Chapter 2:
Ragnhild's pretty face curled into a frown as she took in the sight of Roselinen sitting behind Simone's desk. The Frozen Yogurt Princess knew something of what had gone on when Simone was in the west, with this woman threatening to blow up the family. With Odessa's games and three hyper-intelligent madmen running around free, it was definitely something the Royal Family had no need of. She wasn't a fan, and she didn't like what she was seeing.
Seeming to guess what her guest was thinking, the plump pillow murmured, "Simone was called to Wizard City. Betty went with her. Please shut the door and have a seat." Those words ratcheted up the tension. Was this woman taking the time to occupy Simone's place while the Ice Queen was away? Was that what this was? Confused and worried, Ragnhild shut the door and came gliding across the room.
Simone had told her that Finn had dated this woman. Roselinen found herself giving the younger woman a good looking over. Truth? Rosie was a little surprised that Finn had dated Ragnhild. But they did break up, she thought. Ragnhild wasn't really his type. Knowing the women who were in his orbit, Rosie was hardly surprised that the whole business had come undone.
The Froyo Princess stood there a moment, and Rosie feared she'd be obstinate or crochety about the business. Finally though, Ragnhild drew the chair before the desk and sat down. Putting aside the papers Simone had been working her way through, Rosie looked up, rested her elbows on the desk, and said, "I want Bill to take a vacation..." Which was as far from what Ragnhild expected as that room was from the moon.
As the Froyo Princess listened, the plump woman laid out her reasons. "Finn... is going to get called away, Ragnhild," she said. "It's... It's going to happen, whether I like it or not. I've... had to accept that, as I accept the sun going down at night." Ragnhild's face went very pale. The implications were clearly not lost on her. When Finn was away, William had to take up the slack.
Steepling her hands together, Rosie said, "my daughter just got back yesterday with Finn. She'll be taking over the daily meeting with the Council. Bill's going to take some time off." Ragnhild flushed. It wasn't as though she didn't want to spend time with her husband. At the same time... "Why are you doing this," the Froyo Princess asked? "Because Simone isn't here to do it," Rosie retorted. "There's a problem with the family. Nothing gets done if Finn and Simone are away. That... should change. My son was in the habit of picking up the slack when Lord Woolcot would drag Finn away for something. I never thought about how much strain that put on Jay, but then we were nobodies. We're... We're not nobodies anymore, are we?"
Ragnhild blew out a breath. It was shockingly logical for a woman that she'd perceived as an idiot. It also had the terrifying ring of truth. "Ok," she said. "How long?" "I'm trying to buy Finn at least a week," Rosie replied. "I want him to have a moment where he isn't being ironed flat to bounce back." A week. She could have her husband for a week. "Ok," said Ragnhild. "Take William away," said Rosie. "Do it this morning, while people are still adjusting to Finn being back."
Ragnhild rose then and got on her way. As she went up the hall, she passed Rosie's daughter, who was headed for Simone's office. The half-breed's face was troubled, but the Froyo Princess understood that. Her brother was missing. He'd done something rash and terrible, and he was out there doing who knew what. A part of her would have offered the other woman some words of cheer, but, with the suggestion of taking William away from here for a bit, Ragnhild couldn't find it in her heart. If this woman was going to be taking up the slack, Ragnhild wasn't going to quibble.
Bonnie's mind was in a bit of a fog. She'd spent much of the night laying in bed, counting cushions to try and sleep. She'd been wound up over what Jay had done and what he was doing now, and she'd gone to bed after spending hours trying to figure out what to do about it. This summons to her stepmother's office had her on edge. What did Simone want with her?
Stepping through the door of the office, the curvy half-breed did a double-take. Her mom. Behind Simone's desk. Why was her mom sitting in Simone's chair at Simone's desk? A dark corner of her mind feared the answer. She knew Simone had gone to Wizard City. Her fellows were at it again. Bonnie had assumed she'd be gone for days. Now this.
