughing, she said, "that means a lot to me." Things had been strained between them for years. She was happy he would trust her with his family. "How is she now," asked the Princess? "She came out of it," sighed Finn. "She was... embarrassed." And scared. She'd been terrified, and she would hardly touch Billy the rest of the day. It was only when he was hungry that she dared to touch him again. She'd wanted to burn that old dress.
"You didn't let her," demanded Bonnie?! "No," sighed Finn. "I... I thought it might make things worse, Peebles." He'd feared it would aggravate the Crown. "You're learning, Finn," said Bonnibel. She gave him a smile and added, "you're not as dumb as you pretend to be, hero." Finn blushed. Leaning towards him, the princess said, "I have a theory, Finn, if you're willing to listen..." "I'm listening," said Finn. "When Simon put the crown on, it changed him slowly," said Bonnibel. "It took a year for it to take control of him. He was perfectly normal at the start..." Which Finn already knew from watching Simon's videos and talking to Marceline.
Smiling, Bonnie asked, "how old is Simone, Finn?" Finn frowned. "She's...," he stammered. He wasn't sure he knew how to answer that question. "She has a thousand years of memories...," said the Princess. "...but she's only ten months old," rumbled Finn. "You still have time, hero," said Bonnibel, "but I'd move now. Consider me to be looking after Simone and Billy. I'll send Peppermint Butler up to the treehouse to collect them." "Thanks," murmured Finn, as he stood up. The princess got up and hugged him, admonishing him to get moving. There were two lives counting on him now.
When Finn had gone, Princess Bubblegum summoned her butler. When the diminutive candy-person arrived, he found the Princess at the window, staring in the direction of the treehouse. "You rang, Princess," murmured the butler. "Yeah, Peps," said she. "Got something important for ya to do." "Alright, Princess," agreed the butler. "Need ya to go out to the treefort and bring back Finn's wife and child," said Bonnie. Peppermint Butler gave her a suspicious look. "It's not like that," growled Bonnibel. With a sigh, the Princess said, "Simone's... The Crown's started to take over her mind, Peps. It's erasing her memories. Finn's on his way to try and find a cure, but that leaves Simone and Billy alone... And she's just not capable of taking care of a kid right now."
"What do I tell her," asked the little butler? Bonnie sighed as she thought that through. She hadn't been very nice to Simone, and she knew if she invited Simone here it would arouse suspicion and maybe give the Crown an anchor to strengthen its hold on its victim. But there was at least one person in Finn's circle of friends who Simone trusted.
It was one of the great ironies of Finn's life that his old girlfriend was good friends with his new one. The weather was a little chilly when the fire elemental walked up to the tree-house in her asbestos coat and gloves, leaving a trail of melted snow in her wake. She ordinarily had little to do with Bonnibel Bubblegum. In spite of their common friendship with Finn, Phoebe really didn't trust Bonnie. But Finn does need me, thought Phoebe. Someone has to look after Simone, and I don't trust her.
Knocking on the door, Phoebe stood in the cold, waiting. Moments later Simone came down, dressed in skirt and blouse. "Phoebe," cried the Ice-Queen! "What has you out in this?" "Emergency," replied Phoebe. "Can I come in?" Simone stood aside. "Where's Cinnamon Bun," asked Simone as she shut the door? "Running an errand," Phoebe answered. The fire-elemental followed her friend upstairs, whistling at the changes. Finn had sure been busy.
Simone proudly showed off the work Finn and his brother (though mostly Finn) had done. It made Phoebe a little jealous. This was the life she wanted. She would never have it, though. Shaking off the melancholy, she took a good look at her friend. She was the same Simone Phoebe had come to know. At the same time, she'd seen a couple of Simone's episodes. She knew Bonnie wasn't lieing about that. "So what's the emergency," asked Simone, as she diapered little Billy? "I came to tell you that something's come up," said Phoebe. "Finn's got a mission, and he won't get home for a while. He asked me to take you into the Candy Kingdom so you and Billy would be safe."
"But we just got home," protested Simone! Nodding, Phoebe said, "I know, but Finn would feel much better if you were close to Dr. Princess while he's gone..." "Well Gunther does have the sniffles," sighed Simone. A chill went down Phoebe's spine. It was just like Bonnie had said! Smiling outwardly, even as she found herself both hating the deception and understanding why it was needed, Phoebe said, "let's pack some stuff for Billy..." "Where'll we stay," asked Simone? They didn't have piles of money anymore. Smiling, Phoebe replied, "CB's still got his house. You'll stay there..."
It took continual effort to keep Simone focused and moving. One minute she'd be packing diapers or fishing out clothes for Billy. The next she'd be staring into space or making ice-cream of all things. It took more than an hour to get her out the door, and, in the end, Phoebe decided to just buy her new stuff in town rather than fight it any longer. She had to dress Billy for the cold herself, using a fire-shield spell to protect him from her burning touch.
When they arrived, Cinnamon Bun was waiting with a contingent from the Fire-Kingdom to escort them to his old house. The whole way Simone chattered away about snow-golems and penguins. The difference was frightening. Phoebe's friend was almost gone! Just as directed, Cinnamon Bun had a nurse-maid there waiting to take care of little Billy. Discrete as anything, she whisked the tyke away without Simone even noticing it.
Phoebe had her friend set up on the couch, sipping an herbal tea meant to calm her when Bonnie Bubblebutt showed up. At CB's signal, Phoebe excused herself and went out to the entry. The pink terror was there with a handful of her insipid guards looking irritated.
"You were supposed to bring her to the palace," groused Princess Bubblegum. "I wasn't going to lie to her, Bonnie," retorted Phoebe. "That's what you do." Before the two could get to bickering as they had on so many other occasions, Cinnamon Bun pushed his way between them, announcing, "comin' through..." He had a pile of bedding for Simone, and he immediately went up the stairs to the room where she was staying, but Phoebe knew he'd interrupted the argument on purpose. He was like Finn in a lot of ways.
"I promised Finn I'd look after her," hissed Bonnie. "And we will," retorted Phoebe. Coolly, she told her nemesis, "I wanted her to be in comfortable surroundings..." "Ok," agreed Princess Bubblegum. "Is she calm?" Phoebe gave her a suspicious frown. "For the record, I called you so she wouldn't be frightened," said Bonnie. "I didn't want her to be shocked into giving the Crown control. I just wanted to be able to protect Billy..."
Blushing, Phoebe realized she might have misjudged Bonnie. She knew that Bonnie had a strange sort of love/hate relationship with Finn. They were more than friends, but sometimes they weren't even that. At the end of the day, though, there always seemed to be enough genuine affection there that Finn would do anything Bonnie needed. Now it seemed the reverse was true. Finn needed her, and Bonnie seemed to even be willing to set aside her own interest to meet that need. The candy princess was already moving on, though. "I can work with this," said Bonnie. "Will you stay with her?" "I will," said Phoebe. "Be careful, Phoebe," Bonnibel admonished her. "Simone's very unstable right now..." Without another word, the bubblegum monarch headed out. Phoebe turned to go back in to where her friend was talking about making ice-sculptures.
