Author Notes - For this chapter, we're delving much deeper into the flashback scenes of the S18 episode 'The Wife Aquatic'. You know, minus the mermaid hallucinations, storm fishing, and that ending where the trees get cut down for porno magazines. In other words, really didn't like that episode all too much, but it's got great material for this story!

Also featured is a reference to a flashback in S18 'Kill Gil Volumes I and II' (which was also kind of garbage), and doing a bit more with the whole 'Patty is a lesbian' thing. I wanted to save that for later on, so I could develop Patty more as a character while making off-hand references to it, before I turned it into a full-on subplot. Because, you know, I wanna write Patty as a character before anything else.

The title of this chapter is a reference to the song 'Hurrah for Baffins Bay' from the 1902 Wizard of Oz play, for no other reason than because I could.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - HURRAH FOR BARNACLE BAY!

1962… Grief from the loss of a parent never leaves a child, no matter how long ago it was. But that's not to say they can't be happy. Joyous activities can help one forget their grief.

Marge sat in her room, playing with her new dollhouse. It was a birthday gift from her mother, for her seventh birthday that was just a few months ago. It was the first birthday she had since her father succumbed to something - she was never told what. It didn't matter what it was though; he was dead, and that was all that mattered. Despite that, she smiled as she played with her dolls, since they provided a great distraction.

She had missed a lot of things. So, so many things. She missed the cuddles, and the airplane hero stories (even if they were all lies). She thought she would miss that smoky smell associated with him too, but oddly enough, she didn't miss it at all. Not because she was happy it was gone, but because it never left. The smoky odor still remained clinged to the walls, except now it came from her sisters' room instead of her parents'.

It was only on this very day that she found out why.

'Aw crap, Mom's gonna get home soon. What do we do? If she finds we have these, we're toast.'

'Geez, you are so new to this, aren't ya? There's an easy solution to our predicament. Come on!'

The voices of her sisters came from just outside her room, and Marge could hardly recognise them anymore. Their voices had grown more distinct as they aged, since according to her mother they sounded nearly identical when they were young. Now, however, their voices began to sound the same again, and - worse yet - grew raspier, just like the other members of their family. Even stranger, all these changes had only started a few months ago.

The twins stormed into her bedroom without asking for permission or even knocking first. Marge didn't mind too much, and merely held up one of her dolls instead.

'Do you wanna play, Selma?' She asked.

The blonde twin in question went flushed, and laughed nervously when Patty gave her a rather incredulous look.

'Really?' Patty remarked. 'You're fifteen now.'

'Oh SOR-REE that I take time out of my day to play with our little sister!' Selma retorted. 'And who cares anyway? That isn't what's important right now. Go ask her about the you-know-what.'

'Oh, of course you get me to do it.'

Patty approached her youngest sister, knelt down on the floor, and pulled out a small box from her pocket. It didn't take Marge long to identify it - it was a box of cigarettes, something she recognised from her father's room. Many of the cigars within it were already gone.

Well, that explained why her sisters' breath smelled so much like smoke.

'Mom doesn't know we have these.' Patty said. 'And that's how we want it to stay, at least for now. So if she sees us with them, she'll kill us. We'll need to hide them in your room.'

Marge gasped. Now, she wasn't sure what the deal with these cigarettes were, but she knew they weren't good for her. When Daddy was still alive, he would always make sure she didn't take them for herself (though not caring so much about the twins). And, if her sisters needed to hide them from their mother, then it couldn't have been good to begin with. The last thing she wanted was to be some sort of accomplice to a crime. But, thinking about it, she frowned. The girls in front of her weren't just some randos from high school, but her own sisters. Now how could she say no to them?

She pushed those feelings aside. Family or no family, she wouldn't participate in a crime.

'No!' She said, as firmly as she could.

Both her sisters were taken aback. Selma stared at her in shock, but Patty's surprised look quickly faded away in favour of a glare.

'What did you just say to me?' She demanded.

'I won't help you!' Marge said. 'I won't wanna help you do something bad. And what if Mommy sees that stuff in my room? She might get angry at me!'

Most could tell it was a silly fear, for Jacqueline would have every reason to suspect her twins over her youngest, but Marge did not want to take any risks.

'Marge, if you don't help us out here,' Selma said. 'There will be no more playtime.'

