Chapter 32, enjoy!
Warning: Fluff, lots of it!
Unbeta AF
The Parent Trap
Chapter 32
Filling the Void
"Unless provoked, she won't go back to being a human for a while, most likely until after giving birth," Anya said as she spoke to Heidi, in their mother tongue, which sounded like cats meowing to one another, "It's easier for her to give birth to multiples in this form than her human form, if I had a litter this size, I would choose the cat form too."
Diesel told the two what had happened, including them getting married and about to become parents. He had been pleasantly surprised when both took it in stride. Even William commented with a snarky, "One of our Agents is a Yeti, nothing shocks me anymore, save for my child being pregnant."
William had been leery about becoming a grandparent but Anya had been all smiles and delight, hugging her daughter to her chest and cooing that Diesel and Heidi's babies would be so beautiful and she couldn't wait to see them out of their kitten forms. Diesel asked how the children would go from being kittens to babies and Anya told him, they would change when Heidi thought it was safe for them to do so.
Diesel made a note to baby proof the house. Also he made note to buy baby things, but Anya had soothed him and said she would help, but the person with the final say so was the pregnant kitty lounging on Diesel's lap. Heidi had twitched her ears and let out a smug meow, as she made Diesel spend hours browsing websites for very expensive baby items.
As they enjoyed Diesel's retirement and Heidi's prolonged medical leave, Anya came over with a strange, creamy potion that Heidi drank every day. A combination of prenatal care and rejuvenation elixirs that Heidi greedily drank down. Diesel took a sip and found that it tasted like a strawberry milkshake. No wonder why Heidi got excited when it came.
When Heidi almost healthy, she grew quiet, sullen, curled up on Diesel's chest and looking at the photo on the bedstand, with longing. It was a picture of them all, Stephanie, Carlos, Robi, Heidi and Diesel, outside, in the snow, smiling brightly. Diesel turned his head to the picture and then slowly ran his fingers over Heidi's head saying, "I miss our children too.."
"Meow…" Heidi turned her head and then looked over to Diesel, who chuckled and moved his hand down to run against Heidi's spin, earning a purr.
"Three kittens, in your belly, almost time to pop, right?" Diesel asked Heidi, who hissed and puffed up, "I'm sorry if childbirth scares you, Kitten."
Heidi trembled against Diesel's chest and the man curled his arm around the cat and gently soothed her until she was fast asleep. What could he do to help Heidi with her anxiety? She was missing her two children and was about to have three more. She felt broken, he felt broken too.
The answer came to him from William. One day, while Heidi and he were in the kitchen, eating, fish for Heidi and stew for Diesel, the older man walked into, holding a red file to his chest. Diesel looked up at the man as William walked over to the table and set the red folder on the table, saying, "I have a mission for you and Heidi, son."
"I'm retired," Diesel said, as he set his spoon down, but took the file and opened it, pausing, as he read the missive, Heidi looking over his forearm to see what he was read and both he and Heidi stared in wonder at the file.
"There's be some Unmentionable activity going on in Trenton, two people, I think you know them, their names are Stephanie Plum and Ricardo Manoso, I was going to get Jeanne to deal with them, but knowing what I know now, I think it's best if you two dealt with it."
Diesel hid his smile and then looked over to Heidi and said, "Kitten, looks like we have to look at these two unruly Unmentionables, what do you say?"
Heidi nodded her head and mewed loudly, butting her head against Diesel's arm excitedly. They were going to see their children!
When they saw them, however, their happiness and joy soured, seeing the state the two were in. Watching, but unable to do anything as Stephanie and Carlos wept in secret, unable to help Carlos stand up against his father, who abused him as a child and still abused him to this day. They couldn't help Stephanie, when her mother belittled her, talked her down. Diesel had been right, their children had to deal with so much, as adults, but now, there was this odd layer of confusion and loss. Diesel asked Heidi how it was they kept their German or how they tapped into their powers, the spell she cast was a strong one.
"If I had to guess," Heidi told him, while in their dream state, her pregnant belly bulging, she was due any day now, "From what I sense from the, Diesel, is the love for something they think isn't real…us…"When pressed for more answers, Heidi snapped and said, "I don't know, love makes people do crazy shit, Diesel Evanston! It's the strongest emotion out there, besides rage and sadness"
Love…the spell had been skewed by love most likely from all four of them, Stephanie and Carlos's loves for them, as their parents and Heidi and Diesel's love for them as their children, changed the spell. They still loved them, Stephanie and Carlos still loved Heidi and Diesel, still saw them as their parents and yet...
