AN: In case you're new here: this fanfic is part of my Heroes of Flowers series, and this part takes place after Heroes of Flowers: Tempest of Hearts. If you have not read that fic, go back and read it for context! But if you'd like to read without context all the power to you, enjoy!
It had taken more than a while to finally be discharged from the hospital, much to Juniper's dismay.
Although on the plus side, Nurse Ackerman had given her a strawberry flavored lollipop and wished her and her mama well as they followed Steven and Sally to the main lobby of the hospital, bringing what few belongings they had left with them.
Which wasn't much, mostly just the clothes, the ones that didn't get torn up, off their backs, it felt nice to finally get rid of those itchy hospital outfits at the very least.
"I'm probably not going to be at home a whole lot." Steven was explaining to her mama. "I got a job at Krei-Tech."
Barb winced. "Why would you subject yourself to that place?" She had heard about the stories of Krei-Tech and their record of speeding up production and it costing them afterwards, not to mention all the drama it's gotten. "Doesn't it get attacked by supervillains a lot?"
"It pays the bills!" He huffed in protest. "And funny you mention supervillain attacks there considering I was a witness when you stole those micro-batteries."
Barb went silent, clutching her arm as she looked at the floor guilty. "Dangit Steven." Sally glared at her husband. "I told you not to bring up the supervillain stuff!"
"I didn't mean it like that!" Steven protested. His words weren't meant to sound accusatory, he was just shocked to see her, and he wasn't upset about Barb stealing from his boss.
Supervillain attacks or Krei getting robbed was a typical Monday anyways.
"It's okay guys, I don't mind if you talk about it a little." Barb reassured her. But there was a wary look in her eyes that Juniper noticed, she didn't know what to say so she gently squeezed her mama's hand to try and comfort her
"That must've been awkward to see me again."
Steven chuckled. "No kidding!" He hadn't known what to do, or what to say, so he had just watched mother and daughter bicker while his boss got kicked into oblivion.
"That was the only instance of me not freaking out when Krei-Tech got a supervillain attacked." Sally shook her head. "Ever since that whole mess with the Mad Jacks, hearing 'supervillain attack' and 'Krei-Tech' in the same sentence is the quickest way to get me into panic mode."
"Mad Jacks?" Barb tilted her head.
The mechanic shuddered. "Don't ask, just don't."
"Hi Mom!" A deep voice interrupting the conversation almost made Juniper leap into the air. A boy barely into adulthood had popped up behind a corner, accompanying him was a girl a few inches shorter than Steven.
"We're back from talking with Ms. Sushi Chef." The girl with snow-white stripes in her hair was grinning.
Sally looked happy to see them, not surprising since the boy had called her Mom. Those two must be Sara's siblings. The dancer noted, David and Mikan, if she recalled correctly.
"Did the meeting with your mother go well?" Steven asked them.
Mother? But as Juniper glanced at the boy, she noticed that he looked a lot like Momakase, his yellow eyes and softer, more rounded face were the only differences she noticed.
"It went great! She's okay with staying at our place." David was beaming, then pouted. "But she's not getting out in a few days."
"Mom and Dad told us that already, it's not their fault you tuned it out." Mikan rolled her eyes.
"Mika!"
She just laughed while ruffling his hair, then looked at Barb and Juniper, a glint in her sharp green eyes. "Looks like you two are coming with us." Her grin was wolfish. "Always good to have more sacrifices for our cult."
Juniper shrieked, clinging to Barb in fear. "Mama!"
"It's okay Juni." Her mama patted her head. "I'm sure Mikan was joking, right?"
Mikan shrugged. "No seriously, there's a thing this Thursday and-"
She got cut off by Sally cuffing her right ear. "Mikan Peggy Ferns! Don't pull any of your scares, now is not the time for that!"
"Okay, sheesh." The snow-striped girl rubbed her ear. "Can't take a joke?"
Sally responded with a glare. "You're a terrible comedian." David commented, then walked over to the mother and daughter duo. "Um, hi… I'm David, sorry about my sister, the menace to society she is-"
"Hey!"
"But it's nice to meet you." He offered his hand, Juniper glanced at her mother for reassurance before shaking it.
Barb smiled at the heartwarming interaction. "Do you happen to remember me?" She asked David, who turned to her. "I hadn't seen you since you were smaller than Sally."
