Hello everyone! I hope you all had a Happy Holidays, wherever you are! Here is a new chapter for a New Year and I wish you all a Happy 2017! Enjoy the chapter and please review! Love Miffygirl18 xxx

Chapter 34 – Family Ties:

"Anna? Anna, time to wake up darling." Annabelle blinked and rubbed her eyes with her hands as Archimedes gently shook her shoulder.

"Morn, morning Grandpa," Annabelle yawned as she sat up in bed, lifting her arms above her head and stretching out her back. "Right, I suppose I'd better collect the eggs."

"It's alright darling, your mother has already collected them," Archimedes replied as his granddaughter got out of bed. "Your father is making breakfast today."

"Really?" Annabelle was surprised. It was her main chore to feed the hens and collect the eggs each morning before breakfast.

"Yes," Jane called from the dining table where she was feeding her baby brother. "So get washed and dressed now sweetheart. Breakfast will be ready soon. There's a bath ready for you."

Annabelle went to the tin bath, placed behind the faded dressing screen and got in. She was once again surprised. Normally she washed at the washstand in the morning, not a proper bath and the water was lovely and warm. After drying herself with a sheet, Annabelle changed into a loose, pale green cotton dress and quickly plaited her hair into two long pigtails. The smell of breakfast filled the treehouse and Annabelle felt her mouth begin to salivate at the delicious aromas.

"Belle! Breakfast!" Tarzan called and with no second of hesitation Annabelle hurried over to dining table and sat down in her assigned chair. Tarzan came over with a plate piled high with pancakes whilst her mother placed a jar of honey and a gravy boat filled with 'jungle-berry' sauce on the table. Annabelle's eyes widened in absolute delight, this was her most favourite breakfast of all time!

"Tuck in Belle," Tarzan plonked three large fluffy pancakes into her plate and her mother handed her the jungle-berry sauce. Annabelle poured some of the thick, sweet, almost syrupy sauce over the pancakes and then drizzled a little honey on top as well. As she tucked in, she closed her eyes in bliss at the heavenly taste. When she opened her eyes, she saw her family also tucking in and her mother gave her a smile, but it was a little too wide, a little too bright.

Annabelle was puzzled by all of this. Pancakes were a very special treat as their flour supplies were strictly reserved for making bread or pastry. Cakes and desserts were absolute luxuries for them. Normally she would have them for her birthday breakfast but it was October 5th and her birthday wasn't until the 28th. Her father, mother and grandfather all smiled widely at her, almost clownish in nature.

"What's going on?" Annabelle asked a little warily. It seemed like they were hiding something from her.

"Nothing!" Archimedes replied, a little too quickly and little too upbeat in his tone of voice. "Nothing at all!"

"Mama?" Annabelle looked at her mother and then at her father, both of them now looking a tad nervous. "Papa?"

"Yes darling," Jane stepped into the breach, "we do have something, something very important to tell you."

"I knew it!" Annabelle thought triumphantly. "They only made me pancakes to butter me up!"

"Anna-"

"Are you having another baby?" she asked, interrupting her mother. She had been looking very tired recently like she did before she had her baby brother.

"No!" Tarzan and Jane immediately rebutted, Tarzan almost choking on a mouthful of pancakes! "No! No, no, no, no, God no!"

"Then what is it then?" Annabelle asked, getting a little frustrated at her parents' tiptoeing. She was going to be twelve soon, she was a big girl now. She wished they would stop treating her like a baby so much.

"Anna darling," Jane took a deep breath, "you know that your brother is a little different than from other children?"

"Yes, his mouth is a little funny."

"Yes and he is going to need help for it," Jane replied whilst repositioning a squirming William in her arms. "Well, there is a doctor in England that can operate on your brother and make his mouth better."

"England?"

"Yes we are going to go to London."

"Really?!" Annabelle was absolutely astounded by this unbelievable piece of news. "Will we be in England for my birthday?"

"Oh! Your birthday! Err, well, umm, it takes a few weeks to sail to England so I don't think we will be in London by then but we'll still celebrate anyway," Jane replied whilst inside feeling incredibly guilty. She had been so busy worrying about William that she had completely forgotten that her daughter's birthday was right around the corner.

"Will we spend Christmas in London then?" Annabelle asked. She had heard many tales from her mother of snowy Christmases and ice-skating in the local park when she was a child and she wanted one day to experience a cold Christmas herself.