"Momma," Bonnie murmured. "What do you think you're doing?" "Taking care of my husband's business," Rosie replied. "Shut the door." Bonnie glared at her. "Shut the door, Bonnibel," Rosie replied. Her voice had an edge to it. Confused, the younger woman did what she'd been told to do. Roselinen gestured to the chair before the desk. Irritated, Bonnie came across to the desk and sat down.
"Your father is going back on his vacation," Rosie announced. Bonnie frowned at her. Just like that? He was going to come back into town and then shred work to go on holiday? "He needs rest, Bonnie," Rosie replied. "This isn't our farm. This..." "Which is why that doesn't make sense," Bonnie shot back. "You're not thinking clearly," Rosie replied. "You're doing what I was doing... Thinking of what immediately concerns you." Bonnie's face went hot. She'd spent the night worrying about her brother.
"We were cushion-herders," Rosie declared. "We had our place in our homeland. Woolcot kept the borders. My father ran our village, and we kept the cushions. Now, we keep the peace, and that's a lot harder, Bonnie." Her eyes said it. Bonnie had just been up to her shoulders in the job of keeping the peace. She'd risked her life. Bonnie stared down at the table. She knew her mother's words were true. Hadn't her father been trying to stitch it into her mother's head just how serious the King's job was?
"You can't be in Simone's office," Bonnie murmured. She was changing the subject. Rosie retorted, "Simone's office is private, Bonnibel. The Royal family's business shouldn't be hanging out on the line like bed-sheets. Bill is going on vacation, effective this morning. You'll be taking care of business while he and your father are away. Get with Boniface and find out what's going on." Lips pursed in a sign of displeasure, Bonnie nodded. "Is there anything else," the younger woman asked? "No," she said. She had others she needed to speak to.
Rising, Bonnie turned and headed to the door. Opening it, she found another face there in the hall. It was the Informer, Orzsebet. Her father's sinister mistress was cooling her heels there. At least she appeared to be. Bonnie couldn't really help wondering if the wench had put her ear to the door to listen. A glance at the door itself suggested she might not have bothered. It was rather thick. With a curt nod, the curvy pillow got on her way.
Orzsebet went into the office behind her and shut the door. Her pretty face regarded Rosie as one regards a bug. Roselinen stared back, her blue eyes focused and sharp. Simone didn't suffer this wench to get out of pocket. She wouldn't either. "Come and sit, Orzsebet," said the plump pillow. The thin woman came sauntering over, narrow hips wig-wagging sensually. She didn't seem Finn's type. Of course the bulge in her middle gave the lie to that idea, suggesting Finn had thumped her like a dusty rug.
"What's this about," demanded the Lady of Spies? "Who're you to summon me?" "The King's wife," Rosie retorted. "Your report, Orzsebet. You have a report for my husband. Let's hear it." The Agent Princess's jaw worked. "Where's Simone," she asked? "Dealing with another crisis," Rosie responded.
On the far side of town, Pat Rainicorn emerged from her daughter's guest room to find Finn in the kitchen cooking breakfast. He'd shown up late the previous evening with a shadow at his back and spent the evening closeted with her daughter. The whole business had been rather weird. She wasn't thrilled about her daughter's choice to climb literally into bed with Kim's uncle.
Finn glanced up at the sight of Pat's momma coming across the room. The party-bear was wearing a silk nightie under a silk dressing gown, and she'd come out sporting an ugly blue cap around her unruly brown locks. Finn wanted to chuckle at the mismatched appearance she presented. That weird cap didn't go with the silk she was sporting. He remembered Jake's story of dating a party-bear in his misspent youth and the hilarity of catching her just getting out of bed with a bag on her head, just like the one Pat was wearing. The tits are killer, Finn thought, as he remembered his brother's words, but that hair, man!
"Hey," Finn greeted her. "Never seen a Royal cooking," Pat murmured. Finn chuckled. Neither had he. Bonnie, Marcie, Breakfast... None of them could cook worth a damn. The only Royal he'd ever seen personally putting together nosh for a guest was Wildberry. It kind of sucked to think that he'd never eat one of her meat pies again.
