A Blooming Family Rewrite

by CarnotaurusMan

After the events of Vengeance Strike/To the Reese-cue, Reese begins to feel off. She doesn't feel right, until she discovers what it is. But the bad thing about it, is that Zander has a part in with what's happening to his angel. (Rating may change overtime, possibly)

3. The News

(scene starts with be bashing a wi-fi router with a baseball bat)

Me: WHY! WON'T! YOU! WORK! YOU! STUPID! PIECE OF- (someone taps my shoulder. I turn around to see Mrs. Drake) Oh, hey Rosie. What's up?

Rosie: Um...you got an audience here.

Me: (turns to audience) Oh, hey dinos. CarnotaurusMan back at it with the next chapter to my rewrite of A Blooming Family...is what I would say if my STUPIF INERNET WOULD TURN ON! (the router lights up with a *ding* sound) YES! I knew hitting it with a baseball bat would work!

Rosie: Uh, Matthew. I actually called to have the wi-fi turned back on.

Me: Oh...well now I feel stupid. (Rosie pats my back) Hey Rosie, since you're right here, care to say the disclaimer for this chapter?

Rosie: I sure will. CarnotaurusMan does not own anything from Dinosaur King.

Me: Okay, let's hurry up just before my router shuts off on me.

The sun shines bright early in the morning in Sanjo City. At a local motel, Zander was sleeping soundly in one of the rooms. He decided to rent a room for the night before heading over to Reese's place.

An alarm sounds off, signaling for him to wake up. After a couple failed attempts to turn off the alarm clock, Zander finally hits the snooze button. Sitting up straight, Zander stretches as he yawns. He's shown turning a shower faucet, his silhouette is shown behind the shower curtain as he takes a shower. Afterwards, he puts on his shades and begins to brush his teeth. Once he was done in the bathroom, Zander starts to get dressed. He looks into a mirror hanging on the wall as he puts on his brown trench coat, he looks and nods at the mirror.

After checking out of the motel, Zander walks to his car with a suitcase in hand. He stores the suitcase in the backseat before hopping into the driver seat. Droid is seen curled up into a ball in the passenger seat. "Wake up, Droid," said Zander, buckling himself up. Droid opens up from his current position then buckles in his seatbelt.

"HOW COME DROID COULDN'T SLEEP IN MOTEL?" asked the alpha droid.

Zander says, "I'm sorry Droid, I really am. But I don't think this place is ready to see an actual robot in their city. You understand."

"DROID UNDERSTANDS."

"But don't you worry, I'll make sure to give you your own personal space once we reach Reese's house."

Droid's face lit up, "YAY!"

Zander shifts in gears and says, "Let's go," as he pulls out of the parking lot and heads straight for the Drake household. Along the way this would give him enough time to mentally prepare himself, not only helping Reese tell the truth to her parents but actually meeting her parents.

---

Meanwhile, at the Drake's home it felt like any other day. Zoe was running out of the house to go to school; Dr. Drake was out on the dining room table, reading the newspaper while drinking a cup of coffee; and Mrs. Drake was seen handing out bowls of dog food to Paris and Bud.

Up in Reese's bedroom, she was still sleeping in after last night's sudden event. If she wanted to, Reese could sleep in until late afternoon.

*grumble*

Then again, maybe not. Reese wakes up instantly, jumps out of bed, runs to the bathroom and begins to vomit into the toilet.

After a couple of minutes of having her head in the toilet, she slowly raised her head and groans, "This kid better be worth it for what they're putting me through." Once she felt her stomach was settling down she proceeded to fix her messy hair, straightening it out and placing her blue hair clips in.

Reese turns the sink faucet on and splashes water on her face before looking up at the mirror. She takes a couple deep breaths and tells herself, "Okay, you can do this Reese. We don't have to go to work today and Zander should be over today. Just remain calm and we'll be fine."

"Reese. Sweetheart, are you up?"

She could hear her mother calling her from downstairs. "Yes, I'm up. I'll be down in a minute," she replies. Reese takes in another deep breath before proceeding directly downstairs.