"Which is surprising…" Steven muttered, ignoring the offended gasp of his wife.
The older boy heard the joke and chuckled. "Um… a little? Sara remembers better than me, you'd have to ask when she's visiting."
Juniper made a confused noise. "What happened to Sara?"
"She's staying at a friend's house until everyone is settled, house feels less crowded, y'know?" David gestured.
Barb nodded in understanding, but her daughter was pouting. "Aww, I was hoping to see Sara." Juniper mumbled. The wavy-haired blonde was nice when she visited the hospital… well, mostly nice.
Maybe she was just acting nice, and doesn't want to be in a house with a bunch of monsters. I don't blame her. A little voice harshly spoke in her head, making the dancer flinch.
Maybe it was right, she still remembered that comment Sara made.
Steven noticed the young girl looking downtrodden, and changed the subject. "You two ready to leave now?"
"Yes please." Barb dramatically sighed. Sunset Boulevard Hospital had been a place of rest after the whole "turned into eels against your will" thing, but now she felt eager to leave and taste fresh air.
"Right." Sally nodded.
Her kids looked eager to leave too. "You'll like our house, it's really cozy and we have a backyard!" David was rambling to Juniper. "Also we have a basement downstairs where we store all our games, there's this little supply closet spot that Sara turned into her recording room when she's filming herself gaming, don't go in that by the way, it's her area in the house no one can touch-"
But Juniper hadn't paid attention to his ramblings, she only felt butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. It was funny, she was excited to leave, to finally be free to live a normal life.
However, when the moment finally came… she just felt scared it'd all go wrong.
"So, have you been to this part of the city before?" David was attempting to strike a conversation with the young dancer, but she was merely leaning on Barb, a nervous glint in her eyes as the GPS said they were getting close to their destination.
Barb however, was happy to chat. "Yes, though not for any… performances."
"Oh, right." He sweatdropped, remembering witnessing one of their crime-dancing performances with Ari. "How'd you get the crowds to cheer for you and not Big Hero 6?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure." Barb shrugged. "Arriving in the city back when they were rookies probably helped, Juni and I had been performing long before their first news appearance."
David wasn't going to ask about that, especially after hearing an uncomfortable whine from Juniper. "Any places in the city you want to see since you're new?"
"David, she's been to San Fransokyo before." Sally reminded him.
He blushed in embarrassment. "My bad..." That made sense, considering his parents history with the older blonde.
But Barb wasn't offended, just amused by his curiosity. "No need to apologize, in fact, I'd say that one place I like in this city is Joe's Diner."
"Oh, I love Joe's!" David recognized the place and was grinning. "They have the best sandwiches and burgers! Don't get me wrong, I like Noodle Burger but also those are not good for your health."
Mikan, who was in the middle row, poked her head from the car seat. "Says the guy that chugs Blue Buffalo to get through class."
"Mika shut up!"
Even though her mama chuckled at the banter, Juniper still felt like her chest was going to explode with how heavy it felt. What is wrong with you? She gripped her knuckles. Why can't you just act normal for once?
"And we're here!" The engine of the car turning off made her look up, it was parked in the front driveway of a medium sized house with a red roof.
"The roof color is new." Barb hummed. Last time she was here, it was blue.
Sally smiled at her. "Yeah, there's been some changes! We even installed a pond in the yard, it was for some abandoned turtle eggs the kids found."
Barb glanced at David and Mikan, who were both making their best "we're innocent kids" faces. "You'll have to tell me that story."
"Of course I would! Who do you take me for?"
The car door opened. "Need help getting out?" David offered to the young dancer.
Juniper shook her head. "I'm good…"
She was not, as after taking three steps out of the car she felt her legs fail her and nearly fell head-first into the pavement.
"Woah there!" Luckily, Steven caught her. "Didn't get much sleep last night, eh?" He tried to joke.
The dancer didn't reply, a blush of embarrassment on her cheeks, but luckily none of the Ferns teased her as they entered the house. The mechanic was still helping her through the door. "S-sorry." She felt bad for wasting his time
"No need to apologize, you're good." He reassured her.
Inside the house looked as welcoming as the outside, carpeted floors, wooden walls plastered with art projects and family photos. Ivy wallpaper, a nice set of tables, couches, and other furniture.
"Nice to see things here haven't changed much." Barb hummed. There were a few mild changes, but the house still felt familiar and comforting.
