Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! Here's chapter 25!

Limited Self-Control and Lizards

The moon was full, casting bright wavering light onto the dark ocean. It shimmered and glowed, its simplistic beauty catching Madison's eye. Travis had insisted that they go out for dinner, but had hidden away her wallet.

Would they not have to pay or what?

The moment they met Connor and Hermes outside the front door of the hotel with the limo waiting for them, it all made sense. Hermes had dressed up nicely, wearing a navy blue Armani suit. Madison looked down self-consciously at the navy blue-and-beige dress George had suggested.

She blushed: they'd unknowingly matched.

"You look…great," he said.

"Thanks. You don't look too shabby yourself."

"I try," he said modestly.

"Yes, you do," she muttered under her breath as they all settled into the limo.

…

The limo drove them to the beach, of all places.

Connor and Travis led them to a seaside restaurant that looked fancy. Once inside, Madison looked at the private room they'd set up. It offered a lovely view of the ocean, and was lighted nicely with candles.

Madison glanced at the table. "It's for two?"

Travis or maybe, Connor grinned. "Yup. We'll be…elsewhere."

Hermes asked, "How did you pay for this?"

Travis and Connor shared a look. They seemed to be doing a lot of that nowadays. "Allowance money," they chimed in unison.

Madison coughed.

"And Grandfather chipped in a little," one admitted.

Madison raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, a lot," the other amended.

"Well, we'll just be leaving now," the first said. And just as quick as they had come, they scurried out…elsewhere.

Madison laughed a little. It was nice to know she still had some authority over her much-too out-of-control children.

…

Hermes let out a satisfied snort after settling into his seat and even pushing out Madison's chair for her like a true gentleman. "They're trying to recreate our first date?"

Madison laughed, stabbing a pineapple with her fork. "What, our first meeting wasn't romantic enough?"

Hermes cocked a flirty (too flirty) eyebrow. "Hey! I thought I was a good paperboy."

"Yeah, until you decided making an unnecessary stop at my house every single day was the way to get a girl."

Hermes's lips pulled back into a flat line of disappointment. "And then I got fired, which you would know."

"And then, you decided to make a stop twice every day to prove your point," she finished for him.

"Until you went out with me," remarked Hermes, in a tone that oddly seemed like a challenge despite it being a memory of the past.

"Which I did, more than once," she replied.

"How old were we?" asked Hermes, his eyebrow slashing into a V as he tried to remember.

"I'd say…20."

"You wish it was 20," he said rather than offering up another barb about how old they both really were.

Madison shuddered at the thought as it plagued her.

Hermes misunderstood, raising his flute of champagne and sipping without a god-awful smacking noise. "30, then?"

Madison glared at him with big, adorable eyes. "Why are you so quick to tack on another decade to my life?"

Hermes gave her a crooked half-smile, the one she'd fallen in love so many years ago. She'd been over him for a long time, but the feeling never diminished. Madison even to this day wouldn't be attracted to men she'd had crushes on in her adolescence, but instead could still acknowledge the bright, burning, hot coal of ember of passion that she'd gradually curbed to…

Madison squinted, her mouth setting in a half-frown as her thoughts spiraled away.

She'd gradually curbed all her emotions into something else. A muted dislike she'd saved Bobby Robinson from the 8th grade, while she still would occasionally sneak glances at Alex Nazarov's delightful form all throughout high school, and Hermes…

Looking at him just now, in his suit and big, innocent smile, all those emotions had just come back in a rush, offering a head-splitting headache.

Just not the kind induced by heavy drinking.

Madison sighed deeply. These were thoughts she shouldn't even be considering. She'd promised herself she'd be professional. Splendid job she was doing so far. "So," she said, her mouth tasting like old copper, "this has been nice," —a slight twinge of guilt nipped at her heart as Hermes's face fell— "but I think we should work out what we're going to do with the twins."

Hermes looked down at the floor for a moment longer than necessary, then swallowed thickly. "Yeah," he began. "I think we should just, um—" He seemed to be struggling.

"Well, they can't possibly live together, considering I have my job in—"

"Atlanta and I can't give up the vineyard," he finished for her. "Maybe we could take turns?" he suggested, shrugging his shoulders in a smooth, rolling motion that made Madison's heart beat erratically.

