-1Chapter 13- new family
"Hey Dominic, do you know where Anemone's at?" asked Hilda.
"I'm not sure at the moment. Last I knew was that she was somewhere on the ship with the kids."
Hilda let out a heavy sigh and said "Alright, but if you see her, let her know that Axel has been looking for her."
"What does he need her for?" asked Dominic.
"I'm not too sure at the moment, but I think it's something about the Venturion." Hilda replied.
"Oh in that case I'll check on it myself. If Axel still needs her though I'll go find her myself."
"Works for me." said Hilda. "I'm on my way to the hangar myself anyways. I have to go through all the maintenance checks on LFO's anyways.
"I'll just go with you then. It'll give me something to do anyways."
"Why are you that bored?" asked Hilda.
"No not really. All that army paperwork is starting to drive my eyes buggy."
"I hear you there." said Hilda with a laugh. "I'm in charge of all the paperwork here on the ship."
"You are?" asked Dominic as they walked towards the hangar.
"Yep. If it wasn't for me we wouldn't know what we needed around here."
"Now I know why we're fed so well around here." Dominic said with a hearty laugh.
"Yeah I guess you could say that." Hilda replied as they reached the hangar. "Hey Axel I couldn't find Anemone, but I was able to find the next best thing for you." she said laughing.
"Ha ha very funny." Dominic replied. "Anyways Axel, is there something I can help with you with?"
"Maybe since you help pilot this thing." Axle replied. "Anemone told me that there's been a problem with the weapons systems on it."
"Yeah there actually has been." said Dominic. "They haven't been reacting like they should be."
"Like how?"
"They've been reacting a lot slower that usual. The biggest delay went up to about four to five seconds at one point."
"Hmmm, not good. Sounds like there's a glitch in the weapons trigger system. I'll check it out. Thanks."
"No problem Mr.Thurston. Is there anything else you need help with?"
"No that's it for now. I'll let you know when I get if fixed. By the way, where's that wife of yours anyways?"
"I'm not sure. Like I told Hilda, she's probably with the kids somewhere."
"Why? Were you put in charge of them while Renton and Eureka were gone?" asked Axel.
"No, but I think Anemone volunteered us for the job."
"I see." Axel replied. "You had better take good care of them while they're gone then."
"We will don't worry sir. There's no way we'll let them down. They've done enough for us so it's the least we can do for them."
"That's good to hear Dominic. You had better go find your wife then to make sure she doesn't need anything or any help from you at all."
"Yes sir!" Dominic replied and he then ran out of the hangar.
"That's a good man she's got there." Axel said to himself. "He'll make a good father someday." He then got to work fixing the weapons system on the Venturion.
"Hey Anemone, why did you marry Dominic?" asked Maeter in a curious tone.
"Well, I'd have to say it was for the same reason that your mom married Renton." Anemone replied.
"And what reason is that? You two seem so different compared to mama and papa."
"We may be, but it's because of who we are that we love each other." said Anemone.
"Really?" Maeter replied. Anemone laughed gently and said "Yeah really. You'll figure it out when you're older."
"Oh, ok." Maeter said happily and she went back to her study guides. Anemone had decided herself to take care of the kids while Eureka and Renton were gone on their honeymoon. She wanted to know what it was like to be a mother, so she thought it would be a great experience for her to try it out. It turned out to be tougher than she thought. Trying to keep up with routines, schedules, meals, discipline, their studies, chores, and anything else they needed was tiring and hard to get used to. But she loved every minute of it and wouldn't have traded it for the world.
"Hey Anemone. How are things going so far?" asked Dominic. He had been wandering around the ship when he finally found them in the lounge.
"It's going great." Anemone replied. "But boy is it tiring. How do Renton and Eureka do it?"
"Well, they're used to it compared to your three days worth of work." Dominic replied.
"Yeah true. But I am loving the experience so far. Too bad you're too busy to help."
"Hey, all you have to do is ask dear. You know that I would help at any time."
"Good. You can start now. Stay here with the kids and help them with their studies while I go make lunch for them."
"Oh, ok. I guess I can do that." Dominic replied. Anemone then left the lounge to go prepare their lunches. "I just hope I can handle it." said Dominic to himself after she left.
Twenty minutes later, Anemone returned to the sounds of laughing and talking as she rolled in a cart carrying their lunches. "What's going on here?" asked Anemone as she walked in.
"Nothing other than them working on their studies while we talk and joke around." Dominic replied.
"Ok if you say so." said Anemone with a slight giggle. "Anyways, here's your lunches everyone."
"Yay!!" cheered the kids as they dug in.
"Thanks dear." said Dominic as they ate. "And since you made lunch and have been working so hard with them, I'll make supper for all of you tonight."
"Sounds like a plan." Anemone replied. "and after lunch kids you have some free time. Afterwards it's supper, chores, and bedtime ok?"
"Ok." they replied cheerfully. Fifteen minutes later the kids finished their lunches and ran off to play. As Dominic and Anemone cleaned up afterwards, Dominic said "You're doing great with them Anemone. It's almost like you're a natural with kids."