The youngest sister crossed her arms. 'No!'

She looked away from her sisters for just a moment, so she could move one of her dolls into the kitchen to bake a cake, but was met with two soul-piercing glares when she looked back. It was enough to make her flinch and yelp.

'Uh… n-no?' She squeaked.

Then, without giving her any time to react, the twins rushed forward and grabbed her.

'Hey! Lemme go!'

In just a few seconds, it seemed, Patty and Selma walked away and put the box of smokes in the nearest drawer, while Marge found herself… trapped. Somehow, the twins had stuffed her into her very own dollhouse, in such a way that both her arms were sticking out of a couple of windows.

'Um, c-can you help me?' She asked.

She expected them, or at least Selma, to turn around and help her out of this difficult situation, but neither paid her any mind at all. They didn't even bother to close the door behind them, though that may have been for the best. Marge tried to pull her own arms out of the windows, but she could barely move them at all. It didn't help that she had been stuffed into the dollhouse so tightly that she couldn't even push herself out of it. So, all she could do was somehow make it onto her legs.

She felt like a turtle, seeing as the dollhouse felt like a massive shell on her back that she couldn't get off. It was something of a miracle that she could walk at all.

'Help!'

Much like a tortoise, she stumbled across the floor. Her desired destination was her sisters' bedroom, just down the halls from her. Making it to the open door was her first challenge. Each step was surprisingly difficult, and her legs shook underneath the weight of the massive 'dollhouse-shell', until she made it to the halfway point. There, her legs gave up completely and she fell over forward.

With her face buried in the carpet, and her sisters seemingly apathetic to her plight, there was only one thing Marge could do.

'MOMMY!'

It took at least ten minutes until Jacqueline got home from her job - she had three daughters to feed single handingly, after all - and the first thing she heard when she stepped through the door was her youngest calling for her help. To say that she was surprised to see Marge stuck in her dollhouse would be an understatement.

'Uh… Marge?' She questioned, stepping into the room. 'How on Earth did this happen?'

'It was Patty and Selma!' Marge replied. 'I said 'no' to a thing they wanted me to do, and they didn't like that, so they did this to me.'

She specifically avoided saying what exactly she said 'no' to, to avoid incriminating herself and her sisters, but it didn't make Jacqueline any less horrified.

'Your sisters did this to you?!' She cried. 'Okay, I'll have a good long talk to them about that. Here, let me try to help you.'

Untangling Marge from the dollhouse was even more difficult than she expected, and at least every ten seconds the little girl cried out 'OW!' when twisted in a poor position. When Jacqueline wasn't wondering how the hell Patty and Selma got her this tangled into the dollhouse, she wondered why the hell they did it to begin with. Even Patty at her worst typically didn't do something like this to her own little sister - only her twin and everyone at school - and such behaviour was unheard of from Selma. Then again…

'Marge…' She said. 'Is this the first time they've done something like this?'

When Marge finally got her left arm unstuck, she replied, 'Nothing this bad, but they have been kinda mean for the last few months. They yell at me a lot, and don't spend time with me very often, and their voices sound kinda weird now.'

Jacqueline sighed. 'Of course. I think I understand what's happening here.'

'What?'

'Either they're becoming typical teenage girls, or the death of your father has affected them more than they care to admit. Maybe both.'

Marge frowned. 'Oh, poor things!'

Jacqueline gave her a strange look, not quite able to understand why she would express sympathy for those who stuffed her into a dollhouse, but she didn't say anything about it. Thankfully, once the first arm was free, the second one was much easier to get out too. With just a little bit of pulling, Marge was finally free from her dollhouse once again. She spun around her arms a bit, like someone trying to get rusted machinery turning again.

'We need to do something to make them feel better!' She said, jumping to her feet and smiling in an instant. 'Maybe we could go on a trip or something!'

'You know what?' Jacqueline replied. 'I think that's a fantastic idea.'

The most difficult part of bringing the three Bouvier daughters on a vacation was making sure that Patty and Selma could go five minutes without killing each other. The second-most difficult part was figuring out where to go - someplace not too far away, relatively cheap for a family of five (er, four), and with enough stuff to do so the twins wouldn't grow bored and try to hurt people. A quick glance through a pamphlet, however, made the choice quite clear to Jacqueline, the kind of place that Clancy would've brought his daughters…

'Barnacle Bay!'

