Part 95
The room was hot and she could smell smoke reaching out to choke her. She opened her eyes. She was back in the elevator shaft. Flames and black smoke surrounded her. "No! Help! Help me please!" She screamed in a panic. "Daddy!"
A blanket of black engulfed them and the flames and smoke vanished. When she could see again, she was sitting up in her bed. She looked around the empty bedroom. Her new music box sat close and she picked it up, cranking the key until it was taut.
"I'm glad you like it," his voice made her look up. "You didn't think I was going to miss your birthday, did you?"
Porsha set the globe aside and jumped up. "Daddy!" She leapt into his arms. "I was so scared!" She sobbed.
He held her. "I know, baby girl, I know. You're alright. You're safe." He tried to comfort her. He rubbed her back. "But I'm glad you like the globe."
"I love it, Daddy. It's the best gift I've ever gotten," she pulled away. "What made you think of that? Usually you always go super big."
He shook his head. "It was your 17th birthday and I realized that it was only a year before you'd no longer be a child. You'd be grown up. And I barely knew you. I realized we had next to no time together and it was my own fault. I'm just sorry I…" he kissed her forehead. "Sorry that I…"
She shook her head. "Stop, Daddy, please. I forgive you. I know you weren't well. You wouldn't have hurt anyone if you'd been thinking clearly." She pulled out her necklace. "Look what Glenn gave me."
He examined the gift. "Hmmm, clever boy. Just be careful, sweetheart. I don't want to see you hurt." He smiled sadly down at her. I suppose, I should let you get back to some, hopefully, nicer dreams." He looked at her, as though trying to memorize her. "Goodnight, baby girl." He vanished slowly.
Her lip trembled and she felt true sleep overcoming her.
—
Marcus lay in his bed, unable to sleep, just watching his wife. It was just hitting him how close he'd come to losing her. Losing Marion had destroyed him. Losing another wife just wasn't something he felt he could handle. He just wanted to watch her, memorize every inch of her, to cherish her. He felt terrible for the things he said earlier in the week.
"Mmm…" she moaned. "Mmm… no… Porsha… Nooshy… what have… what have I done…" She trembled and shook, gripping her blanket closer. "No! Please! Help me!" She screamed, unable to free herself from her nightmare.
He put his arms around her. "Suki, Suki, wake up. It's only a dream. Wake up…" he pleaded, rubbing her back as he felt her breathing return to normal. She looked up at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," she said.
He shook his head. "You didn't. I was awake. Want to talk about it?"
She quaked and wept. "I was back in the fire and Porsha and Nooshy, I couldn't save them. I was helpless Marcus. I needed to be saved by a 16 year old. And we were only there because I insisted Porsha needed to go. You were right. We should have just stayed home. I almost got our girls killed. I'm a horrible mother."
He pet her hair tenderly, pulling them both into a sitting position. "That's not true. You're a great mother. I should have been more supportive. I shouldn't have said what I did. I love you." He stroked her back.
"I was so afraid. Porsha was terrified and I could do nothing to save them. Nooshy had to do it!" She tried to keep from shouting. "She's only a child."
Marcus nodded. "A child who has seen and done more than most twenty-five year olds. She's a teenager but only on paper. At least she was able to. At least we know that she can look after herself if it was absolutely necessary. Of course, we'll try to make sure it's not necessary at all." He kissed her head. "I'm grateful she went with you, that she was there. We wouldn't have been there in time if she hadn't had such a good head start." He carded his fingers through her hair. "I almost lost you today." He kissed her hair, her head, her nose and finally her lips. Wetness hit her face and she realized that he was crying.
"Oh, Marcus, I love you. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I promise. Next time, Porsha, Nooshy and you come before work. When Crystal Entertainment is sold, I'm quitting and I want to work full time for the theater," she promised him. "And don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Not for a long time. I love you." She kissed him deeply.
He smiled. "I'll support you in whatever you want to do. I love seeing you on that stage. You're going to be a brilliant Mrs. Banks…" he praised her, kissing her back. He moaned. "You know… we still have a couple of hours before the midnight shrieking starts." His hands moved expertly along her body.
She moaned with him. "Mmm, Marcus…" she wrapped her arms as far around her husband as she could reach, lightly scratching his back with her nails.
—
Rosita was having difficulty sleeping. She kept looking out the window at the crescent moon. Tears fell down her cheeks. The sound of crying snapped her out of her thoughts though and she quickly hurried to the nursery before the cries could wake the other children. She carried the piglets to the rocking lounger to feed.