She slammed her palms down on the side of the chair, gripping tight as to not lose her fraying sense of self-control. "But," she forced out, "what about school?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Perhaps holidays, then?"

Madison swallowed, standing up rather suddenly. "Excuse me," she declared rather suddenly, "I have to use the loo."

Madison fought her way to the bathroom, her crazed mind only barely registered Hermes' intensely aggravating protests of, "But we're not even British!"

Oh, hush, hush.

…

A more composed Madison returned some 10 minutes later to find Hermes had finished off the third course of their three-tiered meal, hungry man he was. Madison ignored her stomach's rumbling; she'd lost her appetite midway anyways.

The ride back to the hotel was stiff, uncomfortable, and dreadful, really. Madison sat the entire ride with her arms crossed and staring out the window while Hermes kept looking like a distressed puppy. Before she knew it, she would be swayed by the puppy eyes. It was already bad enough Travis (and well, Connor to an extent) had inherited it, not to mention exploited it on her several times. She hardly needed more annoying men in her life.

She was the first person out of the limousine. She stood, fiddling with her thumbs and waiting for Connor (or maybe, Travis).

Hermes was cautious. "This was…nice," he commented.

Madison tried to smile, willing the corners of her lips to stretch upwards. Afraid she ended up more likely grimacing. "Yeah," she agreed in a soft voice.

He leaned in even closer, close enough for her to smell his soft cologne. He never liked spraying too much. Madison felt herself unconsciously react to him, tilting her face up towards him…

…as he gave her a small little kiss on the cheek.

Madison smiled sadly, backing up a bit. She took Travis—she was positively sure—up to their room and slept, or at least attempted to.

She spent the whole night thinking about…well, everything.

Hermes woke up bright and early the next morning, immersing himself in what he knew how to do best: work. He spent extra time cleaning himself up; he had no idea why. He even actually bothered to look his cleanest; he hadn't even neglected the one shaving spot he usually missed right below his jawline.

He and Madison met in the lobby with all their luggage. The bellboys hopped about, asking for tips and juggling Madison's many suitcases, some of them looming precariously over Hermes' head. Hermes dug out his wallet, and offered them an Alexander Hamilton. They could split it.

"So," Madison was saying, "you will get Travis during winter, fall, and spring break, while I get—"

"You get Connor for all of summer, yes, I know." This was the third time she'd repeated this proposition of hers just this morning.

The elevators behind them dinged with new arrivals, and Travis and Connor both walked out, dressed identically in lean T-shirts, khaki cargo shorts, and flip-flops. The only apparent difference between them was color. The twin on the left wore a plain green t-shirt, while the other wore a vibrant orange.

He crossed his arms, looking at the both of them. He knew he shouldn't have let them sleep in. "Okay, what's this all about?" he demanded.

The twin on the left shrugged. He tugged at the hem of his green shirt. "Well, Mom told us about your ridiculous—which is ridiculous, by the way, and we—" —he gestured between himself and the twin on the right wearing orange— "decided we hate the idea."

Madison sucked in a gasp. "You hate it? What do you mean you hate it?"

The twin on the right grinned, sheer delight invading his expression. "We came up with our own solution."

"And that would be?" prompted Madison.

"You can't tell us apart. All four of us will go on our annual camping trip at the end of summer, and we give you our guarantee we'll tell you who we are by then."

Beside him, Madison began to sputter out, "I know perfectly well who both of you are, and that's the end of that. You're my sons, and you're being all goofy with me and your father. Now, go back upstairs and change, or else I'll miss my flight."

Hermes nodded approvingly at Connor and Travis, hoping to look at least—since he could not hope to sound—like he was still an authority figure.

The two rascals just stood there, grinning like idiots, the both of them.

Oh, dear.

"Oh, the Stoll guarantee," mocked Travis, wearing a green shirt, as he and Connor went up to their rooms. "Real trustworthy right there."

Connor rolled his eyes. "Hey, it worked," he snapped, holding up his orange t-shirt like Travis needed proof.

Connor smirked, more for his benefit than Travis'. Travis might be devilishly ingenious at planning, but he was just as good at saving the day at the nick of time.