She announced the news to all three of her daughters, who she had gathered into the middle of the living room. The mother smiled wide, in an attempt to get her girls hyped, but it only made her look a little psychotic.

Marge, however, clapped out of excitement. 'YAY! Family vacation time!'

The twins, on the other hand, could not have looked more bored. Patty in particular looked as though she wished for death.

'Woo.' She said in the most unenthused voice she could manage. 'Barnacle Bay. Soooooo excited.'

'Is this how we're gonna spend our weekend?' Selma asked.

'I've noticed you've all been a little stressed since… you know.' Jacqueline replied. 'So, I thought we should go away to a fun little seaside town for a couple of days! Also, I've already paid, so you're coming no matter what.'

Well, that settled it. While Marge pranced around the room and cheered loudly, the twins just sat back in their chairs and sighed. Selma just kind of sat there and took it, while Patty had the - slightest - urge to murder everyone and everything in a five mile radius. Still, this Friday afternoon was the time for them to get ready for their short trip to some sort of beach. It wasn't much, seeing as the trip was short, but it made for a good opportunity to finally use those swimming trunks.

'Look, Momma, look! It's a fishy!'

'Yes Marge, there's a lot of fishies.'

The very next day, early in the morning, they embarked over the ocean on a little ferry. Marge had spent most of the ride on the edge of the boat, with her mother close behind in case she fell in. There wasn't much to worry about, since Marge was tight in her life jacket, but Jacqueline was not prepared to lose another member of the family at all, let alone so soon after losing her husband. The little girl couldn't help pointing at all the sea animals that they passed on the way there.

'And that's a sharkie!' She yelled, pointing to a fin in the water.

'You're not scared of him?' Jacqueline asked.

'Nope! Sharks can't get me up here.'

The twins, on the other hand, spent more of their time chilling in seats closer to the cabin. Patty managed to enjoy herself by lying underneath the morning sun, which was warm enough to counteract the bittercold ocean breezes. The smell of the salt spray and the sound of gentle waves calmed her nerves, and she almost forget about her desire to murder everyone. Almost. Selma, on the other hand, couldn't really enjoy herself for she was too busy clutching her stirring stomach.

'Ooh…' She groaned. 'Are we there yet?'

Patty chuckled. 'Getting a little seasick, are we?'

Selma glared at her. 'Shut up. If your period was due, you'd get seasick too.'

'Oh, just admit it. You're not tough enough to handle a little bit of sea turbulence.'

'I'll give you not tough enough, you piece of…'

Her attempt at an insult was interrupted by the sensation of rising stomach fluid, so she shut her mouth and kept quiet. Patty took advantage of the situation with the most punchable grin in the world, soaking up that angry look on her twin's face.

'What's that, Sis?' She said, holding her hand up to her ear. 'You saying that you're a big dumb idiot head?'

'YOU-'

Jacqueline's times with her youngest were quickly interrupted too.

'AHHH!' Patty screamed. 'MOOOOOOM! Selma just puked all over me!'

Marge giggled, before she exaggeratedly yelled, 'EWWWWWW!'

The mother rolled her eyes and sighed. 'Should've known that was gonna happen… Marge, stay away from the edge, okay?'

'Will do, Mommy!'

While Jacqueline left to clean up her twins, Marge (slowly and carefully, of course) approached the bow of the ship. Her long brown hair fluttered about in the breeze, almost like a flag, and she held her arms out like she was trying to recreate a scene from the Titanic movie. Which, of course, wouldn't be out for a few more decades, meaning it was just a cute little coincidence.

There were sparkles in her eyes once she saw the approaching harbour. In contrast to Springfield Harbour - which was grimy and smelled of dying fish even more than a dock should smell like - this dock looked as shiny and new as a commonly-used dock possibly could. Which wasn't very, of course, but it was still very pretty compared to whatever was back in Springfield.

'We're nearly there!' She cried, flailing her arms about. 'Mommy, look! We're nearly there!'

'That's nice, Marge.' Jacqueline said. 'I'll be there in a minute! I just have to… ugh. Oh, I haven't seen sickness this bad in years.'

'Oh… Seeeelllmaaaa…' Patty muttered. 'Why did ya have to do that?'

'Karma.' Was Selma's terse response, before she groaned again. 'Ohhh… I need a BUCKET!'

