-1Anora sat in the kitchen, holding her head in her hands, elbows propped on the table. A smile graced her gorgeous features as she looked up from her book and saw her husband sitting in his armchair, the comics page in hand. He had their daughter perched on his lap and was reading the strips to her aloud, complete with empassioned voices befitting each character. The toddler laughed and smiled as her father's smooth French rolled into her ears like the softest thunder.

"Daddy, he looks mad," The small child declared, pointing to an angry drawing on the page.

"Well, he is darling," he replied, smiling, "See, this guy just tricked him."

"Oh!" She exclaimed, understanding. She looked at the picture for a moment, as if contemplating. She looked at ther father's gentle face.

"Daddy, do you ever get mad?" She asked, peering up at him. He smiled at her. At three years old she had the brightest smile and the most curious pale eyes. Her hair was a coppery blonde color.

"Yes, love, of course. Everyone gets mad," he explained softly, "But the important thing is to not let it get the best of you and remember that things will turn out alright."

He knew his daughter did not understand, but she turned and looked once more at the newspaper.

"You should tell him that, Daddy," She said, pointing. "You're really smart. Will I be as smart as you one day?"

"Of course you will," Jack said, smiling once more. "Hey, you probably are already really smart! Can you tell me what time it is?"

The child's joyful expression fell and she heaved a sigh. "Time for bed," she grumbled.

"You got it, kid," He laughed, rising with her in his arms.

"Mommy, you have to come help tuck me in!" The child informed, spotting Anora. The woman rose.

"Of course, sweetheart," she smiled.

"Goodnight, Mommy." The child said tiredly once they'd arrived in her room.

"Goodnight, love. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Daddy," She said next, wrapping her little arms around his neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled at the sensation of her eyelashes against his skin.

"Goodnight, Zephyr," He replied softly, leaving her bed to walk to the door. He clicked the light off on his way out. Now he and Anora remained in the hallway. After a few moments their daughter was asleep.

"She looks a lot like you," Jack stated, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind as they gazed upon their child who had a sliver of hallway light falling upon her face.

"Ah, and she has your eyes." Jack smiled once more and took his wife's hand. They walked down the hallway toward the kitchen together.

"Yes, my darling, and your heart."

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"Odd? Wake up, Odd, it's time to go to Mass." The young blonde girl shook her brother's shoulder, to no avail. She sighed.

"Odd, Dad's going to make us sit through two Masses if you make us late(1). C'mon, get up!"

"Okay, Rose, I'm coming," came the reply from under the covers. The small boy's head appeared, hair mussed from sleep. He blinked his dark eyes and yawned before sighing and getting out of bed. His older sister, already dressed for the service, handed her smaller brother the clothes he was to wear that morning. She helped him dress and tried to answer his never-ending questions as best an eight-year-old can.

"How come we have to go to Mass anyway? We can't understand anything." His sister shrugged.

"Dad says it's because God wants us to and if we want to go to Heaven we'd better do it."

"When I go to Heaven, will Eric be there?" He asked.

"I don't know, probably." Rose answered, just a bit less patiently.

"Well if I have to stay in Heaven forever I don't want Eric there."

"Odd! He's our brother!"

"So?"

Rose smiled as she led him to the bathroom and wet his hair to manage it.

"You're like, a sheep or something. You have more hair than I do!"

Before she chould stop her brother he had formed his wet hair into one big spike with his hands.

"Haha!" He laughed, almost triumphantly. Rose simply took his comb and started smoothing it out, resulting in protest.

"Hey!"

"What? You look like a weirdo! you can't go to Mass like that!"

"Fine. But I don't see why not. God gave me this hair and I want it up!"

Rose laughed again as she finished smoothing her brother's hair. "You're so weird. C'mon, let's get Mom to do your tie."

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(1)- This actually comes from my own dad's childhood. If they were even one minute late to Mass they had to stay through that service and the next one.

I know, the cut-oof is abrupt but I went on unscheduled hiatus and to be honest I want to get through these first few chapters ASAP and get to the meat of the story. Hope you enjoyed!