Reese makes it to the kitchen, she's greeted with a hug from her mom. "Good morning, Reese," smiled Mrs. Drake, "I hoped you slept well?"

"Um...kind of," said Reese, "I woke up to find myself with my head in the toilet, again."

"Oh, you poor thing. Well look at the positive side of things, you won't have to stress yourself about going to work and you can spend as much time today to relax."

Dr. Drake pipes up, looking up from his newspaper, "Your mother's right, Reese. Just try to take things easy. Unfortunately I'll be at work up until about four, but your mother will be here if you need anything." He stands up for the table, "Speaking of which, I better get going."

Dr. Drake walks up to his wife as she says, "Have a wonderful day at work, darling."

"Oh, you know I will!" They kiss each other's cheeks. Then, Dr. Drake gives his eldest daughter a hug, "Hope you feel better soon, Reese."

"Thanks, dad." After hugging Reese, Dr. Drake walks out the door while waving to his family.

Something begins to nudge against Reese's leg. She looks down, and Bud was there trying to get her attention. This put a smile on her face. She picks up her chibi Saurolophus and cuddles with him. "Good morning to you too, Bud." Reese said. Bud responds by licking Reese's face.

Mrs. Drake suggests to her daughter, "Reese, why don't you just relax on the couch? Call me over if you need anything."

Reese gives a nod to her mom, she walks into the living room and takes a seat on the couch. She sets Bud down next to her, Reese then places a hand over her belly and sighs, "Hopefully...hopefully mom and dad will be understanding."

---

About an hour later, Zander pulls up next to the Drake house. "Well, here we are," declared Zander. Droid looks out the window and gazes at the house, completely amazed. "WOW! THIS ARCHITECTURE IS AMAZING!" said the alpha droid.

Zander unbuckles his seatbelt, "Okay you stay here Droid, and I'll…"

"DROID WANTS TO COME INSIDE HOUSE!"

Zander looks at Droid with a surprised face. "Droid, it's not that I don't want you to come inside with me, it's that these people have never seen something like you before and might freak out."

Droid didn't seem to be too fond of staying in the car again. He responds with, "BUT DROID GETS BORED EASILY WAITING IN CAR!"

"Droid…"

"PLEASE?" Zander could tell Droid would only beg at this point, considering that he was giving him the puppy eye look. Eventually, Zander gives in and says, "Alright, I guess you can come with me."

The alpha droid's face immediately lit up, "YAY!"

"But you must promise to be on your best behavior while in my girlfriend's house."

"UNDERSTOOD!" saluted Droid. With a nod from the ex-member, the two get out of the car and started walking up to the door. Zander rings the doorbell.

From inside, Reese could hear the doorbell ring. She calls out to her mother, "Mom, someone's at the door!"

"I'll get it!"

The door opens up for Zander and Droid, as they were now face to face with Mrs. Drake. She greets Zander with a smile, "Hello there, can I help you?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Reese. Is she here?"

"She is, but unfortunately she's sick at the moment. Do you have business with my daughter?"

Zander felt a sweat bullet drop from his side, realizing that he was talking to Reese's mother. "Well, yes." Zander replies, "I'm her boyfriend, you see."

This surprised Mrs. Drake. "Boyfriend?" She repeats, "Reese has never mentioned having a boyfriend."

"I can assure you that I am Reese's boyfriend."

"I'm afraid I'll need some proof before I let you in."

Figured as much, so Zander whips out his phone, "I have a few pictures of us on a date we had a week ago." Zander shows Mrs. Drake photos of Reese and Zander together at the mall, making goofy faces.

Seeing the pictures of her daughter made Mrs. Drake smile. "Okay, I think you've proven yourself. Come on in!" Mrs. Drake invites Zander inside, he smiles and walks in.

Droid walks in as well. Mrs. Drake was curious as she glanced at the robot. Droid looks back at her and waves, "GREETINGS!" This made her jump a little.

Zander looks back and assures her, "Don't worry, he's friendly." Droid smiled.

