(A/N: Ok now, this chapter... interesting to right with having everyone being human, but I think I made it work. I'm actually surprised how much of the story ended up being in this one chapter, but oh well.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 3: Family Matters

The next several months were crazy. Now that the news that her parents were having a baby was out, so much started happening.

Her mother started experiencing nasty mood swings, quickly going from happy to angry to tearful in an instant. She also began getting cravings for certain foods, one time even sending her father out after dark during a snowstorm to pick up some watermelon and chop suey.

Changes were made throughout the house. The room next to Lady's was turned into a nursery, and many parts of the house were baby-proofed. A lot of essentials were purchased as well, from baby clothes to toys to diapers to a cradle and more. Her parents also spent a lot of time trying to decide what to name the baby.

There were also frequent guests, from friends to family members, all wanting to help out however they could. It seemed that all anyone ever wanted to talk about was the baby. And while Lady was often asked if she was ready or excited to be a big sister, sometimes it seemed as if people forgot she was there at all.

Despite Jacque and Trusty's insistence that Tramp didn't know what he was talking about, or that he had simply been messing with her head, Lady hadn't been able to forget what he had said. It was always there in the back of her mind, a nagging worry that wouldn't leave her. Her friends told her to just talk to her parents about it, but they were always so happy or so busy that she could never bring herself to broach the subject with them.

But Tramp's words weren't the only thing about him that stayed with her. Their whole interaction remained in her mind. While he may have surprised her with the way he suddenly appeared and caused her no end of worry regarding her situation, she couldn't help but think about how attractive he was. She had never had that kind of reaction to a boy before.

She wondered if she had a crush on him. She wasn't sure how since they had only interacted with each other for such a short time and hadn't seen each other since, but she often found herself bushing whenever she thought about him. She never told anyone about this though, not even Jacque, and Lady told her best friend everything!

But there were more important things going on than her crushing on some random boy she would never see again. Like her mother's approaching due date. The closer it got, the more nervous and excited everyone seemed to become. And then one night, Lady was awoken by her father bursting into her room, telling her to get up because her mother had gone into labor.

Everything had happened so fast after that. As her father scrambled to pack an overnight bag for them all, Lady had stood at her mother's bedside. And then, after a quick phone call to Jacque's house, Lady was dropped off at her best friend's place for the night while her parents headed off to the hospital.

Too many emotions were going through Lady for her to process them. And as the hours ticked by, she didn't think she would be getting anymore sleep for the rest of the night, not even after Jacque ended up falling asleep.

But eventually, exhaustion got the better of her, and she fell into a dreamless sleep. She was awoken several hours later though by Jacque's mother, informing her that she was to be taken to the hospital to meet her new baby brother.

Lady's mind was abuzz with activity the whole drive. She had a little brother, Jim Jr., her parents had decided upon. She was a big sister. Even now, despite all the months knowing that this was coming, it still felt surreal. She was feeling too much at once. Excitement and anxiety were the two biggest emotions. She knew that one way or another, her life was about to change forever.

They arrived at the hospital and Jacque's father walked her inside. Her father was there waiting for her, looking tired, but also happier than Lady could ever remember seeing him. He thanked Jacque's father for taking care of her before giving Lady a big smile.

"You ready to meet your little brother?" he asked.

Mouth too dry to reply, Lady only nodded, and her father brought her to her mother's room. Once there, he told her to try and be quiet. Lady nodded again and slowly entered the room.

Her mother was sitting up in bed, holding a bundle in her arms. She looked up at Lady as she entered, and the smile on her face widened. She looked even more exhausted than her father, but just as happy. Placing a finger to her lips, she motioned Lady over.

Lady's heart pounded in her chest. She had been around babies before, but none of them had been her new brother. She slowly approached the bed and looked down at the bundle her mother held, and her mother shifted so Lady could get a better look.

There in her mother's arm was the cutest and most previous thing Lady had ever seen. Her little brother, Jim Jr. He was asleep right now, with only his little face poking out from the blankets. At the sight of him, Lady's heart instantly swelled with love. A single moment was all it took; this was her little brother in every sense of the word.

She felt her father wrap and arm around her shoulder as he leaned down beside her mother's bedside. "Isn't he beautiful?"

Lady felt happy tears prick at her eyes and nodded. "Yes, he is."

