~ Chapter Seven ~

Good News

Barbara woke up the following day on cloud nine. The sun was shining, the birds were singing outside of her window, and the babies slept through the night, giving her a blissful night of deep, uninterrupted sleep.

Barbara remembered falling asleep in the window seat with Walter until sometime after midnight, then vaguely recalled him moving her to the bed for better comfort before he left. She thought about asking him to stay the night, not asking for anything other than comfort, but was too embarrassed to ask.

Gathering her glasses from her nightstand, she placed them on her face to better see, then she gently moved her blankets off and slipped out of bed. Her phone, charging next to her alarm clock, was the first thing she usually checked in the mornings- but this time- she didn't want to start this beautiful morning off with more anxiety and worry for her son.

After she used the facilities, brushed her teeth and hair, and got dressed, Barbara glanced at herself in the mirror and smiled. Today was going to be a good day. She just knew it, and even if it weren't, she'd still find a way to make it good.

Making her way out of the bathroom, she thought it best to get some coffee started for Walter and check on the babies.

Peeking into the babies' bedroom, Barbara smiled to see that the little bundles were still sleeping peacefully and carefully snuck away not to rouse them. She walked downstairs with a slight jump in her steps and spun around the broken pole at the bottom, grinning broadly. She felt like singing; she was so happy.

True, she got a decent amount of sleep and wasn't hurting anymore from her near-death experience a few nights ago, but now, she felt like an entirely new person. And that was all because of Walter.

Last night was magical and a moment she'd been needing. She needed to be told that she was loved, cherished, and have someone stay by her side when things were tough.

And their kiss…!

Barbara was so happy; she swore she could fly.

Spinning around, humming to herself, Barbara entered the kitchen and absent-mindedly began to prepare a pot of coffee, but stopped when she realized that a full pot was already timed, hot, and ready for drinking.

Shocked, she then glanced around her kitchen and realized that it was immaculate. The dishes were done, floors were swept, and Walter had placed an entire bouquet of the same lavender roses on the counter with a note that had her name on it.

Clutching her chest, she opened the note, and it simply read:

To Barbara,

You are the most beautiful woman, and I'm so lucky to have you in my life. Thank you for all you do for the children and me.

With love,

Walter

"Oh, Walter," Barbara whispered to herself, "it's I who is the lucky one." She turned and admired the beautiful bouquet for a moment, then surveyed the rest of her house.

Last night, while she put the kids down for bed, Walter had cleaned up everything for her. He was too good to her and unbelievably romantic and thoughtful. Barbara was moved beyond words as tears welled up in her eyes.

They had finally told each other how much they loved each other and shared their first real kiss since he'd returned to her life as the Changeling Troll he was, but they'd kept their relationship on a slow-burning romance. But now, she had officially fallen head-over-heels for him.

Barbara wiped her tears away and slowly made her way up the stairs to her bedroom again. It didn't make sense to start on breakfast for him because she couldn't cook, but that was something she wanted to change. She wanted to cook a nice meal for him without burning it or messing up the ingredients. She made a mental note to find time to watch a cooking show, as Jim used to do, to find a nice recipe to surprise and make a nice dinner for Walter. She wanted to thank him for everything he'd done for her and show him how much she loved him.

Barbara was lost in her thoughts, thinking about her Changeling boyfriend, wondering if he was downstairs in his borrowed bed, thinking about her as well when her phone suddenly vibrated on her bedside table.

Blinking in surprise, she glanced at it and was almost scared to touch it. The hospital often texted her, whether it be administration or the other doctors, but she wasn't sure why they would bother her when they gave her a week off on purpose.

Then it hit her; it could be her son.

Barbara reached out to grab it but then stopped. Her heart suddenly began pounding erratically, and her hand shook. Of course, she wanted it to be Jim, but she also didn't want her hopes to be dashed when it wasn't him.

Barbara took a deep breath through her nose, closed her eyes for a moment, then forced herself to grab her phone. Pulling the charger out of her phone, she then glanced down at her screen and froze. She thought she saw things for a moment, but then she realized that her eyes weren't deceiving her.

The text had a picture notification next to the unopened message- and it was from Jim.

Jumping off the bed and gasping loudly, Barbara couldn't contain it anymore and screamed excitedly at the top of her lungs. Finally, after five tedious days of waiting for Jim to text her back after his vague message that had her worried sick, he'd finally messaged her!