"They can't remember us but their feelings, their gifts can, Heidi, what will that do?" Diesel asked the woman who shrugged her shoulders, biting her lip, concerned.
"I don't know…" the woman answered honestly and together the two felt useless, watching Stephanie and Carlos wither.
No matter how many times they used their powers or got the upper hand, Carlos and Stephanie were just miserable and it was making Diesel and Heidi miserable. Which one would crack, they didn't know, until one night, after they watched Carlos weep for his 'Papi,' and Stephanie declare she was going to look for her real mother, did one of them crack.
And, of course, it was Heidi, who cracked. Full of maternal instincts and hormones from being pregnant and raising these children for a year. She couldn't stand to see the sight of her babies in turmoil. When Carlos asked Stephanie if they were broken and what they were, after being abandoned by their families, Heidi gave up. She jumped out of Diesel's arms, ignoring his soft, "Heidi, no!" and ran over to her children. They were calling out to her, they needed her!
When Stephanie and Carlos stroked her and cooed at her, Heidi felt…right. If she could cry, she would. She leaned into their hands, kissed their cheeks and mewed, trying to tell them that it was alright, their Mommy was here.
"Does petting this cat make you feel whole, Carlos?" Stephanie had asked and Heidi had almost cried with joy, yes, being with her children filled her heart, her children filled that missing piece! She wanted to keep them forever!
"Heidi!" Diesel ran over to her form and she reluctantly jumped off Stephanie's lap and trotted over to her husband, "Don't run off like that, you're pregnant!"
"Diesel, what are you doing here? When did you get a cat?" Carlos asked and then suddenly, Heidi couldn't handle it, she needed to hold her children, in her human form and so, with a suddenly shift in the wind and a chime of bells, gone, in Diesel's arms was the cat and in the cat's place was a woman with those same ears and that fluffy tail.
"Heidi! You're human again!" Diesel yelped and Stephanie and Carlos were standing up from the swings, stunned, "Oh, shit…"
Stephanie was the first to speak, "You're a-" was all she said before Heidi was rushing over and hugging the taller woman, or trying to, but her huge belly was in the way, "Oh…"
"Come down here, move to the side," Heidi demanded of Stephanie and for some odd reason, Stephanie did not hesitate and moved so that the woman could wrap her arms around her neck and pull her close, "Oh, I've missed this…"
"Come here," Heidi motioned to Carlos, with one arm and soon, she was hugging both her children, sobbing as she did, "My babies, my beautiful, grown babies!"
Carlos and Stephanie reluctantly let go of the crying woman and looked over to Diesel, who had glassy eyes, full of tears. He gave them both a watery smile and asked, "Hey kiddos, how have you both been?"
"I-don't, I don't know what's going on," Carlos confessed as he walked over to Diesel, "But I need to hug you," and with that Carlos hugged the man tightly. The warmth from Diesel, the smell of cookies and Christmas and all good things had emotions rushing forward and he sobbed, "Papi," burying his head in Diesel's neck as he cried.
"Mommy?" Stephanie looked to Heidi, who nodded her head weakly and then let the woman hug her, "I knew it, I knew! It feels so right, it-you're my mother, not her, never her, you're my real mother!"
When Carlos let go of Diesel, who was rubbing his back and calling him 'Kiddo' as he did, he looked at the two and demanded, "Why are we calling you our parents? Why does it feel right to do so? What's going on?"
"We'll explain all of it, I promise, breaking a lot of rules here," Diesel started but then Heidi let out a moan, hunching over, causing Stephanie to grab her, "Heidi, Kitten?"
"Fuck," Heidi whimpered, sweat prickling her skin, even though it was early March and cool, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, Diesel, get me back to the Agency, now! Turning back into a human, I made a mistake…" She felt a rush of warm liquid and looked down, seeing her legs glistening with liquid, "Fuck..my water broke, I'm going into labor!"
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
Stephanie and Carlos were not about to let Diesel and this Heidi woman (whom they started to call Mommy/Mami automatically,) run off without them explaining what in the hell was going on, labor or no labor. They demanded they go with the couple and to their surprise, the woman, Heidi said, "As if I'm letting you out my sight again! FUCK-that hurt, Diesel Agency, Medical Ward, now!"
So that's where all four of them were at now, in a sterile white medical room that was almost vaguely known to Stephanie and Carlos as the three medical doctors on call scrambled around, Heidi, who lay in bed, gripping her stomach and grimacing in pain as a contraction hit.
"What's going on here?" William demanded, as he walked into the medical ward, with Anya and Jeanne behind him, "What's with all this-Heidi! You're a human again!"