Her mother also looked close to tears as she shifted closer, and her father wrapped his other arm around her to hold them all in a loving embrace.

"Our family has grown bigger now," her mother told her. "I'm so happy we can all be together like this. I hope we'll never be apart."

Her father chuckled. "We won't be. It's the four of us now, together forever." He turned to Lady, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I know things have been a little crazy lately, but you should know that your mother and I love you both so much. Never forget that, Lulu. No matter how things change, that is one thing that never will."

Her mother nodded in agreement. "You're our beautiful, little girl. That will never change, no matter how big you get, no matter where you go or what you do, no matter who else joins our family, no one and nothing can ever replace you in our hearts."

At those words, Lady felt all her worries and concerns fade away completely and permanently. What more, they seemed so foolish now. Had her parents somehow guessed what she had been feeling? Did it even matter? All that mattered was that she whole-heartedly believed them. Tramp had been wrong. This was her family, blood ties or no, and nothing would ever change that.

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Time passed by, just as it always did, and things continued to change. The Brown family household went from preparing for a baby to taking care of one. Adapting took time, and it was hard work, but they eventually got into the swing of things.

Lady helped out wherever and however she could. She was determined to be the best big sister ever. In the months that followed Jim Jr. being brought home from the hospital, she really went out of her way to step up and help out with whatever needed to be done.

She absolutely dotted on her little brother, and would often take care of him when her parents couldn't. And just as she concluded that day in the hospital, having Jim Jr. around did nothing to diminish her parents' love for her. And while it was true that much of their attention was dedicated to taking care of the new baby, Lady never felt abandoned or neglected. In fact, she too dedicated much of her time in taking care of him.

And then the big day came. Back when her mother had had her baby shower, her Aunt Sarah had surprised her with a present that consisted of a paid vacation for her and Lady's father. Some time for just the two of them since getting some alone time would prove to be difficult in the future with a new baby to take care of.

Her parents had mixed feelings about the gift. On the one hand, they were very grateful and excited for the trip, but on the other hand, they were very reluctant to leave Jim Jr. behind when he was still only a few months old. The tickets were nonrefundable though, and quite expensive, and so they began packing for their getaway.

Since Aunt Sarah had bought them the tickets, she also volunteered to a babysit. Even though Lady would be there, her parents still wanted an adult to be around. And so it would be just her, Aunt Sarah, and Jim Jr. for the week.

Lady was not looking forward to it. While she loved her great aunt, she also found her to be rather unpleasant to be around. She had a very old-fashioned view of things and was very strict and critical. She knew that the old woman loved her, but that didn't change the fact that her great aunt was still very strict about things. Honestly, Lady couldn't tolerate the woman's presence for than a couple hours. So a whole week, well, six days really, would not be easy.

But she would put up with it as best as she could. Her parents deserved this time together. Besides, Aunt Sarah was borderline deaf in her old age, even needing an ear trumpet in order to hear properly. She could tolerate her presence, and hopefully be able to stay out of her way.

"Darling," Lady heard her father call to her mother in a hushed whisper. "Darling, come on. Aunt Sarah will be here any minute."

Lady watched as her mother gave her brother a regretful look. "Jim, we just can't leave him. He's still so small and helpless."

Her father sighed. It was hard for him to leave too. And while he was grateful for this vacation, Aunt Sarah had given them, a part of him wished she hadn't. But with as much as she must have spent on the tickets, they couldn't let them go to waste.

"He'll be alright," he told her. "Now come on. If he wakes up now, we'll never get away."

With one last look at Jim Jr., her mother left his crib. Lady followed them out of the room and down the stairs, helping to carry their suitcases. Her father gave her an appreciative look as they placed their suitcases by the door.

"You're the big girl of the house now," he told her. "We'll be counting on you to help Aunt Sarah with everything."

Lady nodded, eager to show how responsible she could be. "I won't let you down."

Her mother smiled at her. "We know you won't. You're such a good big sister."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Her father quickly glanced upstairs, but no crying came from Jim Jr.'s room, and he was quick to open the door. And there stood Aunt Sarah.

She was the same as Lady remembered her. Tall and pudgy, silvery-gray hair, pointy nose, and a face full of wrinkles. She was dressed like a woman from the fourteenth century, and held a cane in one hand and a large suitcase in the other, and hanging around her neck was her ear trumpet.