Slowly but surely, the ferry came into the harbour. Marge's cries of joy and excitement only got louder and louder the closer the boat got, and by the time the anchor dropped she was screaming her lungs out. The other visitors disembarked from the ferry, while she remained standing and dancing at the bow - she wasn't going to leave without her sisters, was she now?

'WE'RE HERE!' She shouted. 'WE'RE HERE WE'RE HERE WE'RE HERE!'

'Yes, Marge.' Jacqueline said. 'I can see that.'

The rest of her family was almost as ready to head off as she was. In fact, Patty was already in her swimwear. Granted, that was only because she had to change after getting puked on, but she was still ready for a dip in the sea. Selma, however, was absolutely green around the gills and looked ready for nothing other than throwing up again.

'Can we hurry up?' She asked with a groan. 'Before I make this whole boat green?'

'How about you three go play on the beach?' Jacqueline suggested. 'While I get our hotel rooms ready? Oh, you two might need to help me carry the luggage in.' She paused. 'Actually, maybe it would be best just to get Patty to do it.'

The titular redhead groaned as loud as a lawnmower. 'Really?! Why?'

Marge giggled. 'Karma!'

Now that Jacqueline had their room for the night booked, everything had calmed down a little bit more. Since the luggage was delivered, and Selma was no longer feeling like she was going to puke out all of her organs, the Bouvier family decided it would be the perfect time to go down by the beach.

Jacqueline set up an old film camera right by the shore, focusing it on the waves, so she could keep these happy memories while keeping an eye on her twins - she hadn't been able to stop using it since she bought it a few months back, for she was determined to keep the memory of her family living on. She had made that mistake before, and refused to risk losing any of her daughters forever.

'Look at the ocean, Mommy!' Marge cried as she ran across the warm sand. 'It's so clean!'

The young girl couldn't believe it. Instead of the beaches covered in litter and half-dead sea critters, the glorious beach of Barnacle Bay was bright and clean. The grains of sand felt so soft underneath her bare feet, and the ocean smelled so much nicer without the odor of rotting fish to ruin it. And when she finally reached the water, with its gentle waves and chirping seagulls, she got goosebumps as the cold water hit her toes.

'Hey, why should you have all the fun?' Patty asked. 'Last one's in a-'

'See you there!' Selma said, running past her before she could even finish.

'What? HEY!'

Selma ran for the water, pumping herself up to feel the relaxing water wash over her feet. She reached the very edge of the water, just as the waves were coming in, when-

'AH!'

*SPLASH*

Patty pushed her down face-first into the salty water. The redheaded teenager laughed her head off, especially when Selma got her head out of the water and ended up being absolutely soaked, in fact laughing so hard that even a hyena would tell her to tone it down a little.

'You…' Selma muttered under her breath.

'Me?' Patty replied with another laugh. 'Thanks for noticing!'

While Marge splashed around in the water totally oblivious to this falling out, Selma looked around for something to throw back at her twin's face. It didn't take her long at all to find something crawling around in the low tide water: a crab! With no regards to animal safety or anything like that, she grabbed the poor arthropod by its shell and flung it at her sister's face.

'AHHH!' Patty screamed, as the crab - in a panic - clamped into her face. 'SELMA!'

'Why yes, that's who I am!' Selma said, snickering to herself. 'Thanks for noticing!'

Jacqueline yelped, and - still leaving the camera running - rushed to her eldest daughter's side. Patty fell over backwards and screamed like a Facehugger was trying to eat her eyes out, and Jacqueline had to try very hard not to laugh at her expense herself. She had to admit; it was pretty funny.

'Hold still.' She said, trying to stifle her laughter. 'It's hard to remove the dang thing if you keep moving around.'

'Well, it's hard to hold still when there's a crab on your face!' Her daughter screamed back.

Selma laughed at her twin's expense, until she felt a splash of salt water in her face. A few drops of the sea water had touched her tongue, but luckily for her she felt nothing more than a little bit of water. Being unable to taste had its advantages when it came to overly-salty water. Still, that was ocean water, which was loaded with all sorts of unpleasant stuff, so she spat it out regardless.

'Alright, who did that?' She demanded.

Marge giggled, and seeing as she was the only other person around it immediately incriminated her as the culprit. Growling a little to herself, Selma gave her a quick splash to the face. The young girl cried out, which made Selma panic for a split second, only for Marge to start laughing.