"Uhh… maybe, possibly," Jane hadn't even thought about Christmas. All she had thought about was making her son better. "We will see the sights though, Big Ben, St Paul's, The Tower of London, whatever you want to see. It will be a holiday, an adventure!"

Annabelle let out a loud squeal of delight! She was over the moon at the thought of travelling to the other side of the world. She loved adventures and this was going to be the most exciting adventure ever! She had always wanted to see London, to see where her mother came from before finding her father, to see her jungle of brick and stone.

"Oh Papa!" Annabelle grinned widely, abandoning her pancakes and ran around to her father. "This is going to be so much fun! We're going to see everything!" Not only was she happy to see London but also with her beloved father who would also be seeing it all for the first time too.

"Belle… darling-" Tarzan hesitated, "I… I will not be joining you."

"What?" Annabelle replied, completely taken aback by this answer.

"I need to stay here," Tarzan took his daughter's hand in his to comfort her, "I need to look after the gorillas and keep an eye on the house."

"But can't, can't you come with us?"

"London is too far away for your father to leave the gorillas for so long," Jane tried to calmly explain as she saw her daughter slowly getting upset. "Besides we will still have fun, you, me, your brother and Grandpa."

"And I'll take you to the Natural History Museum and the British Museum," Archimedes added, hoping that would cheer his granddaughter up.

"But, but I want you to come too Papa," Annabelle looked at her father, her green eyes wide in sadness and slight fear. She loved both her parents dearly but she had a very close bond with her father and couldn't bear the thought of being apart from him.

"I know sweetheart," Tarzan rubbed the top of her hand with his thumb to soothe her. "But I am needed here. It's best for all of us if I stay here."

"Then I am staying here," Annabelle replied with tears burning in her eyes. "If Papa's not going then I'm not going!"

"Oh Anna," Jane sighed wearily, she really didn't need this from her daughter right now. "Don't be silly now. You will still have lots of fun when you are there and -"

"I said I'm not going!" Annabelle snapped back through gritted teeth, her cheeks flushing in anger.

"Annabelle don't you dare speak to me in that tone!" Jane scolded her daughter, "You're going to London whether you like it or not!"

"Make me!"

"I will drag you onto the ship by your ankles if I have too!" Jane stood up defiantly like an alpha female gorilla asserting its dominance with William grizzling loudly in her arm.

"Then I will jump overboard and swim back! I'm not going!"

"Belle stop it!" Tarzan jumped in albeit in a calmer tone of voice, "You're being unreasonable. Now apologise to your mother."

"This is SO unfair!" Annabelle cried in indignation as she burst into tears, "I'm not going without Papa!"

"Anna," Jane took in a deep breath to control her temper, "we need to do this for your brother. We need to do this for William."

"Oh it's always about William!" Annabelle snapped back, "It's always about what William wants, it's always William this and William that! I'm sick of talking and hearing about William all the time and his stupid mouth! What about me? What about what I want? I know you would have forgotten my birthday if I hadn't said anything! I could tell by your face Mama, don't deny it! It's like you have forgotten me, like I don't even exist! All I am good for is changing William's dirty nappies and feeding him! Well I am sick of it and I am sick of him! He has ruined everything!"

"Anna!" Jane was completely flabbergasted at her daughter's angry, raw outburst! "You take back what you said about your brother right now and apologise!"

"No I won't! And I will NEVER EVER apologise!" Annabelle yelled back. Before her parents could stop her Annabelle ran out of the treehouse in a flood of tears, slamming the front door so hard that the whole house shook!

"Oh dear," Archimedes eventually spoke, "that didn't go so well."

"I thought Anna would not go through adolescence for another year or so," Jane groaned as she sat back down in her chair. "It seems that it has started already."

"Well she has got bit of a point," Tarzan admitted reluctantly, "we have been neglecting her a lot recently Jane. I had completely forgotten her birthday was coming up too."

"I know and I feel awful for it but that was no excuse for her to behave like that."

"She's just feisty dear," Archimedes patted her daughter's hand; "I believe you had some hot-tempered moments at her age Janey-Jane."

"I don't need this right now," Jane groaned as her father took William from her and she put her face in her hands. "What are we going to do?"

"Let her cool down," Tarzan said, taking his wife's face out of her hands, "I'll talk to Belle, make her see sense." Jane gave a little smile but Tarzan could tell by her eyes that she was doubtful. It seemed that Annabelle had inherited both her parents' fiery, stubborn spirits. Convincing her to go was going to be a challenge.

