Slide 2:"MOMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Fee screamed at the top of her lungs. She didn't normally cry, but it was almost 7 in the morning and she was still stuck in her bed, gosh darn it.


Slide 3:"You going, or me?" Erin asked her husband. Ein shrugged. "Actually, I bet Ed and Chloe are still snoring away downstairs, will you go knock on their door? Aine is going to need to get up, too.“ Ein nodded, and made his way downstairs.


Slide 4:"Hey, girls! You're up early.“ Cara and Molly were seated on the floor of the girls room. Molly snorted. "Aunt Erin, how are we supposed to sleep when the spawnlets are crying so loud?“ "Good point, kid."


Slide 5:"Morning, baby! How are you today?“ Fee smiled. Breakfast was on the way, that’s all she needed to know. "It's your birthday today, did you know that?“ Fiona gave her mother a puzzled look as she was lifted from the bed.


Slide 6:Erin set her toddler on the floor and saw that Ein had come in. "Daddy, you stink at dancing!" Ein gave her a challenging look, and let her droop toward the floor. "Hey! Don't drop me! I swear you totally rule, Dad!“ Erin laughed, and asked, "Did you knock on their door, babe?“ Ein nodded.


Slide 7:"Well? Are they coming up here or what?“ Ein shook his head, and shuddered a little. "Oh, so they're occupied. Great.”


Slide 8:"I guess that means you get to hang out with us, Miss Ainsley. Ein, can you get Fee dressed? And maybe walk with her a little? It bugs me that she still topples over half the time.“ "...“ “Thanks.”


Slide 9:It was several hours later when Molly finally got around to dressing herself, and then she decided to sneak onto Patrick and Lucan's computer for a bit. Lucan had still been sleeping. Groggily, and somewhat grumpily, he asked, "What are you doing? In my room? While I'm sleeping?“ Molly shrugged. "Playin' internet poker. And you should be up anyway, it's noon for crying out loud.“ "Ugh, whatever. At least hit mute or something."


Slide 10:Ein worked with Fiona all day long, trying to get her to walk. She was either really stubborn, or there was something wrong with her.


Slide 11:Ein was pretty sure she was just stubborn.


Slide 12:After a while, it looked like he was finally making some progress. And then he was sure he made progress.


Slide 13:With a wave of her little hand, Fiona turned around and walked out the door. "You're boring, Daddy," she said very quietly with a grin on her face. "..."


Slide 14:As planned, the Dorans threw a huge birthday party for their youngest kids that day. They guests arrived just before sundown, and then it was time for the girls to blow out their candles.


Slide 15:Ed, wearing his favorite wetsuit, leaned down to let Ainsley check them out. "Hehe, fire!“ Sort-of-Grandpa Pollination Tech was appalled. "Edward, if you burn my favorite granddaughters fingers on her birthday, I'm going to have to use my influence with the aliens to get you probed again. Understand?“ "Eeeep...yes Polly-in-law!“ “Quit calling me that!”


Slide 16:Loki was very enthusiastic, blowing the horn right in Fiona's little face.


Slide 17:Molly was not amused. "EW! Look at...what are you wearing?!"


Slide 18:The guests cheered. Or... most of them did. "Nervous, you will cheer for my niece's birthday. You will do it with enthusiasm. Now," Circe managed to growl while smiling. "Hmph...“


Slide 19:The toddlers were placed on the ground, and started immediately on the I-think-I’m-getting-bigger-or-possibly-going-to-explode dance.


Slide 20:"Yay, I'm big!“ Ainsley laughed before dashing into the house to throw on a bathing suit.


Slide 21:Fiona didn’t say anything. She just examined her new, longer limbs with an excited expression, and then followed Ainsley in to change.


Slide 22:She bolted back outside with her new green suit on, grabbed a piece of cake, and headed for the pool. Her mother yelled, "Fee! No running! And don't take the cake into the pool!" But she was 99.9% that Fiona either didn't hear her, or was going to pretend so.


Slide 23:"WHOOOOP!“ Molly yelled before her “canon ball” plunged into the water.


Slide 24:"Mom, mom, mom, mom!“ "What Ainsley? Plumbob, I thought they were supposed to get easier as they got older....“ “Mommy!” “Yes?” "Can I have a hug?“ "Of course, geez..."


Slide 25:"Hey, you guys wanna play marco polo?“ "Yep yep, Paddy-kid!“ "Sweet! Ainsley, you're it!“ "I don't wanna be it!"


Slide 26:"Now, Johnny...what about a nice buzz cut? I think you'd look really great with a—” "No, mom! I love my hair! And don't let me catch you sneaking in my room with a pair of scissors while I'm sleeping, either.“ "But—!”


Slide 27:As his family watched, Ein did a 10.0 dive into the water. "Edward wants to try, Ein-twin!“


Slide 28:"Wheeee!“ "That's not a dive, Uncle Ed! That's a belly flop!"


Slide 29:"Curious.“ "Beaker.“ "You tried to steal my wife once, but was that not enough?! you had to steal my swimsuit as well?! I should challenge you to a DUEL OF WITS!“ "Bring it on, Wonton Boy."


Slide 30:"Maybe if we pretend we're sleeping, they'll all go away...“ "...?“ "The kids, Ein. They're so clingy today."


Slide 31:The party had finally come to an end, and