EDIT: No guys, I didn't post Chapter 22 yet. I'm so sorry, I really screwed up. Please don't be mad, I didn't mean to. Ugh. I'm so sorry.

Hey all! Thank you for the wonderful support, Makes me feel a bit better, and things are starting to look up I think. And I found a few hobbies to keep me occupied, some of which I'm excited about. And expect something next week when I hopefully update. But let me thank you all for your reviews! As for the anonymous ones:

Crystal: Dear, let me tell you how much those reviews of your meant to me. Seriously, it's enough that you care, and that you read, but you still went beyond that. So thank you. I'm glad that I was able to help at all, if only a little, and you were so understanding. Thank you. *hugs* And thank you fro the kind words about this story. It means a lot to me, and, well, just thank you. It means a lot.

Anonymous: Don't feel bad at all! It's not as if you would know, but thank you for being understanding. Thank you for the offer as well, I'll see how it goes. And thank you for the compliment of the story. It means a lot. Thank you.

On a side note, with my SAT test date drawing near, as well as some other deadlines, updates may stay difficult. We'll see. Again though, thank you for your infinite patience.

One last side note, but it is shameless advertising, so feel free to disregard. However, I did release the prologue to a new story. It is...well, AU, HopexSerah, and will eventually lead to pirates. I've been wanting an excuse to write about pirates for a while now, so yeah. Anyway, I'm calling it Skimming Skies so um... well... shameless advertising over. *blush*

Snow watched as Hope disappeared behind the door, leaving Snow and his wife stunned in the wake of his tale. Snow's hand still hung in the air, having ruffled Hope's hair only seconds ago in an attempt to comfort him. But it had been mechanical, just as Serah's hug had been. They were still taking it in. The pills, the fire, and the obvious abuse. Snow had no idea that Hope would actually tell them anything about what happened to him, but now that he had heard some of it…

He wanted to rip Saorise limb from twitching limb.

Snow clenched his hands until they turned white and glared down at his knees, seething from what he had heard. It sounded like torture, like she had done everything in her power to make Hope miserable, and that was when he was being vague With all the details sketchy so no one could see him break down. So no one would s how…horrible it had been for him. Or maybe it was to keep Snow and Lightning from hunting her down with fangs bared and killing intent rolling off them in waves.

Will I be able to keep it together if he ever tells us the whole thing? Snow shook his head and breathed heavily out of his nose. He knew he wouldn't. He knew he'd want to find that bitch and tear her asunder for what she did to Hope. He wanted to do it now, his legs twitched to get up and find Saorise. The only thing really stopping him was that he had no idea where she was.

Snow almost jumped when Serah's small, thin arms slid around his neck, tugging him closer to her. Snow's face softened at her gentle touch and the hard, cold look in his eyes were gone as he relaxed. Serah buried her face into his back, taking a deep breath of her own. Snow closed his eyes when he felt her shudder, her warm hot tears leaking into his shirt. Snow's heart clenched and he took a shaky breath as Serah started to rock them on their bed, burrowing herself deeper and deeper into Snow's back.

"Why. Why. Why." Serah repeated the word into his back, over and over again, but was met with silence. Her fingers clawed desperately at his shirt, grabbing chunks of the fabric in her trembling hands. Her words were muffled but she said them so loudly that they echoed around the room. Gave something to the silence.

"And Snow-Snow did you see him? He was so scared and helpless. He looked so sad! And-And then…then he just says there's nothing we could have done. That it was-was just a-a bad choice on his part. Maker Snow, it sounds like he blames himself!" Serah's nails dug through the shirt into Snow's back, leaving unseen marks on his skin. Snow gritted his teeth as Hope's sad face popped back into his mind.

It's not right.

"What do we do Snow?" Serah asked, finally pulling away from her husband's back. Snow turned at her question, taking in her sad and trembling appearance. Her blue eyes were clear and bright, bluer than Snow could ever remember them. Her cheeks were puffy and her face red, some tears still trying to escape her eyes. She wiped them away, glaring angrily as she rubbed against her eyes, "What do we do?" she repeated.