A few hours later, Tarzan headed into the jungle by himself to find Annabelle. Although the jungle was vast, there was only a handful of places that he felt that she would go to. He found her soon enough; she was sitting on a branch of a tree at Porter's Ledge staring into the distance, at the sparkling sea on horizon.

"Belle," Tarzan said after he climbed up the tree and sat down next to her. Her face was still red and tearstained from crying and she avoided eye contact with him.

"How did you know that I would be here?" she mumbled sheepishly.

"I have my ways," Tarzan made a little smile, "How are you feeling?"

"Awful," Annabelle sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "I hate that I shouted at Mama. I shouldn't have said those things about William."

"I know… you can apologise to her when we get back."

"I will but I'm still not going to London."

"Belle," Tarzan sighed wearily.

"I can't leave you Papa," Annabelle replied, her tone was resolute. "I can't be without you for so long… I will miss you."

"I will miss you too," Tarzan put his arm around his daughter's back, "but this is too good an opportunity for you to miss out on and I believe that you will spend your whole life regretting not going." Annabelle was quiet at this statement and Tarzan could tell that she was starting to think it over.

"Think about it," he continued and pointed to the distant sea, "there is a whole other world out there. You will see so many things, wonderful things and places and meet so many people, maybe some children your own age. Belle, you are always wanting to go on an adventure. Well this is the greatest adventure you can ever have, don't turn it down."

"But what if… what if we don't come back?" Tarzan instantly knew what his daughter was referring to. That terrible argument he had with Jane where he told them to go back to England. It pained him to see that it still had repercussions to this day.

"Of course you are coming back," he put on a bright smile to reassure her. "But your baby brother is not very well and he needs to see this doctor. Also your mother is finding this all very difficult and she's feeling very sad. You don't want your mother to be unhappy do you?"

"No, of course not," Annabelle shook her head. She knew that her mother was exhausted but she had no idea that she was feeling sad. That made her feel all the more awful for shouting at her.

"And you want William to be healthy?"

"Yes," Annabelle replied but Tarzan noted a little resentment in her voice. He didn't think that they would have the problem of sibling rivalry but he could see that Annabelle was feeling a little neglected what with William taking up so much of both their attentions. Annabelle was right; he had also completely forgot that her birthday was in a few weeks.

"Belle, your mother and I love you and your brother equally, you know that right? Once William is well then we can spend more time with you. So that's why we need to go to England so your brother can have this operation. Plus… your mother needs this too. She will be much happier, we will all be happier if this is done."

"I guess so."

"Tell you what," Tarzan replied and gripped her back a little tighter. "Why don't you write a journal while you travel? You are a great writer Belle, you always tell amazing stories. Why don't you write everything down of what you get up to and then I can read it when you get back."

"Can I also send you letters?" Annabelle asked, very interested in the idea of writing a journal. She could also draw pictures and add trinkets of where she went.

"Of course!" Tarzan smiled, "you can send them to the port and I can write to you and your mother in London. How does that sound?"

"Better," Annabelle replied but then hesitated, "but it will still not be the same without you Papa."

"I know," Tarzan put his fingers under her chin and turned her head to face him, "but no matter how far apart we are, I will always love you and wherever you go, in your heart I will be standing right next to you."

"Really?"

"Absolutely, just like you will be in mine."

Annabelle smiled and embraced her father, her head resting on his chest and she could hear his heart steadily beating. It was a comfort to her and she knew that her father was right. She had always dreamed of visiting London and she couldn't refuse the opportunity.

"Come on," Tarzan said when they finally stopped hugging, "let's go home."

"So do you have something to say to me Anna?" Jane said rather solemnly once father and daughter returned to the treehouse.

"I'm so, so, sorry sorry Mama," Annabelle apologised earnestly, "I'm so sorry that I shouted at you. I should have never said those things, especially about William. Please, please forgive me."

"I forgive you Anna," Jane replied as she hugged her, much to her daughter's relief. "So are you coming to London or not?"

"Yes," Annabelle answered, "as long as I can write to Papa."

"Of course you can!" Jane smiled, relieved at her daughter's simple request. "I will be writing to your father too so of course you can send letters."

"So when are we going?"

"As soon as possible. We will need to start packing soon and we will tell the gorillas tomorrow I suppose." There was then a long, awkward silence. It was hard enough telling Annabelle about going to London, how were they going to tell the gorillas? How were they going to tell Terk? Most importantly how on earth were they going to break the news to Kala?