"Is...is that a robot?" asked Mrs. Drake.

"Technically Droid is an android, but yes."

Mrs. Drake observes the little robot, astonished and amazed that this was the first robot she's ever seen. She turns to Zander, "Did you build him?"

Zander replies, Well, not really. He was built by my father to be given orders, but he turned out smarter and can think for himself."

"DROID WAS MADE SPECIAL!"

Mrs. Drake couldn't handle the amount of cuteness Droid was creating, she gives him a hug and says, "Aww, you are such an adorable baby android." This comment made Droid smile.

Back in the living room, Reese had her feet kicked up on the couch reading a book. Enters Mrs. Drake, followed by Zander and Droid. "Reese, you've got company," said the mother. Reese looks up from her book and sees Zander, she felt her heart skip a beat. Her lover waved his hand at her, "Hey."

She waved back, "Hey."

"So, when were you going to tell me about your boyfriend?" smiled Mrs. Drake, placing her hands on her hips.

Reese felt her face burn up. It's been a few months since she started dating Zander and she never told her parents about him, Reese was completely embarrassed. She tried to explain herself to her mother, "Well y-you see, uh...I got distracted and...well…"

Her mom starts giggling, she says to Reese, "Your boyfriend must be treating you well if you forgot to mention him to me and your father," now it dawns on Mrs. Drake that she didn't introduce herself to Zander, "Wait a minute, where are my manners? Hi, I'm Rosie Drake," She extended a hand to Zander as they shook hands.

"Zander's my name," says Zander, "Thank you for letting me see your daughter, Mrs. Drake."

"Oh please, call me Rosie."

Tiny muffled sounds came from below as Rosie looks down and sees Bud with a leash in his mouth. "Looks like someone wants to get outside, huh?" She takes the leash and puts it on Bud. Rosie tells Reese, "I'll be back soon, Reese. Do you think you'll be alright while I'm gone?"

Her daughter nods, "I'll be fine. I've got Zander to keep me company."

Rosie nodded, "Alright. But if something happens, just call me." She walks out of the room to take Bud for a walk, leaving the two young adults alone.

Zander makes his way to the couch, Reese adjusts herself so he could have a seat next to her. He puts his arm around her, "I missed you," and kisses the side of her head. Reese smiled and said, "I missed you more."

Droid peaks his head over the arm of the couch, catching Reese's attention. She jumps back into Zander as he tries to assure her, "Don't worry, Droid is friendly and knows not to attack you."

"Zander," the ex-member is met with a stern look from his girlfriend, "Why on earth did you bring an Alpha Droid to my house?!"

"Look, I can explain! It was better if he came with me, I needed protection if any of the Alpha Gang came after me."

"I can understand bringing Spiny, but an Alpha Droid? Seriously?!"

"A droid with his brains is better off nowhere near Zeta Point any day of the week!"

That last part caught Reese's attention. "What do you mean by that?"

"This alpha droid is unlike the rest of the alpha droids, he's special. This droid can articulate fairly well and can freely think for himself, unlike a normal alpha droid who needs to be ordered what to do," Zander continues, "I know you have trust issues with everyone else in the Alpha Gang, but he can be a valuable member if you give him the chance."

Reese takes another look at the alpha droid, he was still hiding behind the arm of the couch. She waves at the android, and Droid waved back at her. She honestly found that cute. Reese then smiled as she greeted him, "Hi there."

"HELLO!" replied Droid.

"Your name is Droid, right?"

"AFFIRMATIVE!"

"You can come out, there's no need to be shy."

Droid takes a moment to finally step out from behind the couch, he inches slowly towards Reese and Zander. Reese found Droid's shy nature to be adorable, she lets out a giggle and tells the alpha droid, "You are such a cute little robot, like you were programmed to make people smile."

"DROID NEVER KNEW THAT DROID WAS PROGRAMMED LIKE THAT! BUT, THANK YOU!" thanked the android.

"You're very welcome."

Droid then comes out from hiding and sits on the floor next to the couple. The blonde scientist patted his head, Droid smiled once she was done.