Snow took a deep breath; feeling anger make its home in his veins, course through him as if to give him new strength. He understood, now, why sis had looked so angry when they had left the hospital. He knew why she looked ready to kill.

Because she was.

Lightning wouldn't stand by as Hope got hurt. Hell, he knew he wouldn't either. Whatever beast that had tried to take the kid out when they were on Gran Pulse, when they were fighting soldiers, hell, when they were fighting those killer plants, they all went down in seconds. No one hurt Hope. No one even thought about hurting Hope. Hope was part of Snow's family, he was part of Snow's promise, and dammit he loved the kid.

And like hell will I let this stand.

Snow felt his resolution settle in his chest, right on his heart, and he knew he'd follow through. One way or another, he would take down the person who had hurt Hope so badly. And until then…

"Serah." Snow said, gently grabbing his wife's arms with his large hands. Serah sniffed and looked up at him with her big blue eyes, eyes that looked to his for answers. And he was going to do his best. For him. For him. For sis. And mostly…for Hope. "I know it seems bad for him and for all of us. I know that Hope's hurt and it seems like we can't do anything to help him. But we have to. We're going to have to wait and take Saorise down when we can. And until then, we're going to make sure we help Hope in any way we can. Even if we just embarrass the crap out of him until he smiles."

Snow paused, nuzzling his face in Serah's hair, "It's all we can do."

Serah stiffened against him for the briefest moment before her arms slowly wound around his waist. She rested against his shoulder, breathing slowly to calm her nerves. She smiled, feeling comfortably warm and safe in Snow's arms. She brought a hand to his head and ruffled his hair, giggling at the annoyed noise he made.

"All right." she whispered.

Hope was at a loss at what he should do with himself. As much as he wanted to help, as much as he felt the need to help, there was little he could do now that he and every other l'Cie had been expunged from the S.C.E. Branch. To make matters worse, Hope had to watch Lightning and Snow go back to base every day for the past two weeks to face the dangers of the C'ieth and Saorise. And what were they relying on? A few mana drives that were supposed to be more advanced than previous models. How were those supposed to keep the C'ieth at bay? How were they supposed to save themselves from Saorise.

Saorise...

Hope sighed and brought his hand to his face, trying to block out how forlorn Serah had looked when he had told her and Snow about what happened. It hadn't been much, but much with Saorise was still enough to make Serah cringe and worry. And Snow had looked ready to kill. As much as Hope had loved the feeling, the sudden burst of warmth that had made him feel strangely whole, he didn't want the dangerous that came with it. If things stayed the way they were, everyone would be in danger. Hell, Snow and Lightning were in enough danger as it was. They don't need me to put them in even more. Gah…it's like going in circles.

They hadn't heard from Crawford either, or anyone with rank in the S.C.E., so they had no news of Rygdea's condition. Hope and Maqui had already called De Novo, telling them they needed to pack up and leave the base for now. Hope felt jittery with the military, thinking there plans would hit there next going and Maqui couldn't help but agree. For now, De Novo would remain an empty underground base with the inhabitants scattered on the wilds of Gran Pulse. But as long as everyone in New Bodhum could communicate with them and the De Novo members stayed out of sight, Hope and Maqui were sure it would be all right. Well...almost. Neither Hope or Maqui were really accounting for beasts.

Hope rolled over in his bed, unable to get to sleep after seeing Snow and Lightning off to the base for the last day of that week. He could never get to sleep after they left, but he'd always try, if only to appease Serah. The worry was just too much for him. Hope had tried to apologize to her, saying he wished he could help Lightning and Snow, but she had only pushed him to the kitchen for some snacks. "No need to apologize!" she had claimed, "I understand! Besides, at least I have some company now."

