Weeks passed, and somewhat to Don's relief, Eve had been right about Tori's need to wear a bandanna being just a phase. She still wore her bandanna of course, but mainly just during ninjitsu lessons. However, during this time, Don began to notice some changes in Eve's behavior. Nothing extreme, but the changes he was starting to notice in her were enough to make him concerned. The past few days especially, she spent more time alone in the music room than usual. A lot more time than usual. At first, Don didn't think much of it. Eve always spent a lot of extra time in the music room when sudden inspiration would strike her, and she would rarely come out of said room until the artistic inspiration had run its course. But then came the day that Don started to realize that it wasn't sudden inspiration that had recently caused her to hold up in the music room for hours on end.
It was early afternoon, and Don was playing with the twins in the main room. The game was hide-and-seek, and Don was currently counting to 20 while the twins hid. Yoshi was heading to the far corner of the room, planning to hide behind the couch. Meanwhile, Tori was headed in the opposite direction in search of a good hiding place. As she neared the hallway leading to the music room, she could hear the slightest sound of music. It was the familiar sound of her mother singing and playing the guitar. Forgetting all about the game of hide-and-seek, Tori made her way to music room. She opened the door, and found her mother sitting in a chair on the far side of the room. Tori walked over to her mother, who was still singing and hadn't yet noticed that Tori was there, and sat down on the floor in front of her. Eve had her eyes closed. As she finished the song with the strum of the final chord, she opened her eyes to see Tori sitting in front of her.
"Hey sweetie, what are you doing in here?" Eve asked with a small smile.
"Want to sing, too."
Eve chuckled slightly, "Sure sweetie. What should we sing?"
"Wildflower song!" Tori said in excitement.
Eve should have known. The 'Wildflower' song was almost always the song Tori requested because it was one of her favorites. Eve figured that had something to do with the fact that Don gave Tori the nickname 'Wildflower.' Even though Eve also considered one of her favorites, it was a song she had been trying to avoid playing for the last few days. In her current state, she was nearly certain it would cause her to break down into tears, but maybe—just maybe—if she focused on Tori while singing it, she could maintain her composure.
"Okay, Tori. You remember the words I taught you, right?" Eve asked as she prepared to play the song. Tori nodded. "Alright, here we go." Eve said as she started to play the intro of the song.
…..
Several minutes had gone by since Don had found Yoshi in his hiding place, and he could not figure out where Tori was hiding. He searched the main room a dozen times over and hadn't found her, which meant she must have chosen a spot in another room. But where? Don picked up Yoshi, determined to make sure his son didn't wander off while he searched for Tori. Don paused near the hallway leading to the music room, thinking of where the next place to look should be. Suddenly, Yoshi started squirming in his arms.
"Down, Daddy!" Yoshi said as he continued to squirm. Don complied, and Yoshi scurried off towards the music room. Don quickly followed. As Don made his way back the hall after Yoshi, he noticed that not only could Eve's voice be heard coming from the room, but Tori's could, too. Relief washed over him as he reached the door just after Yoshi entered the room. Don hung back at the door, staying out of sight and smiling as he watched the scene in front of him. Eve was singing, and Tori would join in during the chorus—which was the part of the song Tori knew best since Eve taught her the words. Yoshi had joined Tori in front of their mother, and was trying his best to join in the song, too. Eve had smiled slightly as she continued to sing and play her guitar, when Yoshi appeared in front of her and sat next to Tori.
"Oh yes and I…long…to walk on the mountain once more
Where as a child I'd explore
But mostly I…long…to walk in the meadow
Where all the wildflowers grow…"
Eve closed her eyes as she started to hum the melody line towards the last part of the song, which wasn't altogether unusual when Eve let herself become totally wrapped up in the emotion of a song, but Yoshi seemed to have picked up on something because walked up to Eve and touched her knee. As he did Eve looked up once more, and smiled sadly at Yoshi as she prepared to sing the end of the song.