Reese could feel something run through her hair, she looks behind her as she's met with a warm smile from Zander. She smiled back as she let her boyfriend run his hand through her hair.

"Angel?"

"Hmm?"

"Not to ruin the moment, but how do we explain to your family about...you know what?"

Reese's smile faded from her face as she lowered her head. The two sat through an excruciating moment of silence before Reese said, "I can't do it."

"I know it's not an easy thing to say. If you want me to help you say it, I'd be more than happy to…"

"No, Zander. I cannot do it, I don't want my parents to find out."

Zander was surprised to hear Reese say that. "But we have to, you and I both know that we can't hide your pregnancy for long." He reminded her.

Reese hissed back, "I don't care!"

With that said Zander immediately backs off not wanting to push the subject further, even Droid curls back up into his ball form. Everyone sat through another tense moment of silence. But it was soon broken with some sniveling from Reese. Hearing his beloved angel cry made Zander's heart break, so he responded by putting his arm around her as she had her moment. Through her tears, Reese says to Zander, "I'm sorry…"

"No, no, it's alright angel," said Zander.

"No, it's not alright! All you're doing is trying to be responsible while I'm just here being arrogant and immature!" cried Reese, "I'm just afraid my parents won't accept our child. What happens then? What if they kick me out? What if...what if…"

"Hey, don't think like that angel," Zander lies down on the couch as Reese turns around and lies on top of her boyfriend. "I don't know how your parents will react, but I do know that thinking negatively will make things worse," he continues, "Tonight when we tell your parents about your pregnancy, I'll be there to calm you down and help with explaining if it gets to be too much."

"*sniff* You'd do that for me?" asked the blonde scientist.

"Of course I would! I'd never leave you high and dry, we're in it together all the way," said the ex-member, "But for now, just try to relax. Okay?"

"I'll... I'll try, but I'm still very stressed." Reese then asks, "Do you think you can sing me that song you did when we met in Mexico?"

A smile appeared on Zander's face, "Of course I can," he then begins to sing his song:

"Oh my angel, I love my dinosaur~"

"But when I look into your eyes I think I love you more~"

"Be my Jurassic valentine~!"

"Falling deep into your eyes I love the way you archiologize~"

"Stay with me forever more~!"

"And love me like you love your dinosaur~"

After he was done singing, Reese was seen with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. She sighs happily as Zander stroked her back gently. "Feeling any better?" He asked her.

Reese nodded, "Much, much better."

"Good." The two lovers laid together on the couch as they enjoyed each other's company. Reese wraps her arms around Zander as he does the same. "Have any idea how your sister would react?" He asked.

"Zander, it's Zoe we're talking about," Reese said, "She'd be bouncing off the wall." The two giggled at Reese's statement before returning to a quiet atmosphere, even Droid comes out from his ball form and enjoyed Reese and Zander's moment of happiness.

---

As the day passes, Mrs. Drake returned home and got to know Zander a little more, they helped out Reese when her stomach began to toss and turn, and Zoe came home from school to spend time with Reese too.

Evening soon came around, and it was time for dinner. Everyone was in the kitchen, Zander was helping Rosie make dinner, Zoe was setting down bowls of dog food to Paris and Bud, and Reese was waiting patiently at the table with Droid.

The front door opens as Dr. Drake walks in saying, "I'm home!"

"We're in the kitchen," called out Rosie.

Dr. Drake took off his shoes, places his huge needle down, and made his way to the kitchen. When he walked in, he said, "Hello, family," he then noticed Zander and was confused, "Who's this?"

Rosie turns around and answers her husband's question, "Oh, this is our guest for the night," She grabs her husband and brings him over to Zander, "Zander, this is my husband Michael. Michael, I'd like for you to Zander. He's Reese's boyfriend." When Michael heard the word 'boyfriend', he looks at his eldest daughter who shies away from her father. When he looks back at Zander, the ex-member was looking quite nervous as he tensed up. Rosie motions Michael to welcome their guest, he sighs and extended his hand out for Zander to shake. The two men then shook hands.