And having Serah as constant company was like having a twenty-four hour and seven days a week mother hen. Hope was sure she had picked it up from taking care of Hazel, but now that motherly instinct was spilling over to him, Maqui, and Lebreau. As strange as it was to have someone tell him to go back to bed, or to make meals for him, or say that he needed to eat his vegetables, Hope smiled at the thought of it. It made him feel strangely young for a moment, even if he felt old the next.

It's like…having a mom again. His hand tightened around his pillow and he felt an old and familiar pain rise in his chest, tightening around his heart. His mother and father…it had been such a long time since he could really sit down and think about them. He sighed and smashed the pillow to his face, trying to smother himself. I haven't been to their graves in years… Guilt bubbled in his stomach, his hand straying toward it and rubbing it carefully as if he could massage the feeling away. He missed them, he still missed them dearly, even though years had passed since their deaths. But what frightened him the most was that brief stint with Saorise that had almost made him forget…

Forget what their faces looked like…

Hope sat up and threw the pillow aside, the cushion hitting the floor with a soft thump. Knowing he'd get no more sleep for the morning, Hope slowly made his way out of bed, pulling off his sleepwear as he went. He casually pushed the clothes underneath the bed and stretched, his lean body moving smoothly with him as he made his way to his dresser. Once he was dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans he made his way downstairs, following his nose to the kitchen. Eggs? Well…I am kinda hungry.

"Hey Serah." He greeted once he entered the kitchen, ruffling Hazel's hair as he passed her on her high chair. Hazel grabbed his fingers before he could get away and started to smash them into her food, a now goopy mess from her unconventional way of eating. Hope grinned as his fingers were messily slid across the small, once white table, Hazel giggling madly before she brought his fingers to her mouth, sucking on them greedily. "Ow! Watch the teeth now!" Hope cried, still smiling.

Serah watched them, shutting the small oven off and moving the pan of eggs over to the other burner, leaning her hip against the white counter. She smiled to herself as Hope continued to play with Hazel, but she also took the time to study him. He was looking tired...there were bags under his eyes and he seemed paler than usual. She had tried to take care of him all that week, but his usual response was that Snow and Lightning were way worse off and that she should concentrate her efforts on them. Serah had almost beaten Hope to the ground with her commands for sleep and food and some fun, but all he had done was shake his head.

"They'll need it way more than me Serah. It's not like I haven't gone without sleep before. Besides, they are looking worse off..."

She hadn't said anything at the time, wanting to at least get Hope to sleep more as they both worried in the early hours of the morning of what would happen to Snow and Lightning. She didn't want to admit it, but what he said had some truth. Snow had gone straight to bed after he got home the past few nights, Serah having to force him up for about ten minutes so he could actually get some food in him. He was always tired, his shoulders slumped, and she could see some bruises forming on his chest and arms. He had said they were training harder now that their numbers had been cut down by half, the new recruits not arriving until that weekend.

And Lightning...her sister, the Lightning who never runs out of 'I'll kick your ass' energy, actually looked tired too. She didn't show it on the same level that Snow did, but whenever Lightning thought someone wasn't looking, Serah would see her eyes droop or a small yawn escape her. And Lightning eyes looked tired as well, her movements sometimes strangely sluggish. It frustrated Serah to no end, and she strove to do what she could for them. Even if it was small things like giving them their meals a little earlier or preparing their baths, it was all she could do.

She was just happy that they had the weekend off.

"Serah?" She jumped and blinked, eyes widening when she saw Hope at the stove, pulling the pan off the burner and scooping the eggs onto two plates. She assumed that he had gotten them from the cupboard; she knew she hadn't gotten them down. "You kind of spaced out there." he said, reaching for the silverware drawer and taking out two forks. He shoved them into the eggs, smiling at his handiwork before handing a plate to Serah, "Not that it's a problem. But let's space out while we eat huh?"