"Upon the mountain back home
Out in the meadow
Where all the wildflowers grow
Yes, up where the wildflowers…grow"
As the last chord faded, Don saw a tear escape Eve's eye, but she quickly wiped it away. It was then that Don realized she was working hard to keep up appearances, though why she was doing so he wasn't sure of.
"You okay, Momma?" Yoshi asked with a concerned look on his face.
"Yeah, sweetheart I'm fine." Eve said, giving the best smile she could manage at the moment. "But I think that's enough singing for now. Why don't you two go play in the living room for a while, okay?"
"Aww." The twins lamented.
"But want to stay with you." Tori added.
Eve sighed, "Alright, tell you what, you two go to the living room and I'll be out in a few minutes to read a book to you. How does that sound?"
"Okay." The twins replied solemnly before making their way out of the room.
Don smiled at the twins as they walked past him and made their way to the main room. Then he turned his attention back on the remaining person in the music room. Eve's demeanor had totally changed from what it had been only moments ago. She had set her guitar down beside her on the floor; she was leaning forward, and had buried her face in her hands. Don even thought he heard a few quiet sobs escape from her. He silently entered the room, and made his way towards Eve. He was only a few feet from her when she started to try to pull herself together.
"Eve…honey, are you alright?" Don asked as he grabbed a nearby chair, set it down in front of her, and took a seat.
"Yeah, fine." Eve said as upbeat as she could while hurriedly trying to wipe away the tears in her eyes. "Why do you ask?"
"Well for one thing you've been hold up in this room for most of the past few days."
"Don, you know that's not that unusual."
"You've hardly been talking lately."
"I guess I just haven't felt chatty."
"Just a moment ago you were crying."
"So, I got a little over emotional from the song, it's no big deal."
"Then why are you currently trying to avoid eye contact with me?"
Up to this point, she had been looking down and off to the side, but when Don asked that question she looked at him for a long moment. Then, turning her head back to the side she said, "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just fine. Nothing's wrong."
"Come on, Eve, you know I know you better than that. Something must be wrong or you wouldn't be acting like this." Don sighed, "Hon, I'm worried about you." Then with his right hand, he took a hold of her left hand. With his left hand he cupped the right side of her face, and gently turned her head so she had to look at him. Softly, he said, "Come on, Eve. Please, talk to me."
Eve hated to admit it, but Don had her pegged. But she just didn't want to talk about what was bothering her. 'All I need is a few more days of alone time to get me feeling like my old self again,' she thought to herself. 'Huh, yeah, right, who am I kidding? I've been telling myself that for over a week now. I know Don will understand—he always does—but I just can't talk to him about this. Not now. Not yet.'
"Don…I…no. No, there's nothing to talk about." Eve said as she picked up her guitar with her free hand, and stood to remove herself from Don's grasp. She walked over to her guitar stand to put her guitar in its designated spot.
Don couldn't believe this. Eve never resisted talking to him about what was troubling her like this before. He just couldn't understand what was going on with her. "Eve, honey," Don started as he got up to follow her, "if that were true, you wouldn't have hesitated in your response, and you wouldn't be trying to avoid me."
"Don, I'm not trying to avoid you, I just-" Eve cut herself off as her eye caught sight of the picture sitting on the mantle above her guitar stand. It was a picture of one of her favorite spots back home. Her old home in the mountain ridges of Pennsylvania. "Need…some time alone." She trailed off quietly as she reached out to touch the picture in front of her, and closed her eyes tight.
Don was now standing beside her, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Gently he said, "You've spent far too much time alone already this week." She opened her eyes, and just stared at the picture in front of her. Don followed her gaze. 'So, that's it is it?' he thought to himself, 'She's homesick. Wait a minute, there's got to be more to it than that. She's been homesick before, but she's never acted like this any of the other times. Well, maybe I should just go with it for now until she's ready to open up about what's really bothering her.'
"You really miss that place don't you?"
"Yeah," Eve said quietly, still looking at the picture, "some times more than others…I guess this is one of the times when I really miss it a lot though."
"Mmm…so…what else is bothering you?"
Eve sighed. "Don, please, just drop it for now. Okay?"