'Again, again!'

Selma had almost forgotten how fun it was to play with her little sister. So, she splashed her again. It was a relatively small splash, since she didn't want to hurt her, so you can imagine her surprise when Marge managed to send a bucket's worth of a wave into her face.

'HEY!' Selma cried. 'What are you-?'

'You need to splash more!' Marge said with a giggle. 'A loooooot more!'

Selma narrowed her eyes. 'Ooooh… you should be very happy that you're so cute.'

'I am!'

Finally, Jacqueline managed to pry the poor crustacean off Patty's face. She made sure to return the little guy to the ocean, whereupon it snapped at her a couple of times before scurrying away. The redhead sat there on the sand with a grumpy look on her face.

'What's wrong, Patty?' Selma asked with a massive smirk on her mug. 'Feeling a little c-'

'If you say crabby, I am going to whack you with that guy's beach umbrella!' Patty yelled, before she stood up. 'Oh, forget it. I'm going someplace else.'

'Well, you're missing out. Just make sure you stay out of the deep waters!'

As Jacqueline moved the camera around to focus on Selma and Marge playfully splashing each other, Patty groaned and walked away. She could already feel the urge for another smoke nagging at her mind and body, but there was no way she could get away with it with her mother right there. So, she just walked straight ahead without any location in mind. Taking in the strong aroma of sea spray, she had a slight chuckle thinking about how her twin would never be able to appreciate that smell again. Only a slight chuckle, though; the joke just kinda made her sad now.

She wandered by the edge of the ocean-soaked sand for a few minutes, until her foot got caught in a small dune and she tumbled over to the ground. The sand was soft, so it didn't hurt too much, but she still got a face full of it and grumbled to herself about it as she lifted herself up.

It just wasn't her day, was it?

'Oh my god, are you okay?' Asked a random voice. 'That was one hell of a fall.'

Patty groaned. 'I'll give you one hell of a fall, you-'

She looked up at the person who the voice belonged to, and gasped. It was another teenage girl, roughly her age, with long shiny brown hair and eyes the deepest shade of green she had ever seen, and she was all done up in a lovely white dress. As soon as her eyes met hers, Patty lost her words.

'Well, you look fine.' This other teenage girl said. 'Do you need help getting off the ground, or…?'

'OH!'

Patty got back onto her feet - after tumbling over again about five times - and looked this new girl in the face. She could feel her cheeks reddening, and she wasn't sure why.

'Uh… uh…' She stammered. 'Name's Patty. Well, a-actually Patricia, but everyone just calls me Patty.'

The girl giggled, which made Patty's heart skip a beat. 'Alright, Patty. You can just call me Debra. So… are you here by yourself, or…?'

'O-Oh, n-no.' Patty replied, before clearing her throat. 'The rest of my family is over there, somewhere. My mother, my little sister… and my twin.'

'Wait, you're a twin? Oh my god, I don't think I've ever met a twin before! What's it like?'

'Like living with the devil himself.'

This prompted Debra to laugh again, and with each adorable high-pitched giggle Patty's heart beat faster and faster. Suddenly, it felt as though she was no longer walking on sand but instead on the fluffiest clouds in the world. Her stomach, filled with delicious fish-and-chips from a takeaway shop, now felt like it had a thousand little butterflies floating around inside of it.

Hopefully, she wouldn't puke all over the place like her twin did.

'Are you, uh, doing anything?' Patty asked.

Debra shrugged. 'Eh. Not much. The town's kinda boring, so I thought I'd just go for a quick walk by the beach. If you're not doing anything either, you're welcome to accompany me.'

Patty's face went bright red, and she only blushed harder once she realised it. Without thinking, she rushed forward and grabbed Debra's hand as tight as she could. Her skin felt as soft as a kitten, and as warm as a Christmas fireplace. She looked Debra in the eyes, and then her eyes travelled down her body too. Never before had she ever thought 'I want to touch that' more than she did at that moment.

So this was what Selma kept talking about whenever she mentioned wanting to 'get with' any remotely hot boy she saw. Now, it all made sense. Then, she realised something horribly off. All those people who other girls her age found 'hot' were boys, while Debra was clearly a girl. And a very pretty, non-boyish one at that.