Serah nodded and grabbed her plate, allowing him to steer her toward the table. Hazel watched idly, sucking on her food covered finger absentmindedly while her other hand smashed her food. Serah shook her head but smiled, knowing that brunch would have ended in a bath anyway. She glanced at Hope as he slowly chewed his food, gazing at the ceiling with each bite. She took a few bites herself, wondering what to say, when Hope broke the ice.

"Where'd Lebreau and Maqui go?"

"Oh! Well, they said they wanted to head for that park nearby, so I let them go." Hope smiled at the thought of them asking Serah for permission, but Serah continued to watch him. Her mind was whirring, plans of all shapes and sizes forming in her mind as she figured ways to get Hope to relax while letting Snow and even Lightning to have a little fun. Maybe not Lightning, but Serah could dream. Maybe Hope needed to spend…quality time with some of the family. She ran her thumb up and down the smooth handle of the fork, biting her lip as she glanced at Hazel, then back at Hope. Hope finally caught on to the attention but was far too nervous to look at Serah. He had seen her glance at Hazel too, and he didn't like what it meant.

Why's she staring at me? He thought, gulping. He looked back down at his eggs and started to shovel them into his throat, thinking that maybe he'd be able to make a quick getaway. Serah's eyes widened at the abrupt act, but she soon narrowed her eyes and gave Hope a sweet smile.

Hope knew he was done for.

"Hope, would you say that you're…good with children?" Serah asked, calmly taking Hope's now empty plate as he choked on his food. He coughed several times, thumping his chest to make the food go down the right pipe, before glancing at Serah. He quickly looked away when she caught his eye, but Serah continued to smile, reaching for Hazel and gently pulling her from the chair. Serah grabbed a spare napkin from her pocket and began to wipe Hazel down, removing some of the goop the girl had managed to get on her face. "Hm?" she hummed, waiting for his answer.

Hope started and looked away, tapping his fingers on the table and glancing around him. He eventually gave her a half shrug, "I-I guess."

Serah gave a light chuckle and it only made Hope even more nervous, "Don't be silly Hope! You're selling yourself short. I've seen you handle Hazel, and honestly, you're doing a great job."

Hope swallowed, wanting to back away from her with each passing second, "I-I don't know Serah. I-I mean, Hazel's not a bad kid, so I don't really see-"

"Really? I was hoping you'd say that! Not a lot of people do you know, and I've always wondered why." Hope's eyes widened as he realized too late what he had said, and Serah was plowing over him before he could get a word in, "Anyway Hope, for a while now, I've been looking for someone to maybe babysit Hazel here so that I could take Snow out for the weekend. He's been stressed lately, what with everything going on and all, but for some reason, no one wants to babysit." Hope really wanted to leave the room at this point. There was a reason that no one wanted to babysit Hazel.

Sure, she was a delight. At least when her mom wasn't gone for more than three hours. But when Serah was gone...when she was Hazel took on this whole new demanding, crying, frightening form. Hope had only borne witness to it once so far, as Serah always seemed to be close by. Serah had even given up on bartending 7th Heaven for a while for her daughter, only going in when necessary. But when she was gone, Hazel became a different kind of beast. The kind that wailed and hit and bit at anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path.

"So Hope, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to babysit Hazel for me this weekend. Then I could take Snow out for a while, get him all nice and relaxed..." She gave him a pleading look, and Hope could already feel himself caving, even as he averted his gaze.

"I-I don't know...I mean, what about Lightning? Or Maqui and Lebreau." he asked, concentrating hard on the fridge.

"Well, she'll probably be resting that day. Don't tell her that yet though, she doesn't know." Serah said, smirking, "And those two told me they were going shopping. Or at least, Lebreau said they were going shopping whether Maqui wanted to or not." Hope looked back at her and groaned, rubbing his face.

"I-I-Fine I guess." Hope said, "I mean, it does seem like you need this day with Snow. And it's the least I could do."