"Eve, I really think it would help you if we talk-"
"Don, just drop it!" Eve shouted as she pulled away from Don. "There's no need to talk because I'm just fine!" She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to the living room. I promised the twins I'd read them a book." And with that, she left the room. Don didn't press the matter any further for the rest of the day, and Eve basically avoided him as much as possible. Shortly after they got the twins to bed for the night, Eve herself went to bed. Don knew it was highly unusual, as it was still early in the evening, but decided to give Eve some space and headed to his lab to work on some things for a couple hours. With any luck, she'd be asleep by the time he got to bed.
…..
A couple hours in the lab turned into several hours, and by the time Don finally made his way to bed he was beat. He paused at the bedroom door to see if there was any light showing under the doorway. Nothing. 'Good, she must be asleep.' He thought to himself. Quietly, he opened the door, made his way to the bed, and carefully climbed in.
Eve, who was still awake, had been lying there in the dark for hours with nothing but the glow of the clock on the nightstand lighting the room. Even though Don had been nearly silent when he entered the room, she still heard him. She was glad that Don was trying to give her some space after her little outburst that afternoon, but she was still disappointed that he didn't slide over next to her and wrap his arm around her as he usually did when he climbed into bed. She was caught in a loop of depression, and she was trying hard to pull herself out of it; but right now what she really needed was the comfort of Don's arms. She was tired of avoiding him, and she knew now that she would have to make the first move if she was going to get any comfort from him tonight. She sighed silently to herself.
"Don?"
"Mmm?" he responded tiredly.
"I'm sorry about today. I shouldn't have shouted at you, or avoided you…I know you're just trying to help."
Don turned to look at her. The glow from the clock was just enough light for him to make out her silhouette. She was still lying on her side with her back to him, but at least she was talking to him. "You don't need to apologize."
"Yes, I do. I know the way I've been acting lately has been hard on you. I know you're worried about me, and that you want me to talk to you about…what's bothering me. But I'm just not ready to open up to you about it yet."
Don moved over beside her, and put a hand on her arm. He whispered, "Hey, it's okay. I understand, and I'm sorry for pressing you about it earlier today. Just promise me that you're going to be okay."
Eve twisted around enough so that she could see Don's face. "I promise."
"And when you're ready to talk about-"
"I'll come straight to you." She hesitated, "But…for now…would you just…hold me?"
Don gave her a small smile, "Of course…come here." Eve turned over so she was facing Don, and moved closer to him. Don enveloped her in his arms, and gently kissed her forehead. Within minutes, Eve was asleep. Don sighed tiredly. 'She may not be ready to talk to me about it yet, but at least this is a start.' was the last thought that crossed his mind before he drifted off to sleep.
…..
Don thought that the brief conversation he and Eve had last night would have improved Eve's mood at least a little, but it seemed that she was just as miserable as ever. Don had an idea that he thought would help lift her spirits, but before he could put that plan in motion, there was someone he had to talk to.
"Hey bro, what's up?" Mikey greeted.
"Hey, Mikey, I need you to do me a favor."
"Sure dude."
"I need you to watch the twins tonight while I take Eve topside. Will you?"
"Well, sure bro, I'll watch 'em, but aren't you two supposed to go topside like three nights from now…you know, like you two do every week?" Mikey asked with a questioning look.
"Yeah, well, about that…there's been some…issues lately, and I think it would be best if I get Eve topside tonight if at all possible."
"Issues? Like serious trouble kind of issues?"
"No, Mikey, it's nothing serious. At least, not yet anyway."
"Okay, bro, if you say so." Mikey said, though he didn't quite believe Don about it not being serious.
"So, you'll watch the twins then?"
"Yeah, dude, I'll watch 'em. Same time as usual?"
"Yeah, thanks Mikey, I owe you one."
…..
It was just about dusk, and Eve was sitting on the couch in the main room, reading to the twins, when Don came in wearing street clothes and holding Eve's long coat in his hand.
"Don, what's going on, why are you dressed in street clothes?" Eve asked with a confused look on her face.
"We're going out tonight."
"What do you mean?" Eve asked still not sure of what was going on.
