Author's Note: This chapter (Chapter 178) of Forsaken picks up after the events covered by another one of my stories: The Gotham Vigilantes and you are advised to read that story before starting this chapter.
Chicago
Four days later
Sunday night
The jet landed at Chicago Executive Airport and we disembarked into a pair of waiting SUVs that were being driven by Sam Fellowes and Paul Murphy. Curtis was picked up by Cathy and taken to Morton Grove where she would see to Curtis' healing injuries.
Chloe, Megan, the twins and I headed directly for West Ridge. The twins had slept most of the flight, which had only been ninety minutes. I had called ahead and a rather stunned Paige had prepared a pair of mattresses in our bedroom, along with some suitable food for a pair of seven-year-olds. Paige was there at the house waiting for us, with Sophia. I had also sworn Paige to secrecy as far as Marcus was concerned. At least for the moment.
Sophia was super-pleased to see us all and the twins rushed over to maul the large dog. Sophia just laid down and allowed the two kids to pat and stroke her. Not bad for a killer dog! It was also a great distraction. For now, the two kids had no idea that they were never going to see their Daddy again... Ever.
I was scared. I had absolutely no idea how to bring up a pair of young kids and I was not looking forward to going across the road to see Marcus, who, once he found out about the twins, would probably be only inches away from killing me! I had no regrets; I could only look forwards. Dave was supportive; we had talked over the phone on the jet and he had told me to be strong.
Mindy Macready, Hit Girl, Mom!
What the hell, would Daddy say?
West Columbia
"YOU DID WHAT!"
"This ought to be good!" Megan had commented.
Megan loved it when I was being shouted at by Marcus. One glance from Marcus, though, and the girl bolted, or rather hobbled, out of the room.
"I'll recap shall I?" I asked. "I've come back from Gotham, where I avenged you and your officers... And I brought back a pair of twins to live with me and Dave."
I said the last dozen or so words very quickly. I felt like I had just stolen something from the store, for fuck's sake! Marcus could make me feel so much shame with hardly any effort.
"Mindy, you're still a kid yourself!"
I bristled at that. We had talked animatedly before about my being a kid…
"What was I supposed to do, just leave the brats to die?"
"Mindy!" Paige cautioned.
I turned to say something, but then I took a moment to calm down. I was not about to yell at Paige.
"Mindy, I applaud you for what you do and what you did in Gotham on my behalf; we still need to talk about that. However…, two kids, that young, you're gonna have a lot on your plate and your plate is already very full!"
"I know, Marcus, but with your help and everybody else's, I can do this…"
Marcus paused before replying.
"You're going to listen to Paige and me?" Marcus was a little astounded.
"I'm scared Marcus. I could not leave them, but I need help. I can do many things, but none of what I know will help me in bringing up two seven-year-old kids. I cannot fuck this up; I know that. You've been a Dad and Paige has been a Mom. Dave will make a great Dad; he had a great Dad. I need somebody to show me how to be a Mom. My Mom's long dead and to be brutally honest, Daddy's parenting skills sucked!"
"You've got the last bit right!" Marcus had growled.
I was glad to be home and I was glad that Marcus was out of the hospital and that first hug had felt wonderful.
I just hated it when we argued.
West Ridge
That first night was not fun, for any of us.
I fell asleep in tears after talking to Dave as he was driving home. He would arrive much later in the day, with the others, at Safehouse D. I had Chloe staying with me until then, to help with the twins who were both fast asleep just a few feet away. They had not asked about their father, yet, and I wondered if they knew he was dead. They were perfect little angels, which had surprised me. Their father had packed up almost everything they owned in their cases. Plenty of clothes, some toys and books, not to mention paperwork, including the kids birth certificates and I had also found a signed letter from Ed Jamieson naming Dave and me as the legal guardians of his children if anything should happen to him. It had been witnessed by a notary in Gotham. The man had known that he was going to die and had prepared things for his kids.
I missed Dave, hence the tears. I was also crying with the fear of the unknown. The talk with Marcus had not been fun; however, I think I may have passed my first test to be a Mom. Tomorrow, I needed to sort out school for the kids. Everybody who attended school was late back to their classes, us being well into the first month of school. With the help of Dr G, we were going to provide suitable excuses and the kids would all start back in their respective grades after a couple of day's rest.