Serah smiled and placed the napkin down on the table, knowing Hazel would need more than just a napkin to get her clean, and gave Hope a hug. "Thank you Hope." she said, ruffling his hair, "It means a lot. And I'm sure she'll be no problem with you. She adores you after all!"

As if on cue, Hazel gave a shriek and started to say Hope's name, "Ope. Ope. Ope! Ood?" Hope nodded at Serah, returning her hug. Hope watched when Serah pulled away and took Hazel out of her high chair.

"She really needs a bath huh? I'll be back Hope, don't worry about the dishes. And thank you so much!" Hope nodded again and gave her a little wave as she left, her step a little more bouncy and a smile still on her face.

I think I've been duped...

"I can't believe you're making Hope babysit." Lightning said, watching her sister as she lifted her purse off the couch and slipped it over her shoulder. Lightning resisted the urge to yawn, even as her whole body ached with the effort to keep her up and alert. It had gotten harder for everyone at the base, the drills they were doing almost never ending as they fought to keep up with the loss of so many members. That, and the new mana drives were something else. Every time Lightning used one, it felt as if she were wielding something twice as heavy as herself. Like her body was made of lead. It was unusual, especially when compared to other, older models of mana drives.

But Lightning and Snow had both agreed not to mention this to the others, at least for now. Everyone had enough to worry about without adding to the plate, and besides, both she and Snow were sure they would get used to the mana drives when given time.

Somehow, Lightning doubted that her sister, or Hope, would see that logic.

"I'm not making him. I pleaded my case and asked nicely." Serah said, breaking Lightning's thoughts. "I mean, he isgood with kids. And Hazel does like him!" Serah paused and gave Lightning a long stare, making Lightning raise an eyebrow at her sister's odd behavior. Serah only smiled at her, shaking her head, "I'm sure he'll be fine Light. Besides, you'll be there on the off chance that he needs help."

Lightning blinked at this, slightly stunned, then shook her head, "I don't know where you're getting that idea. I have-"

"Oh, I already know about your plans on going on that little shopping excursion. I know you love having the proper tools for taking care of your gunblade Claire, but at the same time, I can't help but feel that you need a break yourself. So rather than have you go out and get the proper supplies yourself, I decided to humbly ask Maqui and Lebreau to pick up the supplies for you."

"They won't know what to buy!" Lightning complained, glaring at Serah.

"That's why I gave them a list!" Serah said, smile growing, "So now you can stay home and relax! Maybe take a nap, spend some time with Hope. Things like that." Serah only hummed in happiness, even as her sister gave her a hard glare. She even bounced on each foot, dancing to music only she could hear, and giggled at the look Lightning sent her, watching as it intensified with each passing second. But her sister suddenly deflated, and Serah stopped her motions.

"Lightning?" Serah asked, wondering what was wrong. Had she done the wrong thing after all? She only wanted to get her sister to relax and enjoy a day off, but if she had really wanted to go shopping...

Lightning stared ahead of her, eyes thoughtful as she considered her response. Her eyes eventually met Serah's again, searching for something that Serah hoped Lightning would find, "I have been thinking about Hope a lot lately." Serah's eyes widened at her sisters' admission, but she as too stunned to form much of a response. Serah had to know what way Lightning was thinking about Hope before she could give Lightning any advice. Or nudges forward...

"We've all been thinking about him lately. I mean, we're worried after all. But I think he's starting to feel a bit better, even with Rygdea gone. And I know you had something to do with it." Serah smiled as her sister's eyes widened in surprise, before Lightning's eyes softened and Lightning let a rare smile of her own on her face.

"I know. I'm glad about that too. But...I don't know if that's it." Lightning pursed her lips again, crossing her arms, "I don't know, it's been a bit confusing lately. I'm not sure if I even want to try and sort all these weird thoughts out yet anyway. I mean, there's a lot of other things we have to do and it's not like-"

"No Claire!" Serah shouted, startling Lightning. She shook her head and walked over to her sister, trying to peer into her eyes, "I mean, you can tell me. Maybe we could sort it out together or something. There's no harm in thinking about it or anything."

