Thanks for the reviews! I had a request for more of Martin and Ruthie, so I'm gonna try to get them in a couple more chapters...

Chapter Fourteen: Once Upon A Dream

Ruthie was sitting on her bed at the Colonel and Ruth's, crying. She hadn't known that her thirteenth birthday would be so devastating. First of all, Martin had brought his new girlfriend, Vanessa, over. Ruthie had planned on telling Martin that she liked him that evening, but now she couldn't. And now her puppy, Scouter, who was a teacup yorkie, had run away. Suddenly, she heard a loud beeping sound, and she felt herself falling, falling forever...

She felt a thud, and found herself sitting on the floor of the Colonel's living room, tangled up in her blankets. Martin was sitting on the other couch, and he started laughing.

"Ruthie, are you trying to kill yourself?" he asked as he helped her up and kissed her. She had been dreaming, and today was her thirteenth birthday. "Happy birthday, by the way."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Martin. I love you."

"You love me?"

She nodded. He leaned down and kissed her again, running his hands over her back.

Just then, a voice said, "I'd be careful with that if I were you. How do you think we got in the situation we're in?"

They whirled around to find Simon and Cecilia standing behind them. Simon was carrying two of the baby seats, while Cecilia carried the other seat and held Castle-Lynn in her other arm. They were all set to go outside.

Martin and Ruthie both blushed. "Umm..." they said. Martin decided to change the subject. "Uh, so...where are you guys going?"

"We're going to buy Ruthie's present, if it really matters," Simon said.

"And we're not taking any extra people with us," Cecilia added.

"Yes!" Castle-Lynn butted in, trying to add on to what her mother said.

They all laughed, and the young couple and their children went out the front door.

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As Simon drove the car carefully downtown, Cecilia held his hand. She smiled, and she heard Castle say, "Mommy!"

Cecilia looked back at her daughter, who said, "Dink! Pease!"

She gave her a sippy cup. One of the babies started to cry. Cecilia looked back to see which one it was. It was December.

"Aww, Deci, are you okay?"

December continued to cry until they got to the mall. When they got out, Simon picked her up and noticed that she had a tiny scratch on her forehead. "Aw, look, Cec, this is why she's crying."

Cecilia kissed it and took the other two four-month-olds out of the vehicle. Simon took Castle out, and they went inside.

When they finally found a present for Ruthie, they bought it and took it back home. Ruthie squealed when she opened the package and found three of the cds that she had asked for and a gift card to her favorite store.

She and Martin had gone into Ruthie's room to listen to music, and Simon motioned out the back door and gave the Colonel and Ruth a thumbs up. They brought a teacup yorkie into Ruthie's room, and Ruthie squealed again.

Castle didn't know what Ruthie was doing that for, so she did the same thing. Everyone laughed, and Castle got down on the floor and petted the puppy's head. Ruthie decided to name the dog Scout.

Soon, it was time for dinner. For dessert, they had cake and ice cream. Ruthie's birthday had turned out better than she could have ever wished.

Sorry it's kind of cheesy, but I'm in the middle of watching the Cal vs. USC game, and I'm getting all tensed up. Go USC! As of right now, they're winning 3 to 2. I am planning on going to USC in Los Angeles to major in creative writing in a year and a half, so...