'You're…' She murmured without thinking. 'You're very pretty.'

She gasped when she realised what words just left her mouth, but luckily Debra just giggled.

'Well, I'm not surprised.' She said. 'I've had a lot of boys tell me that. But you are the first girl to say that to me.'

Patty blushed even harder. 'I-I-I…'

'And you're the first one I think I can say the same thing about.'

Debra had the surprise of her life when Patty, with no warning, suddenly threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around her. Both girls felt a strange feeling they never had before, but had heard their female peers going on and on about. It was the kind of almost-indescribable feeling of wanting to be closer and closer, desiring to keep in contact forward until the day they were torn apart.

'DEBRA!'

Which, unfortunately it seemed, would come sooner than either girl wanted. Debra immediately stepped back with a gasp, leaving Patty feeling empty. In a desperate attempt to feel that warmth again, she reached her arms out…

'GET AWAY FROM THAT YOUNG GIRL!'

Only to hear that commanding voice, and stepped back. Two much older people - no doubt Debra's mother and father - ran across the sand. Judging by their formal work attire, they had not been planning to drop by the beach today. By the time either girl understood what was going on, the adults were already there.

The man grabbed Debra by her wrist and yanked her toward him. 'Can you listen to our orders for five seconds?!'

The woman gave Debra a (hardly light) slap on the cheek. 'Stop making such close contact with other girls! We keep telling you that if you keep doing that, boys will think you're weird and won't want to date you.'

Debra sighed. 'What if I don't want to date boys?'

'DEBRA!' Her father shouted, loud enough to make her flinch. 'Don't even joke about that! Don't you know how wrong is it for a girl to flirt with another girl? It's one of the most disgusting things any human can imagine!'

'It's just a phase, Debra dear.' Her mother said in a condescending tone. 'You just haven't found the right boy yet. Then you'll realise that all this 'dating girls' thing is abnormal and wrong!'

Patty slowly backed away from the scene, praying that they wouldn't yell at her too. Her heart demanded that she say that it was her idea to start the hug, but her brain didn't want her to get reprimanded either. Yet, she couldn't run away. That desire to have physical contact with this lovely girl was still strong, and she struggled to reign it in.

Those two adults weren't right, were they? This must've been the same feeling that Selma had for boys - it ticked all the boxes - but if it was towards another girl…

'Okay, okay!' Debra cried, groaning. 'I'll get over it eventually, alright? Stop making such a big idea out of it!'

Those were apparently the magic words, for her parents suddenly appeared much happier and less mad. They gave their daughter loving hugs, and the difference was so jarring that Patty seriously wondered for a moment if they had been replaced with aliens or robots.

'That's my girl!' Her father said. 'Now, while we're here, why don't we go for a walk on the beach together?'

'You could meet a cute boy!' Her mother added, with a little bit of force.

Patty cringed. No pair of parents had ever given her such uncomfortable vibes before. They took their daughter by her hands and walked her down the beach, pointing at all the shirtless teenage boys - the same ones who Selma would fawn over while Patty looked at her like she was crazy. The other teenage girl put on a grin that didn't seem real in the slightest, and she glanced back at Patty as if begging for help.

But Patty did not want to get involved, no matter how badly she wanted to touch that girl again. She merely turned around, and walked all the way back to where she was before. The trip wasn't too long, but gave her plenty of time to think about what Debra had made her feel.

Was it as abnormal as Debra's parents claimed it to be, or were they just crazy? The way they treated their daughter stacked the odds against them. Still, Patty couldn't shake the thought that only a lovely girl had gotten this feeling out of her, while every single semi-attractive boy seemed to provoke this feeling in her twin. Even Marge, albeit in a much more innocent way, would often call all the boys in her books or on TV 'cute', in a way that she rarely described girls.

Was it fine to feel that way about another girl?

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice - until she got there - that her sisters and mother had left the scene.

'What?!' She cried, when she realised the spot was empty. 'Oh, those jerks just left me behind!' She crossed her arms and muttered various curse words under her breath. 'Why those…'

'WE'RE OVER HERE!' Marge yelled from somewhere in the distance.

'THAT DOESN'T HELP ME OUT AT ALL!' Patty yelled back, cupping her hands over her mouth like a makeshift megaphone.

'WE'RE ON THE DOCK!' Selma shouted, joining in on the loud conversation.