Lightning gave her sister a long look, wondering just how much she would tell her, "I don't know Serah... I mean, I don't even have this figured out yet-"

"And I'll help you with that!" Serah pressed, boring her eyes into Lightning's.

"But," Lightning said, rolling her eyes at her sister's interruption, "I don't know if now is the time. Besides I'm..." Lightning trailed off, not wanting to admit to her sister that she was the tiniest bit nervous. Or scared. Or confused. That maybe she did sort of know what was happening, and was fighting it for all she was worth. Now was not the time for it. Hope didn't need it. She didn't need it.

Right?

"Lightning." Serah said, giving her sister a warm smile, "I know. And we'll take it slowly. But we'll never get anywhere if we don't talk about it!"

Lightning opened her mouth to reply, but a shriek from the kitchen had both the Farrons running over, recognizing Hazel's little voice at once. However, as they stepped into the kitchen, they were met with a very happy Hazel, and a sugar coated Snow, the tall man even licking some of the small grains of sugar from his lips. Sugar littered the floor as well, and Hazel was happily licking the stuff from her fingers.

Serah's mouth opened in silent horror as her husband gave a nervous laugh, clutching his daughter in a firm grip as he slowly steeped away from the mess on the floor. Hope skidded into the room before anyone could say a word, looking frenzied as he searched for the source of the scream. "Is everything al-What the hell happened?" Snow shot Hope a glare, but Serah was already stepping forward, an eerie smile on her face.

"Yes Snow. What happened?" Snow flinched at Serah's overly sweet tone, and was dismayed when his usually disarming smile did nothing to her own creepy smile.

"Well...you see...I was just trying to say goodbye to our little pride and joy, but I was also trying to sneak in one more cup of coffee." Snow started, glancing at his still sugarless cup of joe sitting innocently on the counter. "And you know how I am, I like some sugar in there. But Hazel seemed really interested in it too...so I thought maybe just a little sugar for her. I held out my finger, all ready for her little mouth, but she kind of grabbed the whole cup." He glanced at the thankfully intact glass cup on the floor, sugar spilled around it. "She likes it though...maybe a little too much?"

Hazel just giggled and started to bounce up and down in her father's arms, eventually reaching for Snow's hat and ripping it off his head. She started to hit the air with it, giggling madly as she made it swing this way and that, sticking her other sugar coated hand in her mouth. Snow glanced at his wife, blinking his eyes and trying to look as cute and innocent as possible, anything to convince his wife that it wasn't all bad. Of course, Lightning smirking in the background, Hope covering his face with his hand, and Serah developing a sudden and rather serious eye-twitch, told Snow that no one bought it.

"Snow...you just gave our daughter sugar. Not just that, you gave her a lot of sugar. Do you know how bad that is? Do you know how-how impossible she might be now?" Serah asked, eyes wide even as the twitch in her right eye continued with a vengeance. "What are we supposed to do now?"

Snow looked from Serah to his daughter, then to Hope before he swallowed hard, "Tell Hope good luck and leave?" He tried, batting his eyes. He ignored Hope's angry sputters and concentrated on winning over Serah, all the while hoping in his head that he'd make it out of the situation unscathed. Serah's eyes widened and she looked at Hope as Snow gently handed Hazel to Hope. "I'm sure he can manage it, right kid?" Hope glared at Snow, annoyed by the nickname, but Snow had already turned back to Serah. Hazel gave a delighted shriek and started to pull on Hope's hair, ignoring Hope's quiet noises of discomfort. Snow glanced back and smiled at him, giving him an almost apologetic look before grabbing Serah's hand and pulling her toward the door.

"S-Snow! Don't, that's not fair!" Serah cried, even as they approached the door.