Zander tells Michael, "I-It's nice to meet you, Michael."

"That's Dr. Drake to you." With his assertive tone, Michael watched as Zander's face turned pale.

Rosie then intervenes. "Michael, don't be rude! Zander is our guest, and as our guest he should feel welcomed," she scolded her husband, "Now, we are going to have a nice dinner without any complications whatsoever. Can we do that?"

Even though he wasn't fond of Zander so far, Dr. Drake knew better than to argue with his wife. So with a sigh, he replied, "Yes, sweetheart."

"Good," nods Rosie, "Now, can someone help me set up the table?"

Droid raised his hand, "DROID CAN DO THAT!" He gets up from the table, he walks over to Rosie who hands him the plates.

Michael's jaw dropped to the floor as he gazed at the alpha droid. "Am I dreaming, or am I looking at a robot?" asked the veterinarian.

"You're looking at Zander's little robot, sweetie. It's amazing how far technology has come. Isn't he just the cutest?"

He looks down at the android, who smiled innocently, as Michael cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. "He's an interesting little guy," he said, "But I'm still not used to seeing a robot, I might need some more time to get used to this."

Rosie nodded at her husband, "I understand." She looks at the stovetop and says, "Dinner will be ready soon, everyone find your spot at the table." Everyone heads to the table, Zander sits next to his beloved angel, and Zoe sits next to Reese on the opposite side. Droid places a plate down at everyone's spot.

But Michael walks away saying, "I'll be right back, I need to go put Bertha away."

"Who's Bertha?" asks Zander.

Michael shoots a glance at him, "My 5ft needle." Zander's back stiffened as the veterinarian left. Reese could see the fear stoked in Zander, so she pulls him close and tries to calm him down.

"Don't worry, he'd never use his needle on you. It's just a way to scare people he doesn't trust," Reese explained.

Zander takes in a deep breath. "If you say so," he says, "But I still feel like that was a real threat."

"It's not, our dad would never use Bertha to attack you."

"I sure hope so. Does he threaten every guy that gets close to you two?"

Zoe pipes up saying, "Almost every guy, the only one he doesn't threaten is Rex. But I'm pretty sure it's because he knew Rex and I have been friends for years."

"Lucky him," frowned Zander.

Once Dr. Drake returned, the whole family sat down and began to eat dinner. Tonight was general tso chicken with wild rice for everyone else, and Reese was having chicken noodle soup. About 45 minutes later, everyone was done with eating dinner and Droid began to clear the table. "Oh, why thank you Droid," smiled Rosie.

Droid smiled back, "YOU ARE WELCOME!"

As everyone began to disperse from the kitchen, Reese and Zander exchanged glances at one another. Zander motions his head over to Rosie and Michael, Reese looks at her parents then nods to Zander.

"Mom, Dad?"

The two parents turned around to look at their daughter.

She continues, "Can we...talk in the living room?"

Both Michael and Rosie looked at each other, they could tell in the tone of Reese's voice that something was wrong.

Michael tells his youngest daughter, "Zoe, can you head upstairs for a bit? We need to talk to your sister privately."

"Okay." Zoe then left the kitchen.

The four adults walked together to the living room. While Michael and Rosie sat on the loveseat together, Zander and Reese sat together on the couch. "So, Reese," said Rosie, "What did you want to talk about?"

Reese lowered her head in shame, she felt as if the entire world was on her shoulders. This was it. Now, it was time for her to explain what was wrong. Her body was shaking, her head was spinning, she was a complete mess.

Then, something grabbed her hand.

She looked down at her hand and saw Zander's atop of hers. Trailing back up to Zander, they look into each other's eyes. Zander nods at Reese. They knew it had to be said, there's no turning back.

"Mom...dad...there's something you need to know...about my sickness."

"What about it?" Michael asked.

Reese's body trembled in fear, she could feel the tears forming in her eyes. Zander begins to pat her back to try and soothe her. Yet through all the tears and anxiety, Reese was persistent, "I-I was curious about something *sniff*... something Zoe told me. She told me that she was worried *sniff* that my sickness would get worse," she continues, "Last night...w-when everyone was in bed, I-I went to check something that...that could be causing my sickness. *sniff* And...a-and…" Reese begins choking up her words as tears streamed down her face.