"And very pregnant!" Jeanne yowled, rushing over to woman, who was prone on the bed, holding the bottom of her pregnant bump, "When did this happen?!"
"Later, when I'm not dying," Heidi wailed, as she grabbed at Diesel's hand and then turned to him, "I only want you, Stephanie and Carlos in the room and of course the doctors, get rid of everyone else, please!"
"Don't worry sweetie, we'll see you soon, when you're done giving birth," Anya said, pushing a sputtering Jeanne and William out the Ward, "We'll be waiting, I say, you might have a fast birth!"
"Dad-Diesel, besides the birth happening, what's going on, why do we have a connection with you both," Stephanie asked, as a doctor appeared before Heidi, scanning her abdomen with a tablet scanner, "What happened?"
"It's a very long, story," Diesel said, wincing as Heidi squeezed his hand tightly, "Fuck! Well to start off, technically, this is the past, Heidi and I are in the past, on New Year's Eve, in our timeline, you and Carlos walked into a trap set for Heidi," he motioned to Heidi, who let out a shriek of agony as another contraction hit, "It's okay, Kitten, break every bone in my hand, if you have to!"
"Glady!" Heidi wailed and then she looked to the doctors, "Numb me up and cut them out of me, right?"
"No can do, you're prime for a vaginal birth, even with triplets," One of the doctors said, as they scanned Heidi's belly, "No threats of tangled cords, no threats of placenta rupture and the fact that you're cervix is opening fast means that your babies will be here in a matter of minutes."
"Can you give me something for the pain?" Heidi asked and the doctors shook their head, making the woman wail, "You're moving very fast, it wouldn't even kick in for baby number 3."
"Anyways," Diesel said as he heard his bones break under Heidi's grip and released a wail of agony, "NEVER MIND!"
"You two were hit by a trap, it turned you both into six year old kids," Heidi said through gritted teeth, making Stephanie and Carlos blink at her, stunned, "Yes, I know, stunned us too, we raised you as six year olds for a full year-AGRH!"
"Oh," a doctor quipped as she pulled Heidi's legs into stirrups, "That's a head, baby one is here! One big push, please, Agent Heidi."
"GET IT OUT OF ME!" Heidi wailed and Diesel wailed with her as she crushed his broken hand again, Heidi pushing and pushing until a wail filled Medical ward, "What is it?"
"A girl!" The doctor cooed, holding up a squirming wailing baby, that had a small cat's tail and ears stuck to her head, "She's a cutie!"
Heidi instantly released Diesel's hand and held her arms out and the doctor placed the baby in them. She looked down at the wailing baby and said, "Hello, my little kitty number 1-Wait…" She turned to Carlos and said, "Arms out."
Carlos held his arms out and soon held a squirming baby in his arms, making him cling to her, almost scared to drop her. Heidi arched her back and screamed, giving in to the urge to push as she felt something makes it way out of her, "Get it out, get it out, get it OUT!"
"Don't worry, she is out! Baby 2!" Heidi made grabby hands at the baby and she held her briefly for a moment and then handed her to Stephanie, who clung to the baby as Heidi let out another screech, giving birth to the last baby, a boy with cat ears and a tail, just like his sisters, "Baby 3, all of them are out!"
"Fantastic," Heidi said, weakly, looking over to Diesel, who stood by her side, quiet, his eyes glued to the three squirming babies, "What?"
"I have three kids, we have three kids," Diesel whispered, earning a slap from Heidi, "What? It's true!"
"No it's not, we have six children, if you include Robi," Heidi said, looking over to Stephanie and Carlos, who were holding the girls, looking down at them with wonder and chatting as they did, her own son on her chest, ruining her dress but she didn't care, "Look, Diesel, he has blond cat ears…"
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
"Thank you magic," Heidi said as she lay up in the bed, freshly healed and trying to get her baby boy to suckle, grimacing as he tried to latch on, "Come on, kid, your sisters have better sucking game than you!"
They were in a small medical room, just the seven of them. Diesel was holding both his sleeping daughters, with tears in his eyes as he took in their features, Stephanie and Carlos looked over the infant boy. Diesel looked over to small group and said, "They're identical, I think, down to the very same blond spot on their left ear."
"Don't gush too much over them," Heidi said, her voice still hoarse from screaming, "Now, let's finish our tale to Carlos and Stephanie."
"You raised us, for a year, right?" Stephanie said, sitting down beside Heidi's bed, keeping a hand on the woman's arm, to be as close to her as possible, "Was it…hard?"