Seconds passed as she screamed and screamed and screamed, pacing back and forth, clutching the phone to her chest. It was out of excitement, but she realized the error of that mistake when she calmed down.

The babies began crying in Jim's old bedroom next door, and loud clanging sounds erupted from downstairs, with numerous sounds of running feet barrelling up towards her.

Seconds later, Walter burst through her bedroom door with a fist-full of sharp knives at the ready, and his sharp teeth bared menacingly. His face was the epitome of rage, and it was apparent he was prepared to attack whoever was making her scream. However, when he saw her jumping up and down with no threat anywhere to be found, he dropped his knives to his side with profound relief and looked utterly confused.

"Barbara?" Walter gasped, clutching at his chest now. Placing the knives back in his collar, he quickly crossed over to her and touched her shoulder. "By the gods, you nearly gave me a heart attack! What is the meaning of-" he suddenly stopped. Barbara was staring at her phone and hadn't reacted to him bursting into her room, ready to murder whoever was making her scream.

He blinked in confusion. "Barbara?"

Seconds later, NotEnrique burst into the room, followed by AAARRRGGGHHH, who was in his warrior state of mind. His eyes were glowing green, just like the rest of his body.

"KILL WHOEVER IS…" he roared, then stopped when he saw that she wasn't in danger. His glowing green eyes faded, and his usual, kind face was back. "Oh, uh, Bar-buh-rah not in danger?"

"Holy shishkabob," NotEnrique gasped out, dropping the baseball bat he was holding to his side. "It would appear not."

Walter cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at her. "Darling, what is it? What has happened?" But Barbara was still silently reading and re-reading the text message on her phone with a giant smile on her face and didn't respond.

"Doc, come on, talk to us!" NotEnrique piped in. "We was sleepin' downstairs when your screams woke and scared the freakin' daylights out of us! We thought you was gettin' murdered or somethin'!"

"Barbara," Walter sighed, still trying to calm his pounding heart and not think about how sick hearing her scream made him feel. He was already awake, lying in his bed and thinking of her and the amazing kiss they shared last night when he heard her scream. The sound made his heart fall into his stomach, and cold terror seized every inch of him. He had never felt more afraid nor enraged before at the same time. He had jumped out of his bed quicker than the others but swore he wasn't running quick enough when her screams kept echoing through the house. "Darling, please, talk to me. What is going on?"

"It- it's Jim," Barbara finally choked out, looking up at Walter's concerned face. "He's finally texted me back! They are okay!"

"What?" Walter gasped, and both he, NotEnrique, and Aaarrrggghhh clambered over to read the message over her shoulder.

"Yeah," Barbara half-cried, half-laughed. Then she read the message to them.

Mom,

I'm sorry that I haven't texted you in a few days; my phone died, and I haven't found a charger until now.

Update: We've still been busy trying to find the new Heartstone, but I'm excited to say that we've finally found it! We are below Hoboken, New Jersey, but have come across some not-so-friendly enemies and complications. I will update you later with the details, but until then, I will try to remember to keep my phone charged so I can keep checking in with you.

I hope all is well with you, Walter, NotEnrique, AAARRRGGGHHH, and the babies. Give our love to them all. Until then, be safe, and I'll try to do the same. Love u.

Love,

Jim

When she finished reading Jim's message aloud to them, Barbara turned to face Walter, and he looked immensely relieved.

"Jim is okay?" Aaarrrggghhh asked slowly, his face lighting up, and Barbara nodded, wiping away her tears.

"Yes, yes, he's okay! And so are the others, it sounds like!" She paused, clutched the phone to her chest, and she felt like she could breathe properly again. "I'm so sorry that I scared you all. I heard the text come through, but I was so afraid to look at it. When I saw that it was him, I have never felt more relieved. I'm so happy they are alive and alright!"

Barbara exhaled a sigh of relief and suddenly wrapped her arms around Walter's waist, hugging him tightly and resting her face against his chest.

Walter froze for a moment but then slowly wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. "I'm so thankful he's alright, as well," he whispered, rubbing her back, "and that no one was hurting you, just now, because… I was going to kill them."

Barbara chuckled slightly and leaned away to look up at him. "I'm sorry that I worried you. I didn't mean to scream like that, but I couldn't help it. I was so excited and relieved when I saw that he texted me."