"I'm sure he can handle it! Right Hope?" Snow called, but still rushing out before Hope had a chance to answer. The door slammed shut barely two minutes later, and Hope stared blankly at the kitchen doorway, jaw slack even as Hazel continued to pull on him. Lightning rolled her eyes at Snow's antics, knowing that Serah would give him an earful, and turned toward Hope.

"I can help you if you want." Lightning offered. Hope blinked and looked back at Lightning, but he shook his head.

"No way Light. I appreciate it, I really do, but you and Snow are exhausted from all that work you're doing at base." He smiled slightly when Hazel grabbed his collar, trying to pull his shirt up and over him, "This is the least I can do. Besides, it's not like she really will be impossible." Hope bounced Hazel up slightly in his arms, the young girl giggling and starting to play with her own hair, pulling her blond hair into messy mock braids. "You just get some rest." Hope finished.

"But Hope, she's hopped up on sugar, you can't-"

"No way Light. Just go get some sleep." Hope froze slightly at the glare she sent him, and quickly moved to amend his mistake, "I mean, please go get some rest. I can handle it, and it's not like you'll be far away if I do need help." Lightning hesitated, glancing between Hope and the still babbling Hazel before slowly nodding her head. But she knew better. Hope was in for quite the ride. If he insisted on it though...well, he'd find out the hard way.

"Whatever you say Hope."

At first, it really hadn't been so bad, babysitting Hazel. Sure, she pulled on his hair more than he liked, and she liked to bite on his clothes, and she was a little wriggly. But plenty of kids were that way so he couldn't complain. He had dealt with a lot worse, and was more than sure he had been more than a handful for his own mother.

Then lunchtime rolled around and the world decided that Hope had to be taught a lesson. That he had to learn that little toddlers with sugar in their systems was more dangerous than he thought. That in fact, they could become quite evil. And it took all of Hope's self restraint to keep from cursing every curse word he knew.

Living with Rygdea, he knew a lot. Many colorful, creative, and downright harmful curse words that would make a near three years olds head spin. And repeat them for days...

"H-Hazel, come on now! Sh-" Hope ducked and bit his lip before the curse word could escape, a piece of sliced peaches hitting the wall. The fruit hit the once clean wall with a squelch, sticking to the surface for a few brief moments before slowly sliding down to the floor. Hope groaned when another piece of peaches slammed against the wall and he nearly yelped when cold juice started to slide down his shirt in a surprise attack. Hope wiggled and shivered as he tried to make the fruit go down his shirt faster, the peach slice hitting the floor softly and making more of a sticky mess on the floor. Hope pushed himself off the floor and glared, but Hazel only giggled in obvious delight.

"Sowwe." she said, batting her eyelashes. She squealed and slammed her spoon into the bowl of fruit, sending more fruit juice over her high chair and onto the floor. Hope let out a small whine as he looked at the fruity mess on the floor, dreading the clean up, but Hazel started to wiggle in her chair. Hope raised his eyebrow, already wary of the girl.

"What is it Hazel?" Hope asked, slowly walking over in case she decided to throw more fruit at him.

"Potty!" Hazel cried, bouncing in her chair and trying to cover herself. Hope let out a small gasp before moving in, quickly getting her out of her chair. He set her gently on the floor and removed the bowl, but the patter of feet told him she was already leaving.

"Wait Hazel, I'll come with!" Hope called after her, already making his way to the bathroom. He just caught sight of her blond head before it disappeared into the bathroom down the hall, the white door closing with a loud thud. Hope hurried over and started to turn the knob, but a loud click on the other side filled him with dread and he felt the smallest trickling of panic. "Hazel? Hazel? Did you lock the door? Come on, you have to let me in!" Little kids are evil... Know matter how much they act like they love someone, that doesn't mean they aren't evil...Evil, evil children.