"Of course it's hard," Diesel said, looking at Stephanie and Carlos, "Raising children, it's rough, but, you two kiddos, were worth it, being with you both, for a year, seeing you blossom and grow and sneak cookies with me, will always be a memory in my heart."
"If-if it was so special, why did you turn us back into adults?" Carlos asked, folding his arms, "Why did you abandon us?"
"We didn't abandon you," Heidi whispered, as her infant finally figured it out and latched on, "Carlos, Stephanie, you were adults before that trap, you have lives in Trenton, we couldn't steal you away."
"Heidi wanted to really badly," Diesel said as he placed the twins in their bassinets, "She really wanted to, she loved you-still loves you dearly."
"We did what was best for you," Heidi said as she looked over to Stephanie and Carlos, "To make you forget about us, the year we had but it seems like…the spell went wrong, somewhere."
"We have this void in our hearts, where-where you should fill it," Stephanie said, standing up suddenly, looking over to Carlos, who nodded his head, "Nothing's been right since after New Year's Eve, now we know why, and we want you to fix it."
"How can we fix it, kiddos?" Diesel motioned for Stephanie and Carlos to come over to him and sit beside him, which they did, leaning their heads against his shoulders, "How can we mend that hole in your hearts, Heidi and I, we don't like to see you in pain."
Stephanie and Carlos got up suddenly and then walked out the room, confusing Heidi and Diesel. When the door closed, outside, in the hallways, Stephanie and Carlos spoke, softly.
"There's only one way to fix this, Babe," Carlos said, looking at Stephanie, "To fill that void in our hearts."
"Carlos, that would mean giving up our lives in Trenton, for good," Stephanie whispered, as Carlos grabbed her hand, "Are you-are you willing to give up Rangeman, Tank, Julie? Give them all up?"
"Stephanie, the moment I stepped into the room with Diesel and Heidi, it felt right, I was whole again. I want that, I want that for good, don't you want that? I think I want to greedy for once, Stephanie," Carlos whispered to Stephanie, who bit her lip. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, "Don't you think we deserve the childhood we really want?"
"….What do we tell Tank, Lula and the others?" Stephanie asked a smile forming on her face, "Because, yes, I want a mother and father that loves us like Heidi and Diesel…"
"You always talk about me being in the wind, Babe, I think it's time for you to experience what that's like…." Carlos said, squeezing Stephanie's hand gently and then opening the door to the room. When they walked back in, with Heidi and Diesel looking at them, with questioning looks, Stephanie gave them a smile and said, "It's not fair that you get to remember that year, and we don't. I want a do-over!"
"Me too," Carlos said, crossing his arms, "I want to remember that year and more years to come."
"I want a mother and father who will love me, without any questions, who will help me learn to fly," Heidi paled at Stephanie's last bit, "Not really fly but, you know, thrive!"
"I want a mother and father who won't place pressures on me, I could have been different, if I didn't have the world on my shoulders," Carlos said and Heidi smiled softly at them both, "We want a childhood with you both."
Diesel let out a whistle and then looked to Heidi, "Heidi, Kitten, if we do this, we're going to break a lot of rules, and I mean a lot of them…"
Heidi gave Diesel a pointed look and said, "Fuck the rules, Diesel, we got our Stephanie and Carlos back!"
(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)
"Look, I didn't write the message, don't shoot the messenger, It was given to me by Diesel, who went poof with my friend!" Jeanne Ellen Borrows sighed, as she handed Lester the envelope, "I don't know what's going on either!"
Lester opened the envelope and read "'Dear Cousin, if you're reading this, then that means Stephanie and I have run off for good, don't worry, before I left, I made sure to set Julie up for life and Rangeman will be in capable hands with you and Tank running it. Don't come looking for us, though if you happen to be in a small German town, and see two children that could pass as Stephanie and I, you didn't, but it would be nice if you said hello to them and stuck around for a bit. Thank you for being there when I needed you, Lester. ~R.'"
Lester looked at the letter and then frowned, "Guess I'm going to Germany soon, because, I have so many questions!" he heard the woman before him huff and looked at her, "What?"
"I have questions too, so if you're going to hunt them down, so will I, I just have to remember which town it is though, I've forgotten and that wench set up wards again."
"So, sounds like an adventure for the both of us, at the same time?" Lester asked the blond woman, who gave him a pointed look and then nodded her head, "Cool, you know what, I think this is the start of wonderful relationship."
"In your dreams, man, ick!"
TBC…
One last chapter left, yes, I decided that Stephanie and Carlos couldn't fill the void in their hearts without giving up their adult lives to be with their real family, surprise out is surprise outcome! I'll see you, on the other side!