Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing "Konfused Kitty", I am very grateful. Unfortunately, the story doesn't go in the direction you guessed. I hope this doesn't put you off.

To all: Please bear in mind that I can explain every thing.

2. Breakfast

15 years had passed (not to the day, but generally.) Eddy spirited back into the house with the mail. There was a lot of it today, he thought, as he flicked through it:

"Junk, junk, you could have already won... junk, Dad, shit…" his mumblings tailed off as he reached the letter entitled "Third Mortgage Warning". Binning the rest, he shoved the mortgage one in his pocket, for latter digestion.

"DAD!" Eddy jumped. His two children had crept up behind him.

"Err, hi M.J, hi Edward!" he blurted over cheerfully, "what can I do for you this morning."

"What are you saying?" Edward his son, (yes I know you knew that) 11 years old, ask, saying what Eddy was thinking.

"It's Friday morning" MJ – she was five – moaned, "we need you to make breakfast, quickly or we'll miss the bus."

"Great," said Eddy as he ran into the kitchen, "it will be the perfect opportunity to try out my new breakfast-maker!" MJ and Edward followed, the latter slightly nervously.

The machine in question was about the size of a microwave, but appeared to be at least twice as complicated. The kids watched as he poured almost anything he could get his hands on into it.

"So this makes breakfast," MJ asked.

"Yep and in only ten minutes!"

"That's cool!" (MJ was still of the age when everything was cool and when her parents word was gospel)

"It's crap." Edward was well past that age.

"Don't use that langue in front of your sister!" Eddy barked.

"So I can use it when she's not here," he asked cheekily, as MJ made a mental note of the word she shouldn't have heard.

Eddy gave his son a very hard look. Edward pushed his mop of orange hair up and threatened to engage in an all out staring match, so Eddy changed the subject.

"Done your homework?" he asked causally.

"Yep"

"Why?" Eddy shouted back! "When are you going to learn to make excuses if you don't practice wriggling out of stuff at school! It's a vital life skill!" (NB I do not approve of this personally: mg56)

"It's not my fault all the work is so easy," Edward sulked.

"Pah. You get your intelligence from your mother's side."

"Do we also get our eyesight from mom?" MJ asked innocently.

"I can see perfectly well!" Eddy was beginning to lose his temper.

"It's just the breakfast-makers on fire."

Upstairs MJ's and Edward's mother was kneeling on the floor. She was trying to relax, but it was not easy. I mean she had the dream every night for flips sake. But it never made any difference to it all. As she tried to expel the memories, she smelt smoke from down stairs. Sighing, she said a quick pray hoping that the people at the alley that night 15 years ago, especially Brick, would forgive her. Then she went down stairs.

Eddy had done very little about the fire (maybe a bit of screaming) when Blossom opened the kitchen door. Sighing, she lifted a fire extinguisher off the wall and put it out. Eddy sighed in relief, Edward had hardly stopped laughing.

"Thanks honey." Eddy said as he gave Blossom a quick kiss, before turning his attention to the smouldering breakfast-maker. "Cheap tat!"

"Then don't buy them!" Blossom said exasperatedly, but she gave him a kiss too.

"Great timing mom," said MJ earnestly, as Edward fell of his chair (not completely unassisted), "with timing like that you could be a superhero!"

"Thanks dear," Blossom smiled, "Now, who wants cereal?"

In the ensuing family breakfast, it never occurred, nor ever would have, to either of the kids to ask why their mother hadn't just blown the fire out.

If you're not so confused to be put off, and have the time please review. (Remembering to be gentle and that I can and will explain everything.)