'I'LL BE RIGHT WITH YOU!'

What a wonderful moment… Marge hadn't felt this happy since long before her father died. In fact, the thoughts of her father were on the backburner now. The only thing that mattered at that moment was what was happening in the 'now'.

'Smile for the camera, sweetie!'

Marge didn't need to listen to her mother, for she was already smiling. It was near impossible not to smile when riding on a seahorse! Well, it was just part of a merry-go-round, but that made it even more fun. The cheerful music it played charmed her heart, and the lovely aroma of salt spray in the air relaxed whatever worries she may have had. And that ice-cream… oh man, some of the best she ever had!

'Giddy-up, Horsey!' She said, cuddling 'Horsey' around the neck.

The only thing that could've made this better was if her sisters were on the merry-go-round with her. Patty was still trying to make her way over there - after her family left her because they thought it was funny - while Selma was hiding somewhere on this dock. The dock had plenty of food tents and crowds she could hide behind, but Marge didn't worry about it too much. She was having too much fun!

With the wind in her hair and the sun on her face, she gulped that ice-cream down faster than a wolf. Of course, the bobbing movement of 'Horsey' combined with the circular motion of the merry-go-round quickly resulted in her stomach getting uneasy. It was nothing compared to Selma's pre-period-induced seasickness, and even if it was that bad, it was unlikely that Marge would care.

After a while - too short of a while as far as Marge was concerned - the ride came to stop. She stumbled off the ride of her own accord, while Jacqueline was turning the camera off and the other kids were being lifted off by their parents. Now that the world wasn't spinning anymore, she wobbled about until she fell onto her rear against the pier. It didn't hurt much at all, and she immediately got back on her feet.

Since she wasn't on that wonderful ride anymore, Marge decided to roam around a bit. She had a specific goal in mind, and after peeking around a big fairy floss stand…

'Hi Selma!'

'AHHH!'

She - by accident - surprised the daylights out of her blonde sister. In fact, she frightened her so much that something went flying out of her hand.

'Oh god, no!'

Selma picked that something up before it could, say, set the pier on fire, and it gave Marge a pretty good look at what that something was.

'Is that… one of Daddy's cigarettes?' She asked.

Selma's eyes darted back and forth. 'Uh… no?'

'I'm not an idiot! Are you supposed to have that on the pier? I don't think you'd be hiding if you were.'

The older sister sighed. 'I'm not sure how Mom's gonna take it. That's why Patty and I have been trying to hide it from her. You gotta promise me that you will not tell her.'

Marge's eyes widened. If Selma had to hide her smoking from everyone else, then it was obviously something she wasn't supposed to do. And, well, that was bad. She opened her mouth to say 'no, I will tell on you', but then she shuddered. The dollhouse loomed over her, and she could still feel herself being dragged around and pushed about until she was trapped within its walls.

'Uh… y-yep!' She said, her voice shaking. 'I-I promise, I won't tell Mom!'

Selma smiled. 'That's a good little sister.'

Marge knew she must've been doing something right, because it was the first time she got a proper smile out of Selma since their father died. She tried to ignore that thought, though, the same way she tried to ignore any thoughts regarding her father.

'WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS?!' Patty yelled, from somewhere else on the pier. 'WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS RUNNING OFF WITHOUT ME?!'

After a day of playing around on the beach - with the occasional break to reapply sunscreen - the Bouviers bore witness to the sun setting behind the rough seas. The last of the boats was coming into the docks, and brought with it a massive stock of fresh and soon-to-be delicious fish. Marge couldn't help but be a little worried as she watched them haul off all those fish. She was pretty sure that fish weren't infinite, but these fishers certainly treated them like they were. Surely if they kept fishing like that, all the fishies would run out sooner or later. But she didn't let that distract her from the gorgeous sunset, or the hundreds of stars that were appearing in the skies. The night skies in Springfield weren't nearly this lovely, since all the other lights got in the way.

Even better? Jacqueline reassured her daughters that the best was yet to come.

'Now girls,' She said, once the clock in the hotel room struck fifteen-to-nine. 'I've saved the best part for last. You better get ready, because you've only got fifteen minutes.'

They made it there just a few minutes before nine, and may have got there early if they didn't spend a good five minutes trying to convince Patty to get out of her bed and come with them. They had to practically drag her to the dock, and she didn't even bother to get out of her sleepwear. Fortunately, she couldn't give a toss how many looks were coming her way because of it.