As I thought over things I realised that I had a lot to do over the coming weeks.
The twins, Petra, the twins, Hailee, the twins, Mathilda, the twins, Bruce and Selina, the twins, the new house, the twins... There was a pattern building!
I was awoken some hours later by movement on the bed.
I looked up and saw Anne-Marie creeping up the bed towards me. She stopped when she was just inches from me.
"I miss Daddy."
"I know."
"Can I sleep with you, Mindy?"
"Of course, but only until Dave gets back."
"I promise," Anne-Marie said with a weak smile.
The girl crawled under the duvet, cuddled into me, and was soon fast asleep. I swept her shoulder-length light brown hair out of her face and then closed my own eyes.
The following morning
Monday
I awoke early, as was usual and went to check on Mindy and the twins.
I gently eased open the bedroom door and saw Sophia wagging her tail happily. I looked over at the mattresses where the twins had slept; they were empty. I looked over at the bed and smiled.
There was Mindy, lying on her back, fast asleep with a boy to her left and a girl to her right; both fast asleep and cuddling into Mindy.
I left them to sleep.
I awoke to find myself being shaken by a small girl.
"Hi, Anne-Marie!" I said with a smile.
"Is it time to get up?" the girl asked.
I looked over at the clock. It was just seven-fifteen!
"I suppose so!"
I sat up and saw Danny watching me from the far end of the bed.
When I went back to see Mindy after taking a long shower and getting dressed, I found Mindy sitting alone on the bed.
I looked questioningly at Mindy who simply nodded her head towards the open door of the bathroom. I could hear laughing and a lot of splashing.
"They wanted a bath, so…" Mindy explained.
"They seem to be enjoying themselves!"
Mindy looked over at the clock.
"I think it's time for them to get out; they've been in there for almost twenty minutes. If I get them out, will you get them dressed while I take a shower?"
"No problem, Mindy!"
Mindy vanished into the bathroom and after a couple of minutes, a lot of splashing, not to mention some arguing, two unhappy looking kids appeared, wrapped in large towels. I got the impression that Mindy had interrupted their fun!
I saw two sets of clean clothes laid out on the bed and set about getting the twins dried and dressed. I had not had to do anything like that since Curtis was their age! By the time I had finished, Mindy came out of the bathroom, dressed and putting her damp hair up into a ponytail. Anne-Marie looked up at Mindy and then over at me; my hair was up in a ponytail too.
"Can I have my hair up, like yours, Mindy?" the girl asked.
Mindy smirked and indicated a pile of hair bobbles on the dresser. I grabbed a pair of purple ones and a hairbrush. Two minutes later, Anne-Marie's hair was neatly brushed and pulled back and up into a ponytail.
"You want your hair in a ponytail, too?" I asked Danny with a grin.
"Just try it!" Was the reply.
"You guys like a cooked breakfast?" I asked.
"Yeah!" both kids replied excitedly.
"Just don't ask Mindy to cook!" Chloe said quickly.
My mouth dropped open in shock and I glared at Chloe before smiling.
"Okay, McDonald's it is!"
We headed downstairs. As the SUV was still on its way back from Gotham, we would have to take Speedy, which was at that moment parked in the garage. I grabbed the keys from a hook on the wall in the kitchen and took the kids down into the garage. We got them both strapped into the rear of Speedy. Just as I was about to climb in, Danny commented on the car.
"I have a picture of a car, just like this one, except it's red and it was called the Mist Mobile!"
I laughed and looked over the roof of Speedy to Chloe who smiled hugely.
"Nothing like it!" I replied as I climbed in.
"You sure?" Danny persisted looking around.
"Okay; it is the Mist Mobile – well it used to be!"
"Cool!"
After breakfast at McDonalds, I drove us out towards the north of Chicago.
Chloe gave me a strange look as I eventually turned left up a tree-lined street and then stopped in front of a pair of enormous gates. I reached into my purse and pressed the button on a small remote control. The gates swung open noiselessly. I drove in and pulled up to the side of the large property.
"Nobody other than Dave and I know about this place. We bought it a few weeks before we went to Gotham. We wanted a place to call our own, a place to get away from it all. We were going to move in after we got married. Now, though, we need the space."