"Judging by not seeing her car anywhere, guess Sara already packed." Mikan shrugged, heading for one of the couches and laying down on it. "She'll be back by dinner though."
"How do you know that?" David frowned.
"While you were chatting with the dancing duo over there-" She gestured to Barb and Juniper. "I was texting her, she said she'll still hang by the house for dinner n' stuff, to get used to the new faces in the house."
But she doesn't want to sleep in the same house as criminals. The same nasty voice echoed in Juniper's head.
"You alright?" Barb noticed her daughter's flinch and stared at her with concern.
"I'm fine." She lied, not wanting to bother her mama with her thoughts. "J-Just need to lie down."
That wasn't a total lie, her legs still felt wobbly and it hurt to stand up.
Mikan lifted her feet off of the other side of the couch she was sitting on. "Feel free to sit here!"
She nervously eyed the snow-striped girl, but sat down anyways, relieved to be able to rest her weary feet. "Hey Juniper!" Until she heard Steven from the kitchen. "Can you come here?"
A nervous squeak came her throat, what did the mechanic want? "Juni, do you want me to come with you?" Barb thankfully offered, she nodded rapidly, too scared to go alone. "Alright then."
So her mama helped guide her to the kitchen. Steven was standing in front of the kitchen table with a bowl of cut-up fruit. "Cut this up this morning for you, hope you like it cold!"
"What?" Juniper tilted her head in confusion.
"I thought you'd like a nice treat after getting out."
Her eyes widened. "Oh…" When was the last time she had a regular meal and not hospital food… not fish food. "You don't have to, I'm fine-"
"Juniper." Oh no, that was her mama's serious parent voice. "You will stay until you've eaten the fruit."
She wanted to protest, but didn't have the energy to. "Okay…"
So she sat down, Steven handing her the fruit bowl and a fork. "Sally made sure to pick up both of your medications from the hospital." He was talking to Barb.
"Oh, thanks." She might've forgotten about the fact the hospital prescribed them some medicine to help them recover from getting mutated, and cope with the stress that followed.
He grinned. "No problem!" He then noticed Juniper wasn't taking any bites, she was just moving the fruit around with her fork. "Is it too cold?"
Juniper glanced away. "No, I just…" An encouraging nod from Barb made her continue. "You already got other people in the house to feed, so I don't wanna eat too much." Sure, she was a little malnourished lately, but not that bad.
But the mechanic only smiled at her. "Don't worry, there's plenty of food to go around, you don't have to worry about that, just enjoy your meal."
Crash!
That wasn't anything falling from the kitchen. "What the-?" Barb questioned.
Steven groaned. "Five minutes… could my kids not cause chaos for five minutes?" He walked out the kitchen. "Talk to you guys later!"
Barb shook her head as he left. "He hasn't changed at all." Sure, he and Sally had some wrinkles under their eyes, but he was still the goofy mechanic she knew after all those years.
"Really?" Juniper looked up at her mama. "Not even a little?"
"Well, he does seem a little high-alert…" She trailed off as another crash followed by one of the kids yelling something about Sparthens. "I swear those kids got their energy from Sally, she was quite the troublemaker back in college."
Juniper looked intrigued, her mama used to never talk about her college days, and now she was practically thirsty for new info. "What kind of trouble?"
"I'll tell you more if you finish the fruit bowl."
Darnit! Barb had seen through her act of trying to distract her from the food. Well, no use procrastinating. Her mouth was basically watering at this point, so she dug in the fruit with her fork.
The taste practically exploded in her mouth. "Oh, wow." She mumbled, the sweet taste of the fruit was refreshing, after a few ravenous bites, her mama gently reminded her to chew slower so she didn't choke, she held up a forkful. "Mama, do you want any?"
Barb shook her head. "I'm alright, I'll probably eat something later."
"Okay." The one thing she noticed about the bowl was that it consisted of soft food, bananas, grapes, blueberries, and her favorite, strawberries. It definitely made it easier to chew, and she didn't feel worried that she'd regurgitate it like the muffin she was given once.
The fruit was really good, then again, compared to the recent "meals" she had, it was basically the most delicious thing Juniper had ever eaten in her life.
If she was honest… she couldn't remember the last time she had a fruit bowl, but it felt refreshing.
Sally walked in just as Juniper was finishing the last of the fruit bowl. "Someone didn't get a chance to have breakfast this morning."