"I mean you and I are going topside for the evening."
"We go, too?" Yoshi asked hopefully. It was rare that he and Tori got to join their parents in going topside for an evening.
"Nope." A new voice interjected. "'Fraid you two squirts are stuck with me tonight."
"Unca Mikey!" The twins shouted happily as they hopped down off the couch and ran to greet their uncle.
"Hey squirts. So, you two up for playing some games?" Mikey asked the twins with a grin.
"Yay!" The twins cheered.
As Mikey continued to chat with his niece and nephew, Don walked closer to where Eve was still sitting. Eve looked up at Don, then to her coat, and back to Don again. Finally, she sighed, closed the book that was on her lap, and laid it on the couch next to where she was sitting. She got up, and Don helped her with her coat. She turned around and looked at him, signaling that she was ready to go. Don gave Eve a small smile, and then put an arm around her waist.
"Okay, Mikey, we're heading out now." Don said as he guided Eve to the door leading to the sewer tunnels.
"Later…have a good time."
"You kids be good for Uncle Mikey while we're gone, okay?" Don said to the twins.
"Okay." The twins responded.
Mikey watched as Don and Eve left, then he turned back to the twins. "Okay, so what should we do first?"
…..
Don and Eve silently walked the short distance from their home through the tunnels to a manhole in Central Park. Don climbed up the ladder first to remove the manhole cover, and then helped Eve as she reached the top. Eve looked around at their surroundings as Don replaced the manhole cover. She wasn't sure she was up to this, but Don had gone through the trouble of getting Mikey to babysit the twins. And with the way she had been acting lately, the least she could do for Don was go on this outing. Besides, it kind of felt good to be out of the lair for a change.
"Okay, let's go." Don said smiling as he wrapped his arm around her. Eve tried to return the smile, but couldn't seem to manage anything more than the hint of a smile as they started walking. About a half hour later, they reached their favorite place in the park. It was the only part of the park that gave the Eve the feeling of being in the woods like the ones she explored back home, and also had a spot that gave a great view for stargazing. Don had sensed that Eve was starting to feel more at ease as they reached their special place. He hung back and watched Eve as she moved from his side and walked around for a moment. She placed her hand on a nearby tree, and continued to take in their surroundings for a moment. Then, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, she was smiling. It was the first real smile Don had seen on her face in days. He also noticed that the sparkle of happiness had returned to her eyes as well. Don decided to make his way to the lookout spot, while Eve reveled in the moment. After he reached the big bolder they where they often sat to stargaze, he continued to watch her. A few minutes later, Eve joined Don. Eve stepped out towards the edge of their lookout, and looked up at the night sky. Stars just filled the sky. The sight was absolutely breathtaking.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" Don asked.
"Yes, it's absolutely gorgeous." Eve responded as she continued to look up at the sky for a moment. Then, she turned to look at Don. She was beaming. "I guess I should thank you for dragging me out here tonight." She said teasingly.
"Hey! I didn't drag you out here, you came willingly." Don said pretending to be offended, though he was grinning as he said it.
"Oh, really?" Eve continued to jest as she walked back towards Don. "I just figured being cornered, and having a sitter at the ready meant that I had no choice in the matter."
"True, but you still came willingly."
"Mmm…that I did." She said quietly as Don wrapped his arms around her and then kissed her.
"I've missed you."
"Me too." Eve said as she rested her head on his shoulder. After a moment, she pulled back. "Come on, let's go gaze at the stars some more." She turned her head to look back in the direction of where she had been standing earlier. "I really want to-" she cut herself off as she noticed a glow of lights on the horizon, just above the tree line. It took a moment, but Eve realized it was the glow of the city lights. Even here, in her special place in the most natural part of the city, she was being reminded that she wasn't really home. Don watched as her smile, and the light in her eyes suddenly faded. It appeared she was sinking back into depression.
"Eve?" Don asked in concern. She glanced at him, and then pulled away. Eve walked over to a nearby tree and sat down, leaning back against the tree and staring up at the starry sky. Don went and sat down next to her, watching her carefully. After a moment, she looked down at the ground in front of her feet. She was mulling something over.