When they arrived at the dock, which was dimly lit by some warm lights, they found that they were the only ones there. An entire crowd - consisting only of other fellow tourists with few natives in the mix - stood around the end of the pier. It was a miracle that Jacqueline could find a spot at the front for herself and her daughters.

Marge, standing right at the front, danced on the spot. 'I'm so excited for… whatever this is! IT'S GONNA BE SO COOL!'

Patty rolled her eyes. 'Cooler than getting to bed? I doubt it. It would have to be…'

Her words trailed off, and her eyes fell upon the only person in the crowd who wasn't a complete stranger - Debra. The other teenager gave her a brief smile, before she remembered her parents' looming eyes and looked ahead instead. She was holding the hand of a boy who Patty did not recognise, her 'boyfriend' apparently. He looked just as uncomfortable as Debra did, if not more so, telling Patty that he was probably forced into it by his parents too.

Patty forced herself to look away. It wasn't normal, after all, for her to be interested in other girls. At least, according to Debra's parents, and ticking them off was the last thing she wanted to do while her family was right there.

A man in a fancy suit emerged from the crowd and walked behind what appeared to be some sort of control panel absolutely covered with fancy lights and buttons. When he flipped a switch, all the lights lit up in a manner that reminded Marge of the pretty northern lights. At this time of day? This time of year? Localised entirely at this dock? Marge could believe it.

'Now,' The man said. 'I'm gonna need you all to stay right where you are. Getting any closer could be dangerous!' This prompted Marge to get a grip on her mother's arm. 'Now that we're all ready, prepare for the most gorgeous spectacle you shall ever witness!'

Patty scoffed. 'So it's all downhill from here, then?'

'Be quiet!' Marge said, suddenly enough to make her flinch. 'It's about to start!'

The man pressed one button on the control panel, and a stream of sparkling light shot up into the air. Once it was high above everyone, it exploded into a gorgeous display of bright glittering red lights. The entire dock, once enveloped entirely by night, suddenly glowed a bright crimson for a second. In simple terms, a lovely red firework had gone off. Marge could feel the force of the spectacular explosion in her chest.

'Again!' She cried. 'AGAIN! AGAIN!'

The man laughed. 'You really thought there'd be only one? Well, then let's crank it up!'

This time, he pressed a few more buttons. A sparkling yellow star... a big trailing ball of green… an explosion of purple that lit up the entire ocean! Marge - and most everyone in the crowd - clapped and cheered for the gorgeous display that trumped anything that Springfield would've managed. And that wasn't it either. The man slammed multiple buttons at once (looking as though he had no idea what he was doing, when in fact he was in full control) and there was a blast of the entire rainbow, sparkling and glittering brighter than even the brightest star in the sky!

Marge ran forward, getting stopped by her mother's grasp. 'Look at the pretty lights, Momma! They're so pretty!'

Jacqueline chuckled. 'Indeed they are, Marge. They're beautiful.'

And the fireworks kept coming. A mere five minutes in, the twins were already losing their attention spans. Selma had held out longer, but soon even she wished they could go back to the cabin so she could have a sleep. The only reason she remained was because seeing the joy on her little sister's face made it all worth it, even if she was bored out of her mind. Patty, on the other hand, had already left.

But Marge stayed. She awed and marveled at the brilliant display before her, hoping this night would never end. Of course, the night would end. She'd go right to bed after this display was over, and they'd be heading back home the day after. But, at this moment, it felt like nothing else mattered.

'See that, Marge? Isn't it beautiful? Once, when I returned from a particularly daring flight, the plane crew and I were commended with a gorgeous fireworks display! It was some of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. But there was one thing it was missing…'

'What's that, Daddy?'

'You.'

Author Notes - I completely forgot that I added that 'Steamed Hams' reference until I proofread this chapter. In case anyone's wondering, the dialogue of Debra's parents was intentionally over-the-top and on-the-nose. I'm a better writer than that, or at least I like to think so.

The next pair of chapters is going to involve another time skip, this time to when Homer and Marge are ten years old. If you remember your Simpsons lore, you may be familiar with a S15 episode that had flashbacks to when they were ten. It'll be an interesting pair of chapters, to say the least.