The plump bear-woman sat herself at the table, facing him. He could see it in her big, brown eyes. She was going to try talking him out of dating Bronwyn. Again. Still. "We have a child, Pat," Finn rumbled. Her face curled into a frown. "She's your niece," Pat retorted. "Hmph," Finn snorted. "I guess you forgot about the day your husband and in-laws kicked me out of the family." Pat glared at him. He'd run Kim's sister out of town. How did he expect Kim to react. "Jake was fucking up," Finn said. "I didn't know why, but I didn't have a way to help her, Pat. I had no choice. If you guys had stepped up, we could have fixed things, but none of you really gave a damn. None of you cared enough to help her. It would have gotten in the way of making cash or auditioning for acting jobs. I would have been left cleaning up the mess when somebody got really hurt by her games."
The tone was conversational, but the expression on his face was chilling. Pat wasn't sure what to make of this at all. He was speaking in the same fashion he always had. There were no signs of him using big words or talking like a Prince. New Finn, she thought? Was she talking to the monster inside him? She felt like that. The guileless nobody she'd known for decades was dead. He'd died in a forest east of Wildberry Kingdom. What was in front of her was a stranger.
Bronwyn came out of her bedroom, yawning volubly. Padding up to Finn, she said, "I thought you were sleeping in..." He was supposed to be on vacation. "I did sleep in," Finn said. He hadn't done any work at all today. He'd done just as he'd been told to do. "You don't sound like a man on vacation," Bronwyn retorted. Grabbing a handful of her big, meaty ass, Finn pulled her to him offering, "mmm, c'mere, baby. Gimme some sugar!" He kissed the younger woman, his big left hand stroking her swollen belly, but his blue eyes never left Pat's. His eyes were cold and hostile. New Finn. Pat was certain of it.
Just then, Bronwyn caught sight of what he'd been cooking. "Oooh, my favorites," Bronwyn burbled! Finn grinned at his girlfriend and stroked her back lovingly, while Pat fumed. This wasn't what she wanted her daughter to be doing. It wasn't just the incesty feel of this. The things Bronwyn had said about her father were... dangerous. Pat feared that the closer Bronwyn got to Finn, the greater the danger to her husband. Just now, Kim was so angry, Pat feared he was doing reckless things. Several of their friends had 'disappeared' in Muscle Kingdom. Nobody could tell her what had happened to them.
Bronwyn's phone rang. Breaking that embrace, the curvy half-bear drew her phone out. It was her grandmother, which was a bit of a surprise. Flicking the phone open, she announced, "hi, grandma... What's...?" She immediately heard shouting in the background, and her blood went cold as her mind immediately remembered Finn's hard words. She was a member of the Royal Family. People would want her dead just for that. Bronwyn had a bodyguard. Hell, her mother had security around her, when she wasn't doing dumb things. Had anybody been thinking about Lady?
It took a moment to recognize the person doing the shouting. That sounded like her uncle. Just as she was registering what was going on, Finn took the phone out of her hands. His keen ears had picked out what she was listening to. "Lady," Finn rumbled. "What's going on?" He could hear TV shouting in the background. "I'll be down in fifteen minutes," Finn said.
Back in the Candy Palace, the King's Mistress and the King's Wife were having a staring contest. Orzsebet didn't want to talk to Rosie. She wanted to talk to Finn himself. "Finn's on leave," Rosie declared. Of course, she'd already said that. Flatly, the Lady of Spies retorted, "you're not the King." "I am his wife," Roselinen shot back. "You were given valuable information, Orzsebet. Jacob risked life and limb to gain some of it. People have died over it." Sitting back in her chair, the plump woman said, "you're the King's Informer, Orzsebet. Inform. Where are these madmen? Where is Gumbald? Why haven't you produced them?"