Both Rosie and Michael were worried about what their daughter was getting at. "Reese, what are you saying?" cautiously asked Rosie.

Reese takes a moment before revealing her news, but she could feel herself on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"M-mom...d-dad *sniff*..."

Both Drake parents leaned in closer to their daughter.

"I-I *sniff*...I'm…"

"Reese, what is it?" asked Michael.

Reese couldn't handle the stress anymore as she explodes, "I'M PREGNANT, OKAY?!", then she completely breaks down in front of her parents while covering her face in shame. Zander frowns, sympathetic to his beloved angel.

Meanwhile, both parents were stunned with what Reese had just said. Rosie had her mouth covered in shock, while Michael blinked a few times with a shocked expression. Even Droid peeks from inside the kitchen, he too was sad to see Reese in such a state. Everyone kept quiet for a moment as Reese tried to let it all out, it felt as if the entire room had stood still from the rest of the world.

Soon, Rosie moves over to the couch and takes a seat next to her crying daughter. She wraps her arms around her and embraces Reese into a hug, letting her cry into her shoulder. "Oh Reese, don't cry. It's okay," she said.

"It's not okay!" cried Reese, "I got pregnant behind your back and you hate me for having this happen!"

"That's not true! Maybe your father and I weren't expecting you to be pregnant this early, but we would never hate you," Rosie stated, "We'd still love you no matter what."

While the mother of the Drake family is dealing with her daughter, Michael takes a glance at Zander. He asks him, "So, I take it you're the father?"

Tensing up again, the ex-member answers, "I-I am, sir." As Michael lets a sigh slip past his lips, Zander fears that he's about to die tonight, "I take it you're going to kill me?"

The veterinarian doesn't respond right away, he takes a minute to let everything sink in. Once he recollects his thoughts, Michael looks over at Zander.

"No." This response shocked not only Zander, but Reese too. "Is the news a lot to take in? Yes, of course. But violence is not the way to take this, instead it needs to be supported by everyone in our family," Michael turned his head to Reese and said, "and I, for one, an on board completely."

"Me too," Rosie nods.

This made Reese feel better knowing that her parents were fully supportive of her pregnancy. As she wiped the tears from her eyes, she said, "Mom, dad, thank you."

"Anytime, sweetie." Rosie then asks Zander, "Is your family excited for the baby, Zander?"

The ex-member begins having visions if the Alpha Gang knew about the pregnancy. He imagined everyone with angry stares as fire blazed in the background. He shakes the thoughts out of his head and replies, "They don't know and mustn't know."

Both Drake parents weren't expecting that to be his answer. So, Michael said, "I take it your family wouldn't be too supportive of the pregnancy."

Zander shook his head, "They aren't even fond of your daughter." Now this seemed shocking to Michael and Rosie. "I come from a family with a strict father and an abusive sister, they run the shots and make sure that things go their way. If they don't like Reese, lord knows what would happen if they find out I got her pregnant," he continues, "So last night, after your daughter called me about the baby, I made up my mind and chose Reese over my family. I packed all my stuff, took Droid with me, and left my family. They don't know that I'm in Sanjo City, and it's best that they never find me here for the sake of both Reese and our child."

Rosie was in shock while Michael shook his head. "So, where are you staying then?" asked the father.

"As of right now, I'm homeless," Zander says, "I plan on finding an apartment complex nearby, that way I have a place to stay and that's close to your home."

Rosie looked at Michael, and Michael looked back at Rosie. Without a word, the mother motions to Zander with her head as the father nodded.

"Zander, why don't you just stay with us?" Rosie said.

Zander was stunned, "R...really?"

"Really really."

"Well not that I object to your offer Rosie, I just don't want you and your husband to worry about another person in your-"

"Oh, nonsense! You can stay with us as long as you'd like."