She wasn't alone though. Much to Lady's surprise, and dread, there was a pair of 12-year-old girls with her. Siara and Amber, or Si and Am as they were called for short, Lady's twin cousins. Why were they here? She didn't know they were coming.

As bothersome as Aunt Sarah was, Lady couldn't stand her cousins. They were obnoxious pranksters who enjoyed causing mischief. And they were total suck-ups to adults, somehow always being able to butter them up and get on their good side. It got them out of a lot of trouble quite a bit.

And when they were around Lady, they would often get her in trouble, usually by blaming their mischief on her. And, unfortunately, they knew how to play Aunt Sarah like a piano that they had tuned themselves.

"Jim, Elizabeth," Aunt Sarah exclaimed as she shuffled into the room and tossed her suitcase aside. "So sorry I'm late. The twins' parents suddenly needed me to watch them for today. It's just for a few hours though, then they'll stop by and pick them up."

Lady noted the subtle disapproval on her parents' face. They, at least, were aware of the twins' nefarious ways. Regardless, she saw her mother put on a forced smile. "It's not a problem. Um, here, we made list of everything to go over."

"What's that?" Aunt Sarah asked, bringing her ear trumpet up to her ear.

Her mother leaned forward to speak into it. "I said let me just run through this list with you real fast."

But Aunt Sarah simply waved this off. "Oh, psshaw, don't be ridiculous. I've taken care of kids for ages. I even changed your nappies when you were little Jim's age. I know exactly what to do. Come now, you're late enough as it is. Go and have a good time."

Lady glanced at her cousins with growing dread as she took note of their mischievous smiles. As Aunt Sarah attempted to usher her parents out the door, she already knew that trouble was brewing. But there was nothing that could be done about it. After a quick hug and kiss goodbye from her parents, they were gone.

As Aunt Sarah turned to her, Lady pinched the sides of her dress and curtseyed, knowing it was what her old-fashioned aunt expected her to do. "Hello, Aunt Sarah."

"Lulu, dear," Aunt Sarah exclaimed, at first looking happy, but then frowning in disapproval. "You need to work on your posture young lady. Your curtsey is all wrong. And look how improper you're dressed. Just how much skin are you planning to expose?"

Lady frowned and looked at herself. She had specifically chosen this dress to additionally cover up to please her aunt. As far as her aunt was concerned, showing even the slightest bit of neck or ankles was considered improper.

Sighing, Aunt Sarah shook her head. "Well, not to worry, I'll be sure to set you straight while I'm here. But for now, where is that nephew of mine? It's been so long since I've last seen him. I want to see how big he's gotten."

Not liking the idea of her great aunt 'setting her straight', as she put it, lady reluctantly pointed up the stairs. "He's in his crib. But you shouldn't bother him, he was just put down for a nap."

She regretted the words the moment they left her mouth as her aunt scowled at her. "Don't you speak that way to me, young lady. Ordering around an adult. Honestly, what kind of respect are your parents teaching you?"

"I'm sorry," Lady said quickly, "I just didn't want you to wake up Jim. He can get cranky when he doesn't sleep through his nap."

Aunt Sarah seemed to deflate a bit at that. Reaching out, she pinched Lady's cheeks in the way Lady always hated. "Not to worry, dearie, I know babies. I'm just going to go check on him. But you do need to learn not to talk back to adults and to respect your elders. We'll have to work on that while I'm here."

With that, she began making her way up the stairs to Jim Jr.'s room. Lady sighed as she rubbed her cheek, hoping that she wouldn't end up waking him as she glanced at her cousins. They had amused smiles on their faces, which could only mean trouble.

"Hi, Lady," the chorused.

Lady scowled. Unlike others who called her that, they did so in a mocking way, and she hated it. "Hi, Si, hi, Am," she said with as much pleasantness as she could muster. "How are you?"

"Good, thanks," they chorused again; they were very good at that.

They began wandering around, no doubt looking for a way to cause trouble. The two of them really couldn't sit still.

"How long are your parents going to be gone for?" Si asked as she ran her fingers over some knick-knacks on a shelf, turning them so they were facing different directions.

Lady's eyes narrowed as she went to fix the items. "Six days."

A giggle came from Am. "Aunt Sarah said she's going to make sure she turns you into a proper lady."