"I've just ruined the evening, haven't I?" She asked quietly, stealing a glance at Don.
"No, you haven't ruined anything."
She looked back at the ground. 'Well, if he really wants to know what's wrong with me, I guess now is as good a time as any.' she thought to herself. "I…I know this is going to sound…crazy, but…well, you know I've always had a hard time living in the city. And while living like we do makes it easier on me, lately I…I just…feel like the city is…suffocating me." She paused a moment to steal another glance at Don, who looked confused. "I feel like it's causing me to loose a part of myself that is…vital…to my personality. Like I'm…I don't know, loosing my center or…something." She sighed, placing a hand to her forehead in slight frustration. "I…just…don't know what's wrong with me anymore."
Don thought about what Eve said for a minute. "So, this is what has been bothering you lately?" he asked hesitantly.
She nodded. "Coming here with you has always seemed to help me deal with living in the city somehow. And when we first got here tonight I started to feel like my old self again, but seeing the glow of the city lights in the distance just…crushed me all over again. Odd that I never noticed the glow of the city lights before with as often as we come here. I'm truly sorry about spoiling the moment, Don." she said softly.
"Hey," he said gently as he put an arm around her shoulders, "I told you, you haven't spoiled anything. And we'll find a way to get you centered again."
"I hope it's soon. I can't take much more of feeling like this." she said as she leaned against Don, and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I know, honey. I know." They sat there like that for a few hours, saying nothing as they just peered up into the night sky. Finally, Don said, "It's getting really late, we should go soon. Are you about ready to head home?"
Eve sighed, "Well, I guess I'm as ready to go back as I can be at the moment."
"We could finish our usual walk around the park first, if you'd like."
"Are you sure? Won't Mikey worry?"
"Yes, I'm sure. As for Mikey, I told him that we'd probably be out here a lot later than usual, and that I'd call if there were any trouble. So, what do you say, should we finish our walk, or head straight home?"
Eve thought about it briefly. "I think we should finish our walk."
"Okay, you ready?"
Eve nodded. They got up, and with Don's arm around Eve's waist they started their way through the park.
…..
It was almost 3 am when Don and Eve finally made their way back to the lair. Mikey was camped out on the couch watching TV.
"So, you two have a good time?" Mikey asked as Don and Eve walked in the door. "You were out pretty late compared to usual."
"Uh…yeah, we had a nice time, Mikey." Don said as he started to take off his street clothes.
"How were the twins?" Eve asked as she hung up her coat.
"Heh, those two little squirts were great, no problems."
"Good." Eve said, attempting a small smile. "Well, it's late and I'm beat. So, if you two will excuse me, I'm going to check on the twins and go to bed."
"I'll be along in a few minutes." Don called after her as she headed out of the room.
"So," Mikey said turning to Don once more now that Eve had left the room, "how did it really go tonight?"
…..
Eve quietly opened the door to each of the twins' rooms and checked on them. Both were sound asleep. As Eve made her way to her room, she started to feel dizzy. By the time she reached her bedroom door, it looked like everything was spinning. She firmly grasped the door jam as she closed her eyes and put a hand to her head. After a minute or so, the feeling of dizziness passed. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. No spinning. Everything looked fine. 'Well, that was odd.' she thought to herself. She was still standing there holding on to the doorway, when Don came up behind her.
"I thought you'd be in bed already. You okay?" Don asked quietly as he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Uh…yeah, I think so." Eve replied still looking around.
"You think so? Did something happen?"
"I think it was just a short dizzy spell." Eve said shaking her head slowly.
"Hmm…well, it's been a long day; you probably just need some sleep. Speaking of which, we'd better get to bed…we've only got a few hours before the twins will be up."
Eve sighed, "Yeah, it's hard enough as it is to keep up with those two without throwing a lack of sleep into the mix."
Don chuckled. "That's for sure."
…..