They did make a good pair. And now the next task unfolding before them: doing their laundry when they finally returned home.

Madison sighed wistfully at the planes roaring over her head. Here she was in the last place she thought she would be.

She pulled the last of her camping luggage outside the front door, and with a heavy grunt shoved in into their pile in the back of Hermes' bright red open-backed Jeep.

Hermes sat in the driver's seat with his aviator sunglasses shading his eyes. His fingers tapped the steering wheel nervously. Connor and Travis (or Travis and Connor) sat in the back, dressing identically.

Madison sighed, coming around the side of the Jeep. She was just about to jump over the side (she couldn't get the door open) when the rumble of another car pulling in reached her ears.

Four heads snapped up simultaneously.

Sydney's BMW rolled into the lot, and she got up looking confused. "Uh, what's going on?"

Hermes sighed deeply, closing his eyes. "Sorry, honeybuns. I totally forget to mention our camping trip, the one Connor and I go on every summer? We're going to be gone for two weeks."

One of the twins piped up from the back seat, "We really would invite you but we don't have enough seats."

Madison stopped, thinking hard. Then she made a split-second decision she'd question for the rest of the day. "Yeah," she echoed. "Tell you what, Sydney. Um, how about you come along and I'll just stay home with George and Martha? Someone's got to keep the old place running."

"Mom!" the twins cried.

She shook her head. "No, really. Just wait about an hour, and I'll get Sydney suited up. The load will lighter anyways."

The twins grumbled heavily as Madison retrieved her luggage and brought Sydney inside for an intense packing session.

Connor shared an angry look with Travis. Oh, gods. They'd spent hours planning for this camping trip. They'd planned romancing of at least some type for Madison and Hermes.

And then Madison had to mess everything up by inviting Sydney. "What now?" he whispered to Travis. He didn't want Hermes to hear.

"Dunno. Might as well make things…interesting."

Connor shrugged, putting a hand on his curly mop of hair. What had started out as a fun camping trip he wanted to last forever was quickly turning into one of his least favorite family-themed endeavors ever.

…

Sydney showed up some 40 minutes later in a questionable workout outfit Connor would have deemed unsuitable for well, pretty much anything beyond stretching. Madison helped put Sydney's bags into the trunk, and then with Martha, waved them off.

Driving the whole way was pretty much long, and boring, unless your idea of fun is watching trees that are still and the occasional car pass by. Connor had gone camping with his dad for the past couple years, so he pretty much knew the route by heart. He just let his dad do the driving.

They all really didn't talk much on the way there. He and Travis were both equally ticked at having their plans ruined, and Sydney just spent most of the drive checking her face in the mirror, fixing her lipstick and whatnot. Hermes, seeming to sense just as Connor and Travis did that Sydney was in a makeup mood, just focused on the road.

They reached the parking lot where the trail started, and both Connor and Travis hopped out, pulling their stuff on their backs. Thanks to Sydney, they both had extra luggage to carry.

Hermes locked the Jeep, and helped Sydney with the straps of her backpack. Connor and Travis instead awkwardly hovered near the logs that served as parking bumpers. Travis was occupying himself by pretending the log was a balance beam.

Hermes and Sydney finished up. Sydney marched over to the neatly paved trail, heading down the path.

Connor snorted.

Hermes called out to her back, "Honey, the trail's this way."

Sydney paused, confusing marring her expression. She trudged back to them. Hermes pointed to the woods. "We're not taking the trail?"

Hermes shook his head. "Come on, it won't be that bad. It's only a 6-mile hike to the lake. I promise it'll all be worth it at the lake."

They headed over to the woods. "You coming?" Hermes called out to Travis and Connor.

A flash in the corner of Connor's eye stopped him. "Just a minute. We'll catch up with you, Dad."

Hermes shrugged and headed off in the direction.

Travis stared at Connor. "Why'd you say that?"

Connor knelt down and gently picked up the lizard. He locked eyes with Travis, and gestured with his head to Sydney. A mischievous grin replaced his formerly somber mood.

Travis grinned back at him, the camaraderie between them never having been stronger. "You think?"

Thanks, as always, for reading! And I promise, we'll get tons of Connor and Travis mayhem for the next chapter!