The professor had startled her so much she nearly choked on the last of the strawberries. "I-I-I uh…" The dancer stuttered. "It was really good?"
"I'd imagine, fresh fruit is always good." She hummed. "Y'know, some of that fruit was grown in my garden, makes it taste better, don't you think?"
"I guess?" Juniper didn't know, she never had fruit freshly picked off the vine before.
Barb sighed, Sally came into the kitchen for a reason besides to talk about her own gardening. "What do you want?"
"Just a chat." Her old friend gestured. "The two of us, like good ol' times."
She nodded, that didn't sound so bad-
"No!" A cry made her glance at her daughter, terror flashed in her eyes.
Of course she'd be afraid. Barb realized after a moment of confusion. The last time I had a private chat with someone was with that woman.
"It'll be okay sweetie." She reassured her, gently stroking her blonde hair. "Sally's an old friend of mine, she wouldn't hurt me."
The fear in her daughter's eyes faded a little. "Really?"
She nodded. "You could ask some of the other Ferns to give you a tour of the house while we're talking." Barb suggested. "That alright?"
Juniper hesitated for a moment, then gave her a hug before leaving. "Bye Mama." She mumbled, quickly bowing her head to Sally before leaving the kitchen in a rush.
"I'm gonna be honest, I'm worried about your girl." Sally tsked, a frown on her lips.
Barb raised an eyebrow at the professor. "And what do you mean by that?"
"Nothing rude, jeez! But considering what you both went through…" She trailed off, before going to grab something from the cupboards. "Anyways, you want some miso soup? We just have packets, but I usually add in some extra veggies to give it a kick."
"I'm alright." Barb reassured her, but then her stomach growled quite rudely.
"I'm making you a bowl." Sally decided, already grabbing the packet. "When was the last time you had any real food?"
The awkward silence that followed answered that. "Oh…" Sally looked away from her friend, and instead focused on cutting the veggies, including some sweet peas that Barb liked. "Was it because of-"
"Sycorax?" Barb prompted, Sally was still looking away, but she could sense a guilty look in her friend's eyes for bringing that place up. "You could say that, that woman could've warned us of the side effects before forcibly chipping us." A sad smile came on her face. "Get an upgrade from Sycorax! Side effects may include increased appetite and never getting a good night's sleep ever again!"
Sally muffled a snort. "Oh, that was terrible!"
"Thank you, I'll be here all week."
The professor grabbed two bowls and placed them on the table, then put the emptied fruit bowl in the sink. "So speaking of weeks n' stuff, when are you gonna start community service?"
"About next week." Barb gestured. "Not looking forward to that too much, but it's better than jail." Though after Sycorax, jail would've been a luxury.
"Well, maybe the judge gave you something like community service dancing!" The professor got a large pot and filled it with water. "You won't know until you get to the center."
"You have a point." Barb was just lucky that the city council didn't force her daughter to do hours of community service too, not only on account of her being a minor, but she had heard from the lawyer that someone intervened. "Y'know… Juni was supposed to get community service too, but a little birdie told me that she got bailed out."
A nervous chuckle from her friend revealed the culprit. "I tried to bail you out too, but one councilwoman had argued a fuss so I couldn't, sorry."
"No it's fine, but you didn't have to do that."
Sally disagreed. "You deserved better! You and your daughter!"
They didn't ask to be mutated, or what life had given them beforehand, and if she and Steven could take away some of that pain, even if it was a lot of money, curse that obnoxious councilwoman… she'd do it. "And if either of you need to see a therapist after what happened… I know a good person to talk to."
"I'll keep that in mind." As she watched Sally start to boil a pot of water, Barb had a feeling that beforehand was simply small talk, that her friend wanted to talk about something else.
There was one monster that perhaps needed to be spoken about, and for once, since reuniting with her friend, Barb wouldn't tear up about the subject.
"Are you going to talk about him now?"
The professor froze from cutting tofu. "I know a lot of 'hims,' Barb."
"Sal, don't dance around the subject." Barb glared, she took a deep breath. "I'm talking about my ex-husband." She didn't dare say his name aloud, lest she start shivering from old memories.
"Ah, the rat man." The professor got the gist, using her old nickname for the businessman. "After you left… we thought you'd come back, so we got worried when you didn't."