After being silent for a while, Reese asks her parents, "Can Zander stay in my room?"

"That's up to your father."

"Dad?..." As Michael looked to his daughter, Reese gave him a look that was enough to shatter anyone's soul with her sad puppy eyes. Eventually, he gives in, "Oh, alright."

Reese shows a small smile, "Thanks, dad." The veterinarian nods to her.

"Yes, thank you Dr. Drake," smiled Zander, "and thank you too, Rosie."

Rosie smiled back sweetly, "Anytime, Zander."

"Well now that I've got a place to stay, I can get a start on unloading my stuff. It's only a few boxes, so…"

Michael stops him by lifting his hand, "We'll worry about it tomorrow," he tells Zander, "Meet me at the backyard porch." Without another word, he gets up and leaves.

Zander tilts his head, "Um...okay," then heads to the backyard.

*grumble*

It was that sound again. Reese knew what was about to happen, she clenched her stomach and tried covering her mouth. Rosie noticed as well, "Oh no!" She helps her daughter up off the couch and leads her upstairs to the bathroom.

Outside, Zander had taken a seat on the edge of the porch. He looks up at the night sky as he sees the stars shining bright. He hears the sliding glass door open, Zander turns around and sees Michael holding a bottle of beer in each hand. He hands one to him, "Here, take this." Zander grabs the bottle and Michael takes a seat next to his daughter's boyfriend. He takes a swig from his bottle, Zander takes a small sip before sticking his tongue out in disgust. Michael saw his expression, "Not a big drinker, huh?"

"No, not really."

The veterinarian let out a single chuckle, "Well, neither am I. Only on special occasions will I drink." He took another sip and continued, "I want to talk to you about my daughter. You seem to like her a lot, don't you?"

"Words could never explain how much Reese means to me, she is my whole world as I am hers."

"I figured as much for how you comforted her back there."

The two men sat through an awkward silence.

"Zander."

"Yes?"

Michael lets out a sigh, "I just want to say...thank you."

"Thank you? For what?"

"For being there for my daughter. Reese has a tendency of not handling emotions that well, and I'm sure it wasn't easy for her when it came to telling us the news."

"It wasn't, especially for Reese, but it was something that had to be done right away," Zander replies, "If we had waited longer or until you two found out, I'm sure I would've been kicked out as soon as I set foot here."

Michael smiled as he shook his head, "If it went my way, probably. But Rosie would probably kick me out of the house for doing it." The men laughed for a bit as Michael took another swig. "You know, I was wrong about you Zander," he admits, "At first I thought you were going to be one of those rule breaker men who gets to have things their way. But after tonight, comforting my eldest daughter, respecting my family, you seem like a pretty nice guy."

"Huh, thank you. I don't usually get compliments from others. I guess it's because of who I grew up with."

"But this one is a well earned one."

"Much appreciated, Dr. Drake."

"Please," The veterinarian placed a hand on Zander's shoulder, "call me Michael."

Zander nods with a smile. The two raised their bottles and gave a toast, the bottles *clink* together as the two men drank their beer. But Zander still wasn't fond of the taste just yet, and he stuck his tongue out in disgust with a goofy face to go along with it. This gets Michael to do a hardy laugh, he was amused with Zander's personality. Now, Michael was sure that Zander was the right guy to be with his daughter.

Rosie: Aww, what a lovely chapter. I get to be a grandmother!

Me: Yep. So I'm sure you can tell the difference of this chapter and the original, this one is a bit more well paced. I felt like the original one was too rushed going straight from Zander meeting the Drakes to their wedding, so I'm relived to have fixed that. I'm also relived my router is still going after me beating it up.

Rosie: I think I see smoke coming from it.

Me: Huh? Where? (the router explodes as is caught on fire) Oh, there it is. (grabs the baseball bat) GAAAAAAAAH! (proceeds to beat up the router some more)

Rosie: (nervous) Um, I guess I'm off to buy a new router while Matthew lets his anger out. T-This is Rosie Drake, signing off for CarnotaurusMan. Bye. (sheepishly smiles and waves)