"I understand," Walter said gently, "and I'm glad that you've heard from Jim."

Barbara smiled warmly at him and stared intently into his eyes, thinking about last night, their kiss, and how much she loved him.

"Thank you, Walter."

Walter gently pulled her to him, wrapped an arm around her waist, and hugged her. Their eyes never left each other's as he slowly lowered his lips towards hers-

"Yeah, well, now that we know that you ain't dead or dying, the big guy and meself are gonna head out into town to find us some breakfast," NotEnrique cut in, jumping onto Aaarrrggghhh's bulky stone shoulders. Barbara and Walter broke eye contact and stopped going in for a kiss. "The little tykes are awake now, as well, thanks to doc's screaming. So, ya'll have fun with that now."

With that, Aaarrrgggghhh and NotEnrique left, nearly taking her bedroom door with them due to the larger troll's size.

Leaving Walter's embrace, Barbara sighed heavily and sank onto the edge of her bed, wiping her tears away. Walter followed, sat down next to her, wrapped an arm around her, and she instantly opened up to him.

"Jim's message said that they've found the heart stone but have come across a new enemy and complications," Barbara said softly, looking down at her screen for a moment before glancing into Walter's eyes. "What do you think that means?"

"I know you don't like hearing this, but Jim is not new to battling dangerous enemies, Barbara," Walter chuckled. "I do not doubt that there are many forces, known or unknown to us and this world, that may have been searching for or trying to use the heart stone's power for their own purposes." When Barbara looked back down at her phone with worry, Walter's face softened. He gently cupped her jaw and guided her to look up at him, and added, "but, I do not doubt that they are all safe. You mustn't worry anymore, Barbara. Whatever complications they've come across, I know they will make it through."

Barbara shut her eyes for a second, then returned her phone to the nightstand and turned to gaze into his eyes, smiling warmly.

"I know, and for once, I'm not worried." She caressed a hand down the side of his face once before taking his hands in her own. "Now that Jim has texted me, I feel like I can finally breathe and seize this day and many more." She smiled at him. "Thanks to your strength and love, Walter, I feel like I can do anything."

Barbara then wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and hugged him. Walter instantly responded and held her tightly against him.

"By the way, good morning. I love you, Walter, so, so, very much," she whispered in his ear, nestling her face against his hair.

"Good morning, my beautiful darling," Walter whispered, closing his eyes and wishing he could have stayed by her side all night. However, he thought it best to respect their slow-moving romance and not push boundaries. He moved his nose into her beautiful hair and kissed the side of her head.

"Before I woke up the household with my screaming, I went downstairs and saw all that you did for me," Barbara suddenly whispered after a few seconds of silent embracing. "The house, the coffee, the beautiful roses, and notes." She pulled away from him and gazed deeply into his eyes. "Thank you, Walter. What have I done to deserve a love like yours?"

Walter opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, his heart melted at the kind words on his behalf. Never had he known such kindness, appreciation, or expressions of love before.

"I'm thankful you're in my life," Barbara continued softly, "and I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've done in helping me out. That, and I am on cloud nine because of the amazing kiss we shared last night. I couldn't stop thinking about it."

Walter's gaze was soft and loving. "Me too, darling," he whispered, caressing some hair away from her face, "I love you too, more than I could possibly say," he paused, then inched his face towards hers and added, "I didn't want to stop kissing you last night."

"Then don't stop," Barbara breathed, and instantly, Walter closed the distance and pressed his lips to hers. Their lips danced feverishly with each other for a few seconds, and both had no intention of stopping.

Moaning softly, Barbara moved onto his lap, kissing him deeply, and ran her hands through his long hair. However, when the screaming and crying from the babies in the next bedroom got louder, Barbara pulled away, sighing heavily, and looked apologetic.

"Sorry," she whispered, resting her forehead against his, "I woke them up, so I'll deal with them."

"Not by yourself, you're not," Walter said, smiling and standing them both up. He then dragged her to him and kissed her lips again, moving slowly and deeply. After a few seconds, he pulled away, and Barbara felt dazed.

Walter smiled at her. "We're in this together. Right?"

Barbara grinned at him, wrapped her arms around his waist, stood on her tip-toes, and kissed his lips again once before whispering, "right."