"I didn't want to hear the 'I told you so.'" Before they had cut contact, both of them had told her that something… was off about him and his behavior. The way he spoke to her at times, the little encouragement of cutting out the things she loved, even how he acted before and afte Juniper was born was weird.
That was all they said before Barb scolded them for even accusing him of being an unloving husband and father, said argument escalated and it resulted in them cutting contact. "Yeah uh…" Sally winced at the memory. "Sorry about that."
"You were right about him." Years later, his true colors had shown, and Juniper had paid the price for her stubbornness.
"I didn't want to be right." Even if she knew chances were slim, Sally had hoped for once in her life that she was wrong about something.
Because if she wasn't… it made her chest burn with guilt that she had abandoned her friend to a monster.
"I know."
And Barb knew that, she knew that Sally had been hoping to be wrong, even during their argument, had even insisted and practically begged that Barb investigate her own findings even if she didn't believe her.
She didn't back then, however, when things were getting worse for both her and her daughter, it had been what managed to give her the strength to leave.
"Is it alright if I ask what broke the camel's back?" Sally stared down at the water in the pot.
"A lot of things." Barb sighed, remembering the paperwork of her ex's illegal dealings, the dark business practices, how he terrified them in their own house, and worst of all... "But what hurt most was that he cheated on me."
The water boiled. "He did what!?" Sally all but screeched
She stared down at the empty bowl. "Remember how it took so long for us to have Juniper? He didn't like that, so he took to other methods."
"Other methods." Sally repeated, still gripping the sides of the kitchen counter like she was going to rip them off.
"And to think he used to get angry at me for not wanting more kids…" Barb had been happy with just her little girl, thankful she had been born healthy despite the toll the pregnancy was on her.
On the other hand, her ex seemed to ignore that detail when he kept bringing up the idea of having more kids, easy for him to say considering what she knew now. "He said that to you, even though he had… how many kids?" Sally was equally puzzled.
"I'm not sure how many, or even who he… fathered them with." It felt heavy to say, but she felt relieved to get the weight off of her chest after carrying it for so long. "But Juni isn't the youngest."
Her friend just stared at the raging pot of water in silence. "I hope that they don't have to suffer with the knowledge that a man like that sired them."
"You and me both, Sal."
"Does Juniper know?"
Barb shook her head. "I couldn't. How could I look my baby in the eyes and tell her that man started cheating on me way before she was even born?" It had broken her heart when she found out, and she didn't wish to share that heartache with her daughter.
Juniper had been put through enough because of him.
"Alright, I won't say a word." Sally promised her. "If she ever finds out, she won't hear it from me."
"Thank you Sal." She relaxed her shoulders.
"But Barb? I'm so sorry you went through that." She got up to give her friend a hug, for all that she was unfairly put through. "You shouldn't have."
"I know Sal…" Her voice felt tired, so tired. "I know."
Mama's been talking with her friend for a while. Juniper was too nervous to approach any of the Ferns, so she was just sitting on top of the steps, waiting for her mama to exit the kitchen. I wonder what they're talking about anyways.
But it seemed that Barb was going to be busy for a while. Having had enough of lying by the stairs, she got up on wobbly legs, leaning on the wall as she tried walking forward.
"Oh, hi Juniper!" She yelped, tripping and hitting the carpet. "Are you okay?! I didn't mean to scare you."
"Sorry." She got up, muttering apologies to David.
He frowned. "You don't have to say sorry." He then smiled. "Anyways, wanna see your new room?"
She gave him a funny look. "I have my own room?" She thought that they'd make her sleep on the couch, or a guest room if they had one.
"Of course you do! We're not making you sleep on the couch." Mikan walked over, her arms crossed. "C'mon, I'll show you." But as she approached, the dancer flinched, backing closer to the stairs.
That had hurt, and to think Mikan had once thought that Juniper was dangerous.
If anything, I'm the dangerous one, wow I'm a hypocrite. But until the dancer felt comfortable around her, she wouldn't force her presence. "Um, maybe you do it David."
"Fine by me!" He grabbed Juniper's hand. "We don't need Ms. Cultist with us!"
"I made one joke…"
But she waved as David led Juniper further down the hall. "What's that?" She pointed to some boxes in a few rooms.
"What's what?" David questioned, unsure where she was pointing.
"There's some boxes in the rooms."
"Ohhh, we were moving some stuff to prepare for your arrival." He explained. "Sara and I used to share a room, but now we share a room with Mika, so you have your own room."