It was a sticky question. Her adversary wasn't asking for a location. She was demanding answers on the short progress Orzsebet had made. Jaw jutting, the skinny woman responded, "the loss of the traitor, Melinda, was a setback. By the time we reached my counterpart's headquarters, the place was empty. They had cleaned it out of all useful equipment and information." It was Rosie's turn to blush. Her son had caused that.
Taking a breath, Orzsebet admitted, "I have information on a possible location where Gumbald may be hiding. I'm in the process of checking it out. I have to go personally because of... the problems my organization has currently." Half of her agents were actually her opponent's agents. That made Rosie very queasy. This woman was carrying a Royal child. She was a valuable hostage. "I don't agree," Rosie said. "You will work with Star to find somebody trustworthy to go in your place. You can go." Orzsebet shot to her feet and glared at the other woman. Rosie didn't so much as flinch. "When that baby in your belly has been born, you can do whatever you want with that rather thin skin of yours, Orzsebet," the plush pillow declared. "Until then, you will walk small and not put the life of a Royal child at risk. You can go."
The Agent Princess hurled curses at her, but Roselinen was unmoved. Finally, the ornery bitch turned and stalked out, rage in her very posture. She all but tore the door open and slammed it on her way out. Clapping announced that Rosie wasn't alone. The plump woman turned to face Simone's private meeting room, where she found Cherry standing in the doorway. "You should have checked the other room," announced the Boss of Bosses, as she strode across the room. That perfect face was unreadable. Nodding at the door where Orzsebet had gone, the little woman rumbled, "I'm not exactly a fan either." Rosie flushed. She didn't really like Orzsebet, and apparently she wasn't alone.
Smoothing her skirts, Cherry sat herself, crossing her legs artfully. She was an enigma. Rosie had met a couple of cutpurses. There were a few black-cushions in her family tree. None of them were as refined as this woman. "I'm doing what Simone would do, if she wasn't in that madhouse...," Rosie explained. "Are you running the afternoon meeting," Cherry asked? It was pointed. "I'm not trying to replace her, if that's what you mean," Rosie retorted. "I think we both know I can't. I'm trying to..." "...unburden her," Drew agreed. She was standing at the door.
Cherry turned to face the pretty doctor. "When did you get in," she asked? "Just a bit ago," Drew replied. Having gotten wind of Jake Jr's injury and the fact that Bonnie the younger would be back in town, Drew had gotten on an airship to come back and look at them. "Drusilla," Rosie greeted the tall doctor. "Roselinen," Drew replied. The curvy doctor shut the door and crossed the room to Simone's desk. "I've seen... what this does to her," Rosie murmured. It made her sad to think of what that woman went through each and every day. "I didn't want her to come home and find..." "...bedlam let loose," Cherry sighed. And what was she going to say? It wasn't as though she had the time. Muttering curses, the Boss of Bosses agreed, "ok."
As the Royal Wives came to terms with the mountain of troubles facing them, the King of Ooo rolled up to the home of his brother's ex-wife. "Hang back," Finn told his bodyguard. "Keep quiet." He didn't want to escalate things with Jake's family. Walking up to the house, the big man knocked on the door and waited. He could hear TV's voice inside. He couldn't hear Lady's, and that worried him. His ex-nephew was a bit of a trainwreck and always had been. Jake Jr. wasn't the only fuckup in his brother's family.
Deciding that there was a very real risk that TV would do something really stupid, the King used one of Sybil's razor vines to slice open the lock's mechanism. Then, boldly, the big man stepped in through the door. He found TV sitting on the floor in the living room, arms crossed, with his face red and his eyes bloodshot. He was a bit of a mess, and Finn didn't need to take a whiff of him to figure out that he'd been drinking. Again. Still. Lady was curled up in the corner, and she'd clearly been crying.
A part of him would have belted TV. It made him angry that this idiot was here shouting at his mom. Calm down, bud, Finn told himself. Nothing was ever as simple as it looked. He'd found that out with Jake Jr. Striding into the space, the King announced, "hey, guys... What's shaking?"