Hazel's giggling was all that came from the bathroom, Hope letting out a low curse as he tried to figure out what to do. He glanced at the doorknob, seeing a small keyhole, but he didn't want to leave Hazel alone in the bathroom. He couldn't do much on the other side of a locked door, but it was better than actually leaving her alone in the bathroom. His key was on the second floor to boot; that was way too much time for something bad to happen.

There was a loud thud on the other side of the door and Hope's heart skipped a beat. All reason left his mind and he grabbed the doorknob and gave it a sharp tug, cursing slightly when it didn't open. He placed his finger on the keyhole, his fingers already cold from the magic he called to them as he thought of the coldest of places. He concentrated on the shape of the hole and his fingers went numb as he called a blizzard spell. After a few tense seconds, the door gave a small click and Hope felt a knot release. Hope swung the door open and stepped inside, eyes searching frantically for any sign of Hazel-

-only to be met with a throbbing pain in his shin as a shampoo bottle hit him. Biting his lips to hold back the great curse that would make Serah beat him into the ground, he glared down at Hazel. Hazel only giggled, quickly making her way out of the room. Hope sighed and went after her. He barely had enough time to turn the corner of the hallway into the living room when a small doll, made of the hardest plastic Hope's shin had ever felt, slammed into his new, throbbing bruise. He closed his eyes and hissed, Hazel's giggling dying down a bit, and Hope couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Holy fudge flying mother monkeys!" Hope bit out, reaching for the throbbing area. At least I didn't actually swear...at least I didn't swear. But damn this hurts...doll making companies are evil too, creating hazardous, painful toys.

"Ope kay?" Hazel asked, appearing by Hope's legs and looking up at him with wide, sad looking blue eyes. Hope bit his lip, feeling his anger boil down to nothing under her sad eyes. Hazel sniffled, lip quivering, and Hope's shoulders slumped.

"I'm okay Hazel." he mumbled, trying not to sound too annoyed. Hazel laughed and hugged Hope's throbbing shin, but Hope suppressed the gasp of pain. He waited until the searing pain went away before patting Hazel on the head, giving her a small smile. She seemed to be calming down and Hope took it as a sign that the sugar was wearing off. "What do you want to do now Hazel?" Hope asked, smiling when the girl's eyes lit up.

"Color!" she yelled, already leaving the room to find her crayons. Hope's smile widened and he followed her at a more leisurely pace, glad that the worst was over...

...until he saw her making happy red faces on the hallway walls.

"H-Hazel! NO!" Hope cried, diving after her. Hazel jumped and ran away, grabbing as many crayons as she could, and started to run them along the walls. Hope's eye twitched and he pushed himself up, running over and scooping her up in his arms before she could continue on her rampage. He ignored her annoyed whining and glared at her, taking on a scolding tone, "Hazel, why did you do that? You know better than to-OW!" Hope's hand flew to his eye and he glared at the purple crayon clenched in Hazel's fist. Hazel stopped, glancing up at Hope, before letting out another sniffle.

"Oh no you don't, that's not going to work again." Hope said, face hardening. Hazel shook her head and rubbed his cheek, shoulders slumping.

"Sowee." she said, lip quivering again.

Hope sighed and cursed his weak resistance against those darn blue eyes before he nodded, bringing her to the living room with one last glance at the growing number of messes that he would have to handle the moment he got the chance to. He set Hazel down on the couch, easily prying the crayons from her fingers, and fumbled around for the remote. "I hate resorting to this." he said as he found the clicker, "But if it keeps you from going nuts, then I'll do it." Hope smiled and flipped the television on, turning to the screen and flipping through the channels. There wasn't much on, projects for building New Bodhum easily overshadowing things like television, but Hope felt satisfied that a program he found about Chocobo chicks would be enough to satisfy Hazel. He turned around, ready to sit with the girl, but was shocked to find her gone.

He felt his temples start to throb and he covered his left eye as it started to twitch again. He groaned and started toward the stairs where he heard distant giggling. And only one thought ran through his head.

How long can she keep this up?