Now I feel bad. Her presence forced David and Sara to move, as she opened her mouth to apologize, he spoke again. "No need to feel bad, it's cool that we can all share a room now, it's like a sleepover every night!"
"Mhmmm." She nodded along, the guilt easing a little in her chest.
"We sometimes have sleepovers in the gaming room downstairs, especially if it's really storming for a night."
"I see."
Eventually he stopped at two doors at the corner of the hallway. "The former guest room is your mom's room now, and also my mum's when she gets out of the hospital" He gestured to the left. "This one is yours." He opened the right door.
Inside was a small room with a red carpet, a large soft bed, a night stand next to the bed, and a desk on the opposite side of one of the windows. It was pretty simple for a room.
Juniper looked at the bed. "What's with the stuffed animals?" They were lined up on the bed for some reason.
"Oh!" David chuckled, walking over to the bed and picking one up. "These are some old Pokemon plushies of Sara's. She wanted you to have them for company, come and meet them, they don't bite!"
They're plushies, I know they don't bite. Juniper shot him a look, but walked over. Upon closer inspection, half of the plushies were- "Bunnies!" She squealed, picking one up and holding it to her chest.
David chuckled at her reaction, it was the happiest she had been since picked up from the hospital. "I didn't know you were a bunny person."
'How could I not?!" Juniper giggled, tossing the plushie around. "Bunnies are cute and fluffy, adorable little fuzzy creatures that I just want to cuddle and hold-"
She froze, realizing she was rambling about stuff the older boy didn't need to know and clamped both her hands to her mouth, her cheeks red with shame.
On the other hand, David frowned. "Why'd you stop talking? Bunnies are nice, I don't blame you for liking them." She didn't reply, and simply stared down at the carpet.
He let out a sigh. "Look, I don't know what exactly happened besides the 'you-know-what' but you know what? In this household we are loving and supporting." David explained. "So don't feel bad about geeking out, trust me. Mikan is weirder than all three of us combined."
She didn't get it, but she slowly nodded "Okay…" She lifted a brown and cream plushie. "Is this a Buneary from Pokemon?"
"Oh my gosh you know Pokemon too?!" There were stars in his eyes.
"Uhh… I used to know someone who liked Pokemon." She mumbled a quick lie, the games were a guilty pleasure of hers, but she was embarrassed about it.
David seemed to sense she didn't want to talk, and got up. "I'll leave you alone then." Before he left, David gave her the stitched one he was holding. "This Pokemon's Scorbunny, he's one of my favorite out of the plushies and he'll keep you safe and warm, I used to call him Peter Cottontail, but you can name him something else." Then he exited the room.
Once left to her own devices, Juniper just stared at the Pokemon plushie. "What kind of Pokemon is a Scorbunny?"
Probably one of the new ones, I'm really behind on the franchise. "I'm not calling you Peter Cottontail anyways."
Still, what could she name this plush? "Hm, how about I call you Pete." She told the Pokemon plush in her arms. He always liked that nickname more. She shook her head, burying the memory of an old friend of hers back down, that was from a life that was no longer hers. "Well, it's not a bad nickname for you anyways, little guy."
At this point, Juniper probably should've paid attention to the rabbit hole, no pun intended, she was falling down, talking to a borrowed Pokemon plushie from a stranger. Though they're less of strangers now. I'm staying at their darn house.
Even though at first she was excited to live at her mama's old friend's house, the butterflies were still squirming around her stomach.
She barely remembered David and Sara, Mikan scared her, who even knew if Steven and Sally even liked her anymore, and she was still recovering from getting turned into an eel monster.
All she could do was just lie down on her bed, and hoped that the butterflies in her stomach would stop flying around and settle. This is gonna be harder than I thought.
AN: AND WE'RE BACK
Welcome: to Curtain Call, the post-COM fic that's gonna be Fern Family centric! *confetti noises*
Okay maybe mostly Juniper centric since she's the POV character this time, but the Ferns are the stars of the show now! (Ari finally gets a break again)
And I'll be slowly adding in bits of HV's backstory, let's just say uh... I'm making Barb's husband/Juniper's dad a character and he is NOT fun to write at all, cheater cheater nasty rat man, but that's a story for another day!
This fic has mostly been me writing self-indulgent found family and I love it, and I hope you guys enjoy the ride!