He said it like this was a nothing–like he'd just walked in on the gang playing a boardgame. TV cussed him. Lady went and threw herself on him. She started babbling, and it was coming out of her faster than the voice-box around her neck could translate. Finn hugged her, whispering calming words, as he tried to sort through what she was saying. What he got made him angry all over again. "Let me talk to him," Finn murmured. Whispering calm words, the big man said, "it's gonna' be ok. He's... He's just being a bit of a butt. We'll get it straightened out..."
Turning to TV, the big man said, "need you to walk outside in the backyard with me." TV looked for a moment as if he would argue. In calm tones, Finn announced, "that's not really a request, TV. Outside. Now, please." As Lady and his bodyguard watched, the King of Ooo walked across the living room to the patio door. Sliding it open, he glanced back at TV, expectantly. The younger man slowly gathered himself to his feet and followed. When TV had stepped outside, Finn shut the door, leaving his bodyguard in the room with Lady.
Finn sat down on the log in front of the firepit. TV stood there a long few moments staring at him. "We don't shout at mom," Finn rumbled. TV flushed. "Of all the people in our lives... our dads... our wives... our kids... we never shout at mom," the big man declared. "Lady carried you in her tummy for nine months, son. I know what flavor of hell that is for a girl. She did that for you, and you come here to scream at her because you've lost your Game-Box..."
It sounded about as stupid as stupid got. TV stared at the ground in shame. Had he really just screamed at his mom to get his Game-Box out of the pawnshop? "Clean yourself up, TV," Finn said. "Get your ass out of here and go home. Clean up. Stop it with the drinking. There's only one place you're going to end up if you keep that shit up... Alone. Friendless. Maybe dead." Rising, the older man walked past the younger. As he passed, Finn said, "I expect you'll apologize to Lady before you go. "I don't have a place to go," TV said. "Pearl and I got kicked out of our place." They had been staying with Cupcake until Cupcake threw him out. "I think Lady's not the only person you owe an apology to, TV," Finn replied. "Ask yourself why your wife's best chum kicked her husband out of the house. Answer that– fix that–and you'll be a better person."
Returning to the house, Finn announced, "TV has something to say..." Stumbling forward, the younger man went up to his mom. "I-I'm sorry, mom," he burbled. "I'm sorry I got sore..." Lady hugged him. After a moment, TV hugged her back. Nodding at the bathroom, Finn said, "you can make it up to your mom by helping me fix her sink."
Elsewhere, Jake Jr. stepped out of the shower in response to the insistent knocking at her door. Having slept poorly the previous night, she'd been slow in getting up. It was the first night in a fair bit that the shapechanger had woken up without the sound and feel of Finn next to her in bed. She was fighting jealousy just now because it was a certainty Finn had spent the night in the arms of Bonnie's momma, even though she'd known going in how this was going to go.
She was the mistress. She was just his side-piece. Indeed, she wasn't even his only side-chick. Fish-Bitch was waiting in the wings, even if she was on the far side of the world. Get it together, Jake, she told herself. This might be important. It might even be worth Finn's life. Gathering on a towel, the shapechanger hustled to the door. Jerking the door open, she found herself staring down at a little marshmallow person in a cute little maid outfit. Offering her a curtsy, the maid announced, "Her Royal Highness, the Grandmaster of Wizard City, has summoned you..."
It took a moment. Jake grimaced. Simone. The Ice Queen was waiting on her. There were some complicated feelings there. She'd threatened Simone, once upon a time in the bad-old-days. She'd tried to murder her aunt in cold blood. She'd faked her own death, framed Billy for the deed, and left Simone's son holding the bag. For all of those things and more, she had no right to expect anything of the Ice Queen.
And yet, Simone had been the one member of the family willing to cut her slack over her misdeeds.
And what did you do, Jake, she thought? You've been fucking her husband. What was she going to say? She'd rewarded Simone's giving her a second–even third–chance by fucking Finn six ways to Sunday. You have to go, she thought. She couldn't ignore the summons. It was certainly important. At the end of the day, she was Finn's bodyguard. If he had somewhere to go, she needed to be there. "I'll be up in ten minutes," the shapechanger answered. She had to dry off and get dressed.
