Happily Never After
Summary: This story takes place ten years into the future. The characters in this story are as following; Will Vandom, Susan Vandom, Irma Lair, Anna Lair, Tony Vandom, Tom Lair, Taranee Cook, Theresa Cook, Lionel Cook, Peter Cook, Elizabeth Hale, Harold Hale, Lillian Hale, Chen Lin, Joan Lin, Hay Lin, Cornelia Hale, Cassidy, Emily, Yan Lin, Mira Lin, Kadma, Halinor, Chris Lair.
The girls have grown up and married, hoping to live happily ever after. But sadly, as reality tells us, there is never a happily ever after. Now the girls must live without a husband and an unborn child. Can they deal with this and still find true happiness? Or is their world forever lost in darkness?
PS: For my good buddies Cassidy the Water Sage and Cassidy Herrera, I added Cassidy to this story. She is a main character, so she goes under the whole summary. Unborn child? (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)
Chapter 13: Belly Up
Lionel and Theresa ran through the double doors and sprinted over to where they saw two familiar shapes. One was Kyle and the other was Peter.
"Kyle! Peter!" Lionel shouted over to them.
"What happened?" Theresa demanded, looking angrily at Kyle.
Peter stepped in and said, "Taranee's giving birth. You should be thanking Kyle for calling 9-1-1. If he hadn't been there, there could have been trouble."
Theresa's mouth went dry, and she looked in astonishment at Kyle. The young man ducked his head shyly away. Theresa's facial features softened, and she addressed Kyle, "Thank you, Kyle."
"No," Kyle said, shaking his head. "I shouldn't be thanked. Not yet, at least."
Peter patted Kyle's broad shoulder and said, "It'll be fine, Kyle. Taranee's strong. She'll handle it."
Just then, a nurse walked into the waiting room. She looked curiously at Kyle, then at Peter, and finally resting her gaze on Lionel and Theresa. She then spoke in a quiet voice, "Are you Mrs. Ashcroft's family?"
"We are," Lionel said, stepping forward. "Is Taranee alright?"
The nurse then smiled, and everyone gave a sigh of relief. She then replied, "Better than fine, I believe. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy."
Theresa's eyes watered up, and she exclaimed, stuttering, "Th-that's wonderful!"
Lionel whooped and laughed, "We're now grandparents!"
"And I'm an uncle!" Peter shouted, grinning up at Kyle.
Kyle nodded and smiled, but it did not touch his eyes. Lionel, Theresa, and Peter were led into the next room, leaving Kyle to himself.
When they past through the threshold, Theresa ran up to her daughter and threw her arms around her. "Taranee! We heard the news! I'm so proud!"
Lionel nodded and winked, flexing one arm. "Way to go, Taranee. That's my girl."
Taranee smiled and returned her mother's embrace. When they parted, Taranee leaned tiredly back into her pillow and sighed. "It wasn't easy. The little guy was a tough one."
"I'm sure," Peter said, beaming at his little sister. He looked around the room and asked, "So where is the little tik?"
Taranee nodded toward another door off to the right. "In there. They're cleaning him up."
Peter took his sister's hand into his. "So, now that you gave birth, what are you going to do?"
Taranee sighed, and blinked away a tear. "I guess . . . I'll have to do some soul-searching."
"Soul-searching?" Theresa repeated. She leaned over her daughter and asked, "Taranee, you just gave birth. Now you want to go soul-searching?"
"Mom, it's not just for my sake." Taranee looked at the door and continued, "It's for my child as well. I can't go on living with you guys and/or without a husband. If I don't at least try, my little boy will grow up in this world without a dad. And that's not good. You two know that."
"Taranee," Theresa sighed. She finally surrendered, shaking her head. "Sometimes it's hard to acknowledge you're a grown woman now. Just be careful on who you decide to date."
Taranee smiled. "I promise." She looked around the room, and then leaned back into her pillow with a sigh. "Truthfully, I'm not sure where to start. I have a child to raise, a job to look for, it's all too much to take a once."
"Taranee," Peter said. "Don't you worry. We'll do everything in our power to get your resettled."
"Until your kid doesn't need you 24/7," Lionel added, "leave the money problems to us."
"Then you can find a job, and once that's secure, we'll talk dating," Theresa finished.
Taranee smiled weakly, a tear prickling down her dark cheek. "Thank you. Really, thank you."
With Irma:
"You helped make this?" David asked in awe, gesturing toward the large radio tower. Irma blushed, and admitted, "It started out as some kid thing, then when I moved away, the gang decided to . . . make a radio show!" She laughed, shaking her head. "It's really amazing how things like this happen whenever I'm not around."
"Hmm," David said promptly, gazing off into space with deep thought written all over his forehead.
Irma nudged him playfully, saying, "What's going through your mind now? Another joke?"