"You think so? I wasn't so sure about that when I started."
"Yeah I do. You're practically an aunt to them."
"But that would make me Eureka's sister, and we both know that ain't true."
"I know, but that's just the way you act around them."
"True. I do love being around them. I just hope they feel the same way."
"I'm sure they do. Just call it a hunch." Dominic replied.
"A hunch that's probably correct." said Talho as she was walking by. "I've been watching you Anemone and I would have to say that I'm impressed with what I've seen out of you so far. You've really done well."
"Thanks Talho. I'm glad you said that. I guess I could be a good mother after all." Anemone replied.
"Yes you could. Have you and Dominic ever talked about having kids of your own someday?"
"Actually yes we have. We're just not sure if we're ready yet."
"Well, when you are, it'll be a wonderful feeling, trust me. I knew it when me and Holland first got pregnant."
"Ok, I'll take your word for it." Anemone replied.
"You should." said Talho. "Anyways I have to go take care of some paperwork so I'll see you two later."
"Alright Talho. Thanks again." said Dominic.
"No problem." Talho replied and she left the room.
"Hey Anemone, where did the kids go anyways?" asked Dominic.
"Not sure. I guess part of the job is to also keep track of them and keep them out of trouble." Anemone replied.
"I would think so. Renton and Eureka would be mad at us if we didn't."
"Well hopefully they can't do too much damage to the ship."
"Hopefully not, but they can still cause plenty of chaos around here."
"True. I guess we had better go find them then."
"Yeah we better." Dominic replied.
"Ok you guys these are the only pranks we're doing to them." said Maurice. "This only so we can finally break them in. We've gotten everyone else so now it's their turn."
"Right!" said Maeter and Linck cheerfully. They then set all their plans into motion. Maurice took care of the water buckets over the door so that they both got drenched when they walked in. Linck put two whoopee cushions into their bed while Maeter stuffed some flour into Anemones hair dryer. For the final trick, the moved the pull strings from the lights on their headboard and attached them to two pies sitting on top of it. By the end of the evening, Dominic and Anemone's room would be a complete war zone.
"Ok you guys it's all set! Let's go!" said Maeter. "This will be fun when they walk in."
"Right!" replied Linck and Maurice. They then carefully left the room as not to be seen.
"Hey guys! Where have you been all afternoon?" asked Anemone. "We've been looking all over for you."
"We've been around." said Maurice. "We just came into the dining hall for a snack."
"That's fine. Dominic will be making supper soon. After that it's chores and bedtime ok?"
"Ok." they all replied. They then left the room laughing and giggling.
"Seems like you're doing well with them." said Hilda as they ran past her.
"Yeah I think so too." Anemone replied. "One thing worries me though."
"And what's that?" Hilda asked.
"Well, they seem to be behaving too well. I'm new at this kind of thing and I think they're making it too easy for me."
"They have grown up a lot in the last two years or so. Their manners have gotten a lot better in that time. But it could be one other thing also."
"What other thing?" asked Anemone.
"Well, they were well known for pulling pranks at one point in time, even though they quit doing that a long time ago."
"I sure hope so." Anemone replied. "I've never had a prank done to me before and I don't know how I would handle it."
"Well, I suggest you watch yourselves then. If you usually make it to bed time safely, then you're ok for another day."
"Ok, thanks for the warning Hilda. I'll make sure to tell Dominic when I see him."
"No problem. See you later!" said Hilda and she left the room. As Anemone sat there in the dining hall thinking about how to avoid any pranks that the kids had, Dominic walked into the kitchen to make their dinner.
"What's wrong Anemone?" asked Dominic as he started pulling out pots and pans.
"Oh just thinking." Anemone replied.
"About what?"
"Well, Hilda just told me that the kids used to pull a lot of pranks when they were younger, and she warned me that they might try to pull some on us." Anemone replied. "And if they try to, I want to somehow avoid them."
"I doubt they'll pull anything Anemone. They have grown up you know. So I think they've learned not to pull any anymore." said Dominic.
"I sure hope so. Anyways what's for dinner?"
"I've got steaks, potatoes, veggies, stuffing, and then a chocolate cake for dessert."
"Sounds great. When will it be done?"
"Give me a half hour to forty five minutes." Dominic replied. "It should be ready then."
"Ok we'll be waiting." said Anemone. She then left the dining room to go find the kids.
"So how was dinner guys?" asked Dominic as they finished eating.
"It was great!" said Maeter. "It was really yummy!!"
"Yeah good job dear!" said Anemone as she kissed her husband. "I couldn't have done any better if I tried."
"Well thank you." said Dominic. "What did you two think?" he asked while looking at Maurice and Linck.
"It was good!" said Maurice. "The dessert was awesome."
"Yeah it was!" yelled Linck.
"That's good to hear." Dominic replied. "Why don't you kids go take care of your chores while me and Anemone clean up here."