Jake was dressed in a chick-suit when she came strolling into the Ice Queen's office. It seemed appropriate. It was certainly a better tone than showing up in front of Finn's wives in one of her fuck-toy outfits. She was a little startled to find Roselinen sitting behind Simone's desk. Off to either side sat Cherry and Drew. "Shut the door, Jacob," Rosie announced. With a grimace of worry, the shapechanger turned and shut the door before turning to walk across the room. As she crossed the space, holographic images appeared around the room above the various chairs that were set there.
Jake's worry and fear ratcheted up a couple of notches as she walked into that scene. As Jake reached the center of the space, the Ice Queen's glowing image announced, "let's begin." Standing in the center of that gathering, Jake was uncomfortably aware of just how far off the reservation she'd gone.
Gathering her scattered wits, Jake Jr. began to speak. In calm tones, the shapechanger talked her way through all that had gone on in the east, starting off with the landing and working her way through the fight against Nagoono, to the days they spent chasing him, to the moment they found and rescued Princess Sakura. She spared nothing, not even her own feelings and fears about the visions of her pregnancy.
She found a couple of faces nodding in approval at the devious way she'd kept Finn away from the fighting at Kun-Som, and a couple of those faces might even have been taking notes. She was a little embarrassed by what they'd done to Reese. Indeed, there were a couple of sour faces in her audience at those words. Still, everybody was clear that it had needed to be done. Relief greeted the news that Nagoono was not only defeated but very dead, and everybody was delighted to hear that they'd rescued Sakura's kids.
Alone of those faces, Simone and Drew were disturbed and concerned about Jake's injury at Nagoono's hands. It was an important lesson. She was the mistress. Wives only, fool. Indeed, some of those faces asked pointed questions. The jealousy was obvious. The youngest of the three breakfast sisters was rather irritated to hear of Finn getting it on with other women–as if that was going to change anytime soon.
Cutting through the bullshit in that way of hers, Simone announced, "we shall have to send Haryati a letter of thanks and a gift." She sounded like a wife thanking a neighbor for loaning her husband a shovel instead of a diabolical monster. Everything's significant for a King's wife, Rosie thought. "I'll work with Frenchie to put something together," she volunteered.
As Simone thanked her, Drew Princess-Mertens rose from her place, announcing, "if we're finished..." And without a further word, she took Jake by her good arm and headed for the door. Simone was already moving the gathering on to other business, and they were discussing the efforts to protect the refugee village east of the Grey Forest when the door shut.
"I-I'm ok," Jake protested, as Drew half-dragged her down the hall. The doctor glared at her, and Jake subsided. Drew had slapped her once, when she was much younger. The good doctor was not shy about letting you know when you were on her shit list. "I'll be working on your issue with birth-control," Drew announced. Jake flushed. She'd been expecting a beating. Here was this woman offering to get her some nice pills to take so she could fuck Finn whenever she wanted. "Nobody should have to be afraid of their own fertility," Drew muttered.
"I'm a monster," Jake whispered. Drew stopped in the hall and spun her around. The shapechanger had no idea her hearing was so good. "You're a person with health challenges," Drew retorted, "the same as every other member of this family. First to last, everybody needs a doctor's care, Jacob. Come along." Not that she at all gave Jake a choice. It was clear to the shapechanger that she'd be getting dragged by her ear if she didn't agree to go quietly.
Arriving at the infirmary, they found Simone II waiting in the other room. "Momma," the half-breed burbled? Moments later, she was rushing forward to hug her mother. "Momma," Simone sobbed. Any thought that her kids would hate her was washed away in that moment. "She came over with me on the airship," Drew declared. "She's going to be looking after Elizabeth." Drew went to the door of one of the exam rooms and threw it open. Jake's second daughter was sitting there on the other side. Liz was topless with just a bra holding her big cans in place, and a couple of nurses were drawing blood as if they'd just finished up giving an exam.