Lady had to resist the urge to groan at that. It was bad enough when Aunt Sarah simply "corrected" her behavior and mannerism, the thought that she was going to go out of her way to train her into what she deemed to be a proper lady was going to be a nightmare. If anyone needed to be taught how to behave, it was the twins.

"Hey, Lady," Si called, "did you feed the fish yet?"

She sat on the table over a fish bowl containing the goldfish, Cleo. Sticking a finger into the water, she began swirling it around to form a miniature whirlpool, and the goldfish began spinning with the current she created.

"Don't do that!" Lady exclaimed, rushing over and pulling her cousin's hand out of the bowl. "And yes, I fed her."

"What about the bird?" Am asked.

Lady turned to see that her other cousin had pulled a chair over to the birdcage that hung from the ceiling that contained her pet parakeet, Zazu, and was trying to open the cage. "Stop, he's going to fly out!"

But it was too late, the door was opened and the little bird flew out. Am made a grab for it, but missed, and it flew through the house and into the dining room.

"Quick, catch it!" Si cried, and ran after it with Am close behind her.

"Stop it!" Lady shouted at them. "Leave him alone!"

She rushed into the dining room after them. To her horror, she saw that Zazu had flown to the top of a china cabinet and settled there. The twins were currently climbing up the shelves like a ladder in their attempt to reach it, laughing all the while.

Lady's fists clenched. This was ridiculous. They hadn't even been here for five minutes and they were already tearing the place apart. She was not going to stand for this.

Hurrying over, she grabbed Am and began to pull her down. "Get down from there!"

She managed to pull Am off the china cabinet, then reached for Si, grabbing her ankle. Si didn't go down willingly though, and tried to shake Lady off her. The china cabinet started to tilt over, and Si quickly jumped off as Lady attempted to steady it. She was unsuccessful, and it toppled over, sending all the dishes flying and shattering. The loud sound of the china cabinet crashing to the floor rumbled through the house, and the sound of Jim Jr.'s cries were heard from upstairs as he woke.

"What's going on down there!?" came Aunt Sarah's angry voice.

A few moments later, she stormed into the room and froze at the sight she saw. Lady standing beside the fallen china cabinet, broken dishes scattered all around her. The twins stood a distance away with innocent looks on their faces. Lady immediately knew exactly how this was going to go down.

Turning to the twins, Aunt Sarah placed her ear trumpet up to her ear, pointed at them, and furiously demanded, "Explain!"

Knowing that the twins were going to place the blame on her, Lady quickly spoke up. "It was an accide–"

"I was not speaking to you!" Aunt Sarah snapped as she rounded on her. "You will hold your tongue and not speak until spoken to." She turned back to the twins. "I said explain."

Si immediately pointed to the open birdcage. "Lulu opened the birdcage to show off her bird, and it flew out."

Am nodded along with what her twin was saying. "It flew on top of the china cabinet and she tried to climb up to get it. We told her not to, but she didn't listen, and it fell over."

Lady was outraged, but not surprised at how they had shifted all the blame onto her. And as Aunt Sarah's furious gaze landed on her, she wanted to call them out on their lies, but knew there was no point. It was their word against hers, and as far as Aunt Sarah was concerned, Si and Am were perfect little angels, and to accuse them of lying would just get her in even bigger trouble for being the one who was lying. What more, it was she who was standing beside the fallen china cabinet. And as if to condemn her further, Zazu flew over and landed on her head.

Aunt Sarah's bottom lip thinned, her anger and disappointment evident. "And I thought I would have only one infant to look after this week." She pointed at Lady. "Now listen here, I don't know what nonsense your parents let you get away with, but that's not going to happen while I'm here. It's about time you grew up, young lady, and I'm going to see that you do."

The dread that Lady had felt earlier became pure despair. This week was going to be far worse than she initially thought.

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Things were indeed far worse than Lady thought they were going to be. Si and Am had been picked up by their parents a few hours after the china cabinet incident, but things had only gone downhill from there.

With Aunt Sarah no longer needing to worry about the twins, when she wasn't taking care of Jim Jr., who she wouldn't even let Lady help out with, she would focus all her time and energy on "properly educating" Lady. This included how she dressing, speaking, and behaving, making sure she did so in the manner in which Aunt Sarah deemed was the only acceptable way that a lady should behave. And if Lady didn't follow what she said to a tee, Aunt Sarah would threaten to use her cane for something other than walking.

