Dateline: Thursday, July 9, 1981, 5:55 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.

Ashley had hit rock bottom. It was bad enough when she lost her parents to Herr Cannon's greedy rampaging. At least then, there had been two very considerate supers to comfort her. But now, she was stuck in a government institution, with only one way out. And the only person who could get her out was too chicken to do it. What made it worse was that Ashley honestly thought that Violet liked her. She now came to the realization that she was alone in the world. She had nobody, not even her old teddy bear, Peanut Butter. She was so depressed, she could imagine seeing herself in this sorry state of affairs. Was this what it meant to be "beside oneself?"

"Why are you wearing sunglasses?"

The little boy's question snapped Ashley out of her funk. "What?"

"I was just wondering, why are you wearing sunglasses? It's kinda dark in here already."

"Is it? I wouldn't know, because I'm blind. That's why I'm wearing sunglasses."

"Oh! What's blind?"

"It means my eyes don't work, and that I can't see."

"Really? How many fingers am I holding up?"

Due to her telepathy, she knew that he was holding up three fingers.

"Two?" she said. The way she figured it, if he had proof she was blind, he'd leave her alone.

"Ashley Cohen?" she heard a voice say.

"Yes?"

"There's someone here for you."

"I'm not in the mood for visitors." She was still sore about what Violet did.

"Let me rephrase that, there's someone here to take you home. You've been adopted."
Oh, great. What kind of self-loathing loser wants me anyway?

Still wallowing in a pool of self-pity, Ashley got up and dragged her feet to the front desk. To her alarm, she sensed the brain waves of someone familiar.

"Violet? Is that you?"

"Yes, Ashley, it's me."

"Are you going to take me home? Adopt me?"

"Uh, huh."

"But a minute ago, you said you weren't going to."

"A minute ago, I was thinking only of myself. I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner. I love you, and I never should have considered leaving you here. Can you ever forgive me?"

She could see that Violet was sincere. "Eh, I probably would have done the same thing if I were you. You're forgiven."

"Excuse me, if I may interrupt, Miss Parr," said the woman, "I still need your signature on these forms." Violet made short work of the paperwork. "Okay, she's all yours."

Ashley embraced Violet tightly. She was surprised, but then returned the sentiment.

"I love you, Ashley."

"I love you too, Mom. I can call you Mom, right?"

"Of course!"

The two of them were walking back to the car when Ashley said something else.

"Um, now that I'm legally your daughter, I want to ask you something."

"What's that?"

"Can I borrow the car on Friday?"

Violet was surprised at first, but when she saw her daughter's coy expression, she knew that she was only joking.

"Well, where were you planning on going?" she asked, to continue the joke.

"Oh, nowhere. My blind friends and I were going to do some street racing on 21st Street."

Violet giggled. "You know, one of my buddies at work got seriously hurt while street racing!"

"Really? What happened?"

"He slammed the door on his big toe."

They both laughed heartily.

"Hey, if you let me borrow the car, I'll give you a cut of my winnings."

"Ha! Oh, you will, will you?"

"Yeah, um, how's five percent sound?"

"Wow! You're only going to keep five percent? That's mighty generous of you!" Ashley roared with laughter. They were both still laughing when they got into the car.

"What's so funny?" asked Kim.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that Ashley wanted to borrow the car on Friday."

"But Ashley can't drive, she's blind, remember?" Kim said with infinite sincerity.

"I know, that's why it's a joke!" Violet said rather loudly.

"Yeah, Aunt Kim! Someone tells a joke, and you don't laugh? There's something wrong with you!"

"Hey, didn't your mother teach you not to talk back to your elders that way?"

"She's only been her mother for two minutes, dear," said Dash.

"That's no excuse!" she answered. "See? I can be funny too!"

"Of course you can, honey!" he said rather condescendingly.

"Guys, will you please stop fighting?" said Ashley. "You're destroying my illusion of a happy home!"

"Too late!" José said laughing.

When they got back home, they all dispersed and began to do their own thing. Violet went into the kitchen to start dinner. José watched.

"You know, when I first met you, Vi, I never would have figured you were the motherly type."
"I know. If someone had told me five years ago that I would be a twenty-one-year-old mom with a teenage daughter, I would have said they were crazy. Yet, here were are."

"Of course, a young girl like her needs something that a mother just can't give."

Violet turned and gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't mean any disrespect tot you, because I know you'll be an excellent mom for her. It's just that, well, you know, a child needs a, well maybe not so much a, but, well, what I mean is, uh, she could stand to have a father, right?"

Violet couldn't suppress a smile. "That's awfully sweet of you, José. I'd like that. Uh, I mean, she, Ashley, would like that."

"I had a feeling you, uh, I mean, she would."

Meanwhile, Ashley was in her room, thinking about her life. She had gone from a warm family to being orphaned and back again in less than three months. She didn't really realize what a great thing it was to have parents until she lost hers. Now, she was glad to be able to call someone Mom again. She was happy to be home again. Life was very nice.

FIN

(A/N: Whew! This project has completely confiscated my life, dahlings, consumed me as only hero work can! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist! Well, that brings this story to a close. But I'm not done writing just yet! My next big project is one that I've been putting off for a year and a half, and you guys get to help me write it! It's called "The Amazing Race: Dreamland", and I need some teams to compete. Original characters welcome, contact me for more details.)