David laughed and shook his head. "Nah. Just thinking about how sweet it would be if I could go up there and mess around with the radio." He shrugged in disappointment, and said, "But, I don't know. Would your pals let me?"
"Let you?" Irma laughed. "They'd love you! Chris especially, since you two talk a lot." She gestured earnestly with her hand. "Come on! Let's get moving!"
David grinned. "Aye, aye, Captain Lair-on-the-air!" he said, saluting before following her in.
With Will:
"Ahchoo!" Will said, covering her nose as she sneezed.
"Bless you," Cole said softly.
Will sniffed and rubbed her nose. "Thank you," she sniffled, trying to shake off the upcoming cold she was catching. It was bad enough to be pregnant and be worried about everything, but now she was getting the flu. Wonderful. Could her life get any easier?
Actually, with the increasing presence of Cole, it had gotten a lot easier. And less lonely. Before Will had met Cole, she had felt very empty, like a piece of her had been taken away. Now, it felt like she was remaining her piece back.
But still, not completely.
She couldn't put her finger on it, but Matt . . . Matt had been like a part of her, like a brother. They had been through so much together, being there for each other through thick and thin. Not one had ever left the other's side. Will had given Matt a piece of her heart. Not the literal Heart of Candracar, but a piece of her soul, a piece of herself. And when leaving Matt, it was like leaving a piece of her behind.
And yet, and yet being with Cole was like she was regaining that piece back. Like a lost piece of a jigsaw puzzle's location was slowly being revealed through hints and clues.
Cole was different from other men. He was a lot to himself, not obvious and . . . blank, as some men were described as. More like, a mystery waiting to be solved. It was exciting, being with Cole. It seemed that there were no ending to the surprises with him.
Leaning a bit over to him, Will looked up, mostly to avoid eye-contact with him on account that she now seemed to blush every time he looked at her.
She could feel Cole's gaze on her again, and like so many times before her face lit up bright red in embarrassment, and she kept her face down to avoid the blush being seen.
However, she doubted that worked, because she could hear Cole chuckle quietly beside her. Despite her embarrassment, she found herself giggling a little at her own foolish behavior. It wasn't hard for Cole to make Will smile.
"So," Cole said slowly, breaking the silence. "Do you feel the time is now to talk?"
Will looked at the sky. She sighed. The sun was high up, so it'll take awhile for her story to be told. "Well, okay. Better sit down though. This one is a long one . . ."
With Cornelia:
Cornelia ran her finger along the lines of the old, weathered oak. Its rough surface somehow gave her comfort, but her anxiety couldn't slow down.
Jose gingerly took her hand into his and caressed her palm gently. "I see," was all he said. Cornelia sighed, looking down on the ground. "He's was so important to me."
Jose didn't say anything, just kept holding her hand gingerly. Cornelia, without thinking it, rested her head on his shoulder, her blue eyes once more dull.
Jose made no move. He allowed her to grieve, knowing the pain she was feeling would someday come to an end.
With Cassidy:
Cassidy didn't know what to say when she saw the roses on her doorstep.
Rebecca was right behind her, looking over her shoulder. She gave a low whistle and mumbled, "Man, somebody likes you."
"Yeah . . ." Cassidy agreed grimly, hoping it wasn't Conner. She reached for the tiny piece of paper tied to one of the roses.
It wasn't.
It read; "Dear Cassidy, roses are red obviously, and violets are blue, but I don't like writing corny poetry, so enjoy these not from a tree."
"Oh," Rebecca said, smiling. "Nice joke."
"Yup," Cassidy said. She flipped the back of the card and saw a majestic E with a wolf sketched on the side. She smiled.
"Oh, Edward . . ." she murmured softly under her breath.
With Hay Lin:
Hay Lin sighed dreamily as she watched Tomo leave. The wind picked up a bit and fluttered some paper work. Chen caught the flying papers and exclaimed, "Joan, please close the windows! There's a nasty breeze coming through!"
"Hay Lin!" Yan Lin hissed to her granddaughter. The young girl snapped out of her trance and looked over at the petite woman. "Hm? You say something, Grandma?"
"Your powers," Yan Lin whispered.
"Oh!" Hay Lin's surprise stopped the breeze instantly.
Chen sighed with relief and rustled through the papers. Then he caught something in view, a letter of some sorts. He picked it up, seeing the fine cursive, and said, "Hay Lin, there's something here for you."
"For me?" Hay Lin pointed to herself.
"Yes." Chen handed it to his daughter. "I think it's an invitation of some sorts."
Hay Lin tore open the letter and took out the piece of paper in it. She scanned it for a bit, then her face blushed madly. "Oh wow . . ." was all she said.
"What?" Chen and Yan Lin asked.
A smile crept up Hay Lin's face, and she said slowly, as if not believing it herself, "Someone invited me on a blind date to the White Swan . . ."
A/N: Sorry it took forever folks. I'm on summer break now, so things should run more smoothly.