"Mom," Liz murmured. "Liz," Jake replied. "I'm glad you're ok." Nodding at the pretty doctor, the curvy half-breed announced, "they got me some pills, mom. They said I can go out if I take the pills." Jake glanced to Drew. Answering her unspoken question, Drew explained, "Princess Bubblegum and I have been working on your problem." Turning to Liz, she said, "I'll be with you in a moment." Taking her mom by the shoulder, Drew went into one of the other exam rooms.
"Strip," Drew murmured. Jake frowned at her, but it was clear that Drew wasn't joking. With a sigh, Jake got out of her clothes and sat down on the exam table. The doctor immediately moved to check out her chest and arm, listening to her heart and her breathing. Tempted past prudence, the shapechanger moved her heart, just to get a rise. Irritated, Drew pinched her ear.
"My arm's much better," Jake burbled. "You're supposed to be dead," Drew muttered, as she continued her poking and prodding. "While I'm grateful that Finn isn't dead, I'm not exactly delighted that you took that strike for him." The doctor insisted on strapping electrodes to her arm and plugging her into a machine. Then, she made the shapechanger lay back on the table.
"Cock 'em up," Drew announced. Jake's face whipped around. Firmly, the doctor told her, "put your legs in the stirrups, Jacob." The shapechanger blushed to her hair, but did as she was told. As the doctor began to examine her lady-bits, Jake offered, "I'm sorry..." "For what," Drew asked? "For having sexual urges? You know you may not have a choice..." Jake sighed heavily. She knew. She'd taken a lot of cold baths during her time in exile, and she'd basically been a recluse. She worked for money–just to be able to eat–but she'd kept to herself.
The doctor clucked to herself and muttered under her breath as she worked away. Jake found her mind going down some pretty nasty roads. She was wrecked. She knew she was wrecked. Billy had pretty much busted the pussy out, and Finn had finished the job. A dirty little corner of her mind thought the doctor was familiar with that. She'd been getting that too. Drew Princess had two kids of her own with Finn.
Done with the examination, the pretty doctor bade her get dressed. Going over to a bag that sat on the counter, Drew came up with a small jar full of little red pills. Returning to Jake's side, she said, "one of these each day at breakfast. Don't miss a day. It's important." As she rolled the jar back and forth in her hands, Jake frowned up at the doctor. Blowing out a breath, Drew said, "you'll be fine after a few months, Jacob. Once your body's begun to assimilate the drug, your moods will improve, and your... urges... will subside." Glancing away a moment, the tall woman said, "the first few weeks are dangerous. Your body's becoming acclimated to the drug. If you start to skip days, you'll have a relapse. It... could get bad."
Jake's face whipped to Drew's and then she was staring at the door. Her daughter was out there. "I asked Simone to come over and look after Liz, Jake. She's going to make sure Liz stays on her meds, even if she has to tie Liz to her bed." Nodding, Jake mumbled, "one a day." Resting a hand on Jake's shoulder, Drew said, "it's a start, Jake. Everything begins with a step. You're already going down the road to health. This... it's just to help you keep on the path."
Shooting to her feet, Jake hugged the doctor. Standing there, rocking with the younger woman, Drew murmured, "I feel like I failed you. You were going off the rails, and I was too busy to even think about why..." Breaking contact, Jake murmured, "you couldn't have helped me, doc... Nobody could have... Sometimes you have to hit bottom to realize how messed up you are. I... I had to hit bottom." There was nothing more to say. She had to get her kids, find somewhere for them to lay their heads, and she wanted to go find Finn. Taking her jar, she headed out into the waiting room. As she was walking out the door, Drew said, "those'll make you sleepy, so be careful. I'll be working on your... other problem. Jake flushed to her long, blonde hair, but she said nothing. Striding up to her daughters, she said, "c'mon... We'll. We'll talk."
Had to do a little character development in this chapter. Should be a little more action next time.