By the third day, Lady thought she was going to lose her mind. It seemed that everything she did was met with disapproval. If she didn't genuinely think that her aunt meant well in her own way, she would have thought that the woman actually enjoyed treating her this way.

It was early morning when Aunt Sarah brought Lady and Jim Jr. into town for some shopping, insisting that she was going to get Lady into some "proper dressing attire". Lady wasn't sure what that meant until Aunt Sarah asked the shop owner to bring her a corset.

"You want me to wear a corset!?" Lady exclaimed in shock. She had heard horrible things about those contraptions, including that it was impossible to breathe in them. She'd even heard that there had been those who'd had their ribs cracked or even died from them.

Aunt Sarah flashed her a disapproving look. "Do not raise your voice in public, and you watch how you speak to me, young lady. And I most certainly do want you to wear one, and you most certainly will."

"But Aunt Sarah–"

"And no backtalk."

With great reluctance, Lady stepped into the dressing room. Aunt Sarah insisted on lacing it up herself to make sure it was worn correctly. Lady stood with her back to Aunt Sarah, doing her best not to wince. With each lace, it became harder to breathe, and the pain in her chest and back increased as it grew tighter and tighter. Her blood circulation was being cut off as well, and she was losing the feeling in her arms. And while she hoped it was just her imagination, she thought she could actually feel her ribcage moving.

"Aunt Sarah…" she wheezed, hardly able to get the words out, "I can't… breathe…"

"Oh, hush, and stop overexaggerating," Aunt Sarah told her. "I wore these when I was your age, and so did plenty of other women."

A whimper escaped Lady as her aunt proceeded to tighten the corset more and more. By the time she was finished, Lady was feeling lightheaded and thought she might pass out. Aunt Sarah turned her around and began looking her up and down before tutting in dissatisfaction.

"Not quite right," she commented.

Lady struggled to get her words out. "Aunt Sarah… too… tight…"

Her aunt rolled her eyes. "Oh, for goodness sake. Children these days are so spoiled. You complain over the slightest bit of discomfort. Now turn around and let me adjust it. Maybe if we make it a little tighter…"

Lady's eyes widened. Tighter? She wanted to make it tighter? It was nearly impossible to breathe in already, and she wanted to make it even tighter than it already was.

"No!" she gasped out, and pulled away from her aunt.

Aunt Sarah frowned. "Don't you say no to me, young lady. Now come here."

But Lady just shook her head, feeling genuinely fearful. The corset was already cutting into her skin. If it was tightened any further, she thought it would actually make her bleed. "No… I can't breathe."

"You can breathe just fine. If you can talk, then you're getting plenty of oxygen. Now stop fussing and come here, or else I'll really give you something to cry about."

"No!" Lady shouted.

She panicked as her aunt reached out for her. Ducking beneath her arms, she shoved Aunt Sarah aside and burst out of the dressing room. She got caught up in the curtains and ended up tearing them down as she fell forward. There were shocked gasps from the other guests as the shop owner angrily came over and demanded to know what was going on.

Fear and humiliation ran through Lady as she scrambled to get free of the curtain. She looked up into the furious red face of her aunt, and the only thing she could think of was to get out of there.

Jumping to her feet, she fled from the clothes shop, pushing past the other customers. She heard Aunt Sarah shouting for her to come back, but she didn't listen as she stumbled out into the shopping center.

"Stop thief!" the shop owner demanded as he came storming out of the shop. He looked around and caught sight of a police officer patrolling the streets, and he waved to him. "Officer! Officer! That girl is stealing!"

Lady gasped as she turned to the cop. She had never been in trouble with the law before, and now she was being accused of stealing the corset. And when the officer began making his wave over to her, she panicked and turned around to flee.

"Hey, girl, come back!" the police officer called to her.

But Lady didn't stop as she continued to flee. She didn't know where she was going, she just knew that she needed to get away.

(A/N: Alright, so we're up to the part where Lady fled from Aunt Sarah. It took me a while to figure out how to incorporate the whole muzzle incident into this story, but I think having a corset be in place of one worked. I can't believe women were made to wear those things. And yes, I look it up, sometimes they cracked ribs or even killed some people in extreme carries. And things just spiraled out of control for poor Lady. Now she's really gotten herself into a mess. Bu we'll focus on that next time.)