Yoshi and Tori were up about the same time as usual. When they realized their parents were still asleep, they decided to give them a wake up call. They quietly entered their parents' room and climbed up on the bed. Then they started jumping, and giggling. It only took a few jumps on the bed by the twins to jostle Don from his sleep.
"Okay, alright, that's enough jumping on the bed you two." Don said as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Suddenly he felt the bed bouncing again. When he looked up, Yoshi was jumping on the bed.
"Yoshi, I said that's enough…we're up, so please stop jumping on the bed and sit down." Don said firmly.
"But Momma still sleepin'." Yoshi said pointing to his mother as he stopped jumping and sat down on the bed. Don looked over at Eve. Yoshi was right, she was still fast asleep. Don knew she wasn't a light sleeper, but surely the twins jumping on the bed should have roused her from sleep as it had him. He reached over and gently shook her shoulder.
"Eve? Eve, wake up. We have company." Don said trying to wake her.
"Hmm?" Eve moaned as she was pulled from her sleep. "Don? What's going on?" she asked as she ran a hand through her hair.
"The twins decided to give us a jump on the bed wake up call."
"Oh?" she asked as she looked up. There sat the twins at the end of the bed.
"Morning Momma." Yoshi yammered happily.
"Hi, Mommy." said Tori
"Morning sweethearts." Eve responded tiredly as she sat up and rubbed her face.
"You okay?" Don asked.
"Yeah…just tired is all." Eve replied, running her hand through her hair once more.
"We hungry." Yoshi piped up.
"Okay," Don said, "you two go play in the main room for a few minutes, while we get breakfast ready." The twins smiled, hopped down off the bed, and scurried out of the room. Don looked back at Eve. She looked exhausted.
"Maybe I should make the twins their breakfast, and get them ready for their ninjitsu lesson on my own so you can sleep a bit longer."
"Nonsense, I'm already up. Just give me a few minutes to wake myself up a bit more, and get changed. Then I'll be out to help you with breakfast." Eve said as she started to climb out of bed.
"You're sure?"
"Yes," Eve said as she stretched a bit, "now go on, I'll be out shortly."
"Okay. See you in a few minutes" Don said as he headed out the door.
Eve started to make her way to her dresser. Suddenly the room started to waver slightly. She stopped in her tracks, and quickly shook her head for a moment, hoping to get rid of strange vision problem. "Oh, we so do not need this today." she muttered to herself as she rubbed her forehead with her hand, and finished making her way to her dresser to get ready for the day.
…..
It took Eve a lot longer than a few minutes to get ready. The longer Eve was in the bedroom, the worse she started to feel. She had several brief dizzy spells as she got herself ready, and she was starting to feel sick. By the time she got to the breakfast table, Don and the twins were already eating.
"Hey," Don called to her as she entered the room, "I was starting to think you had decided to go back to bed after all." Don saw that she was rubbing her forehead again. "Honey, are you sure you're alright? You don't look so well."
"Actually, you'd be right. I'm not well; in fact, I think I'm coming down with something."
"Here, you sit down, and I'll get you some medicine or something." Don said as he started to get up.
"No. No. You sit and eat your breakfast." Eve said as she held up her hand signaling him to stay put. "I may not feel well, but I'm certainly not bed ridden. I'll go and get something myself." Don watched from his seat as she headed into the kitchen. She got some medicine out of the one cabinet, and then filled a glass with water. She put a pill in her mouth, and took a drink of water. She decided to take the glass of water and try to join her family at the table. As she started to head for the breakfast table, another dizzy spell started. This time it was really bad, the worst dizzy spell she'd had yet. The room was spinning so much that she started to sway. She tried to grab a hold of the counter, but she lost her balance and failed to catch herself.
Don's head jerked up at the sounds of breaking glass and some sort of crash in the kitchen. "Everything okay in there, honey?" Don called to Eve. He got no response. "Eve?" he tried again, but still no reply. Something was wrong, and Don didn't like it. He looked at the twins, who were both looking in the direction of the kitchen. "You two stay here," Don instructed them "I'll be right back." He walked over to the kitchen doorway. His eyes widened, and panic struck him from the sight he saw. He called out in alarm, "Eve!"