I climbed out. I was followed by Chloe and the twins. I unlocked the front door and walked in. The two kids and Chloe gasped audibly.
"Danny, Anne-Marie, welcome to your new home. Go explore, see if you can find your bedrooms..."
"Awesome!" Both kids exclaimed and I could see the same look on Chloe's face too. The twins ran off.
..._...
I turned to Chloe and saw her expression change to one of concern. I felt myself close to tears; I was worried.
"How am I doing?" I asked my closest friend.
"No problems, so far," Chloe said soothingly. "You're doing great..."
"What if they reject me...?"
"We have no idea what is going to happen, but I'm with you for the long haul, okay."
"Thanks, Chloe, you really are my best and closest friend, if not more," I replied and Chloe blushed.
"I'll miss the old house."
"Only because that was where you had your cherry exploded!"
"Mindy, shush!" Chloe exclaimed as the twins reappeared.
..._...
"A cherry exploded?" Danny asked innocently.
I looked at Chloe, whose face was now the same colour as the proverbial cherry and who was far too mortified to speak.
"Err, Chloe had a problem with her fruit salad," I said quickly.
Chloe mouthed 'I hate you', in my direction along with a mock scowl.
Danny then grinned enormously. "I've found an indoor pool!"
"You bought a house with an indoor pool?" Chloe asked incredulously.
"I bought a house with an indoor pool!" I confirmed with a chuckle.
Chloe was seized by each hand and dragged towards the kitchen by Danny and Anne-Marie. The kitchen led to the pool.
..._...
The property was, to say the least, enormous.
It was located about ten miles to the north of West Ridge in a part of northern Chicago, called Glenview. The property had five bedrooms and was spread over four levels. The property also included an indoor swimming pool, and an awesome lower level with sauna and an exercise area.
The entrance hall was large and double height with a sweeping staircase curving up on the right. Under those stairs, on the right, was the entrance to the Master Bedroom, which was located on the first floor and in addition provided a large en-suite bathroom and dressing room. This was for Dave and me.
Directly ahead was a gently curved archway that led into the double height living room that had a large chimney and open fire. The room had floor to ceiling windows.
Next, to the left of the living room, through another, wider arch and up two steps, came a large open plan kitchen and breakfast room with its own open fire. There was a breakfast bar that could seat five comfortably as well as a table for four in a bay window that overlooked the back garden. Across from the kitchen was a dining room that could easily seat eight.
From the kitchen, you could also access the indoor swimming pool, which was full height and air-conditioned. Also on the first floor was garage space for five vehicles.
On the second floor, there was a library, which overlooked the living room, a laundry and three bedrooms, plus an office. Two of the bedrooms, shared a bathroom, and they would be used by the twins. The other bedroom would be a spare bedroom.
One of the twins' bedrooms had a spiral staircase that led upwards to the third floor, which had additional space for a playroom, which looked down onto the bedroom. There was also some storage space with stairs that led down to the second floor.
The lower level had a small cinema, a sauna, an exercise area and a large recreational area with a bar and kitchen. There was also, what was supposed to have been a fifth bedroom, but we decided to improve the doors and turn it into a 'Panic Room' with a secondary role as secure storage for certain 'not so legal' items.
..._...
After examining the pool, we all went upstairs and the kids found their rooms.
Anne-Marie opted for the bedroom in the corner of the house while her brother preferred the bedroom with the spiral staircase. I decided that we would need to go shopping for some clothes, toys and some bedding. Not surprisingly, Anne-Marie wanted pink, but Danny wanted blue!
Our final stop was the garage.
"Oh – my – God!" Chloe exclaimed as we entered. "Josh is going to want to have your babies!"
I laughed.
"After our visit to the UK, I found I liked the cars over there and especially those that Natasha and Cameron had. This is one step up; I ordered it months ago, it arrived a few days before we went to Gotham, so I have not had a chance to drive it much yet."
"It's enormous!" Danny exclaimed.
"It's beautiful, Mindy!" Anne-Marie added.
Chloe walked around to the rear and looked at the trunk.
"Josh will kill you if you dare mispronounce the name," Chloe cautioned. "You know what he thinks about us 'uneducated Yanks'!"
"I'll be nice and he'll get over it," I laughed.