A few minutes later, Norman came in. "Hey, honey. I came to help." He sat beside her, petting each of children with adoration. He saw her face in the light. "You've been crying again." She nodded and he asked. "Want to talk?"
She sighed. "Not much to say. It's March now. It's springtime again. We'll be in Galveston in April for Easter but then… it's been almost a year since…" the sow buried her head in his chest as he hugged her. "No one wants to talk about it, I'm sure… but we're going to have to. We have to go back to Redshore City at the same time…"
"I'll be with you, the whole time," he promised her as she cried for several minutes. "I know it still hurts… I can still hear his screams. I can still see Crystal above the stage… I wanted to try and catch him myself but I knew I couldn't get there in time. I was just stuck in place. Trying to keep the kids from seeing."
She nodded and sighed again. "I just… it doesn't feel like it's been almost a year and yet it feels like it's been even longer. I'm sorry."
He kissed her forehead. "There's no need for that. It's okay to feel sad. I still feel sad. I know Caspar does. He tries to hide it. Pain like that doesn't just go away. It eases and you learn to cope but it doesn't go away." He rubbed her shoulders.
Little Elisabeth starting crying, done eating. Norman picked her up and cringed. "Phew, that just goes right through you, doesn't it?" He carried her to the changing table. "How does such a little piglet make such a big deposit?"
Elisabeth just laughed at her father as he changed her. She reached up and grabbed his nose.
Norman finished his task and picked her back up, cradling her in his arms. "It's been a rough year but… a lot of good has come from it. We were blessed with five more piglets. Eddie was removed from a terrible home situation. Probably saved his life, the way they were treating him. Marcus got married. Meena got married and is pregnant. Johnny got married and adopted a child. A lot of good has happened this year and it's not over yet. All in all, it's been a good one." He squeezed her hand.
She nodded. "It has… I know… I need to be more grateful." She blew her nose and wiped her eyes.
He caressed her head. "You know, I was thinking. You were joking, earlier, about having enough kids in our group to start a school. Why don't we?"
Rosita tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
"We have the capital. We could start a school for the performing arts. For kids and adults," he suggested. "Though we might start with just kids at first. I think Mr. Moon and Nana would love it."
She smiled as she recognized what he was doing. "It's a great idea. Okay… let's start researching what we'd have to do and we'll talk with the others when the time is right. The New Moon Theater Performing Arts Academy." She kissed his cheek. "You're the greatest."
"I try…" Norman blushed while they got the piglets back to bed. He kissed her cheek back before kissing her full on the mouth. "I love you, honey. Let's go back to bed. You need your rest, Super Mom."
—
Ryan reluctantly put the three cake slices in the fridge to have for breakfast while Johnny got Neo into bed.
"Were you scared, Dad?" Neo asked as Johnny tucked him in.
Johnny shook his head. "Nah. See, I knew that whatever happened, we could get through it. Were you scared?"
Neo shook his head. "No, of course not. I'm 7, Dad, I don't get scared anymore." He insisted.
The gorilla laughed. "Really? You're not afraid of anything? Well gee, that's odd, everyone's afraid of something… I'm afraid of deep water." He whispered. "I mean that's where you can't see anything under the surface and it goes so far down." He chuckled.
The cub laughed with him. "I guess… I was a little scared. I mean… I was afraid you… might not come back… Fire is dangerous. Pa was afraid too…"
Johnny nodded. "Yeah, it is. Your pa likes to worry about me. I've scared him a couple of times already." He picked up their bedtime book. "So, we were just starting on The Fellowship of the Ring."
Neo nodded. "Yeah, we finished The Hobbit last night." He sat back in his bed and he let his father's voice lead him to Middle-Earth.
Johnny was midway through chapter 1 when he noticed the cub was asleep. He marked their place and turned on the sound machine and nightlight. Neo wasn't afraid of the dark but it was nice to be able to see when he needed to use the bathroom. He left a glass of fresh, ice water.
Ryan stood in the doorway, watching the bedtime routine. "You are such a great dad."
Johnny crossed the room to hug his husband. "Neo said you were worried," he said while Ryan nuzzled his neck.
"When Gunter said the Crystal building was on fire, I couldn't help it. I should have gone with you," he stroked his gorilla's hair. "I've almost lost you once before."
Long, tender, calloused fingers rubbed his back. "You won't lose me. No matter what." He kissed him.
Ryan moaned. "I better not. I don't know how I'd get by without you."
Johnny picked him up and carried him into their bedroom.