"Ok." the kids replied and they ran out of the room.
"I think we're fine Anemone. I don't think they'll pull anything on us." said Dominic as they cleaned up from supper.
"Yeah I guess you're right." Anemone replied. "I probably just got worked up over it that's all."
"Yeah I guess you did." said Dominic as they finished cleaning up. "Now let's go to our room and get some of our own work done."
"Yeah I suppose we had better. We have gotten a little behind in our military work."
"Yes we have." Dominic replied as they got to their bedroom door. "Ladies first." he said as he opened it.
"Thank you." said Anemone playfully. As soon as she walked in, the first bucket of water spilled onto her head. "Ahhhhh that's cold!!!!" she yelled.
"Anemone are you….." said Dominic. The second bucket of water had spilled onto his head before he could even finish what he was saying. "Those brats!! I'm going to get'em!!" he yelled.
"Dominic I thought you said we would be safe from them!" said Anemone as she stood there dripping wet.
"Well I thought we would be!" Dominic replied.
"Well you were wrong! Here are some towels. Use one for yourself and the others to dry the floor. I'm going to go use my hairdryer.
"Thanks." Dominic replied. As he started to dry himself off and clean up the floor, he heard a blood curdling scream come out of the bathroom.
"Anemone what's wrong?!" he yelled as he ran towards the bathroom.
"They did it again!" she said as she walked out of the bathroom white as a ghost. "Those darn kids put flour in my hairdryer!!"
"No way!" said Dominic.
"Yes way!" Anemone yelled. "I am getting into the shower, putting on my pajamas, and going to bed!" she then grabbed her nightclothes, walked back into the bathroom, and slammed the door.
"Man those kids are causing us nothing but trouble tonight." said Dominic as he got changed out of his wet clothes, dried off, and put on his night loungers. Ten minutes later Anemone came out of the bathroom fully cleaned up and dried off.
"I hope that was the end of the pranks." said Anemone as they started to crawl into bed.
"Yeah no kidding." Dominic replied as he crawled in next to her.
"PVVVVVTTTTTTTT!!!"
"Now what?!" yelled Anemone.
"Whoopee cushions? Oh well, it's better than flour or having ice water dumped on you." said Dominic.
"Yeah I guess I can handle those." said Anemone with a laugh.
"No doubt about that." Dominic replied. "Well, good night dear."
"Good night." she replied. After they gave each other a small kiss, that's when the final prank was pulled. As the two went to pull the strings that turned off their lights, two large cherry pies came down instead and landed square on top of their heads. Anemone then let out yet another blood curdling scream.
"What's going on in here!?" asked Hilda as she and Talho came running into the room.
"Ask those darn kids we're watching!!" yelled Dominic. All Talho and Hilda could do was stand there and laugh at the situation in front of them.
"What's so funny?" asked Anemone as she got up with pie still dripping from her head.
"The whole thing." Hilda replied. "We've been waiting for them to finally get you two. It was only a matter of time before they did."
"Don't worry. We'll help you clean up around here if you want to go get cleaned up."
"Good because I'm a mess- AGAIN!!" Anemone replied. "We'll go hit the showers. Be right back in a little bit."
"Alrighty." Hilda replied as her and Talho started cleaning up the mess.
Thirty minutes later, Dominic and Anemone returned to see their room fully cleaned up and ready to go.
"Here you guys." said Talho. "We went through the room and didn't find anything else, so you're trap free."
"Thanks you two for everything. Goodnight." said Anemone.
"Goodnight." Hilda replied and they left the room.
"Well, do you still want to have kids now?" asked Dominic as they crawled back into bed.
"Yeah I do." Anemone replied. "I ain't letting Renton and Eureka's kids scare me off that easily."
"That's good." said Dominic. "I thought they had after all of that."
"Nope. It'll take more than that to stop me."
"I see." said Dominic with a laugh. "Should we maybe finally decide when we should try to start a family?"
"Well, I know it sounds sudden, but how about we try now? We've been married long enough and I think I'm ready to have our own little miracles now."
"Are you sure Anemone? It's a big decision."
"Yeah I'm sure Dominic. I think it's time for us to have our own family."
"Ok if you say so dear. You realize that if and when we do become pregnant, there's no turning back." Dominic replied.
"Yes I know." said Anemone with caring eyes while she looked at Dominic. "It would be our child Dominic. And like Eureka, I would never give up on it."
"Yeah I guess we are ready then. We already have what I believe are two good homes. One is here on the GekkoState and then our other home in Bellforest. I also know it'll have two loving parents by it's side at all times who would give it more love than they could ever handle."
"Yes it will." Anemone replied. "Thank you Dominic for being a wonderful husband."
"Anytime dear. Now lets get some rest. It's been a long busy night and we have four more days to go before Renton and Eureka come home."
"Ok. Goodnight Dominic."
"Goodnight my sweet Anemone." They then gave each other one more goodnight kiss, got under their covers, and fell asleep in each others arms.