—
With Sarah safely tucked into bed, Gunter found Eddie and Jerry sitting front of the television. Jerry was leafing through some tropical wedding magazines. "I still think you should talk to Porsha about the location. The Crystal Family Island is beautiful and even has its own village."
Eddie nodded. "That might be a good idea. What do you think, Gunter?" He barely got the question out before Gunter kissed him. As always, the hog left him breathless with passion.
"I love any idea that you love, mein liebes," he said before increasing the pressure. Until the ringing of his phone snapped them back to reality. "Seriously, like, who is calling me at midnight? Hello?"
"Mein bruder! Wie geht es dir?" the voice asked.
The jovial hog's eyes became less than joyful. "Gerhardt, was willst du?" He asked without small talk. "Sarah geht es gut. Sie schläft. Was willst du?"
"Ich vermisse dich, Bruder. Ich liebe dich," he replied.
"Du hast eine lustige Art, es zu zeigen," Gunter stated. "Es schien dir egal zu sein, als du es Vater erzählt hast."
"Es tut mir leid, Gunter, aber ich wollte nur helfen. Es ist einsam. Mutter und Vater sind weg. Gertrude ist weg. Sogar Sarah ist neuntausend Meilen entfernt! Ich bin alleine," he said sadly.
Gunter rolled his eyes. "Es tut mir leid, das zu hören, aber ich muss zu meiner Familie zurückkehren. Viel Glück." He hung up the phone. "Verräter!" He growled at the device in a tone Eddie rarely heard from his boyfriend. "Sorry, that was just my good-for-nothing brother."
"I figured by the language barrier. Is everything okay? Is he okay?" Eddie asked.
He shrugged. "I don't care to know. He, like, sold me out to our father. I do not care what happens to him."
Jerry watched him pacing. "Are you okay? What did he do?"
Gunter plopped between them on the couch. "I don't feel like talking about it." He looked at Eddie.
Eddie took his hand. "I get it. Blood doesn't equal family." He remembered his lover's tale. "We're your family now." He kissed his cheek reassuringly. "You have us."
The pig smiled. "Ja! That's right." He just needed to put his brother out of his mind. "I have you… Now, where were we…"
Eddie chuckled. "We were… planning our party. Are you sure you don't want a wedding?"
"Weddings are so ordinary. I want a huge party to shout to the world how much I love you," the hog explained. "Unless you would like, prefer, like, a more traditional wedding, of course."
Sheep shook his head. "No, I love this idea. A week-long festival to shout it from the rooftops."
"But we're not inviting your brother," Jerry confirmed. They all laughed.
—
Nooshy sat up in her bed, panting. She went to the window and opened it. "It's okay. I'm fine. It was just a nightmare. We're safe." She trembled as she thought about the night's chaos.
"Nooshy?" Porsha's voice cut in. The lynx looked over at her. "Nightmares?"
She shook her head. "Of course not. I don't get nightmares…"
"I had one. I was back in the elevator… surrounded by flames and smoke… I was all alone," Porsha shared. She joined Nooshy by the window. "I don't care how tough you think you are. If you don't have nightmares about it, you're crazy."
Nooshy chuckled. "Well… I guess… it was really scary." She looked at Porsha. "But you know, despite everything, the party looked like it would have been fun."
Porsha hugged her. "Then, when you pick a birthday, I'll make sure your first birthday party is a blast," she promised.
"I just don't know what day. I mean, the day I joined the family isn't a good day because… Well, two days after I met Johnny was when…" Nooshy sighed. "I don't want my birthday to be a sad day. What do you think?"
Porsha thought about it. "Well, what about June 10th? The day they officially adopted us. The day all the paperwork was signed."
Nooshy looked over at the wall. Their framed adoption certificates hung side by side. "That could work. Same time frame but happier. Yeah, I like that. June 10th it is." The girls leaned into each other, looking up at the night sky. "Oh! I didn't tell you. They didn't throw his stuff away! They shoved it in a closet."
The wolf's mouth fell open. "What? We need to get it."
Nooshy shook her head. "We will but right now, they don't know we know about it. And they wanted you to think it was gone for a reason. Next time we're in Redshore City, we have a mission."
AN: Sorry this has taken so long. This chapter was being a real pain. So I've introduced Gunter's estranged brother, established a birthday for Nooshy, showed Johnny and Neo bonding over Lord of the Rings. Suki and Marcus made up. I'm trying to figure out how to properly develop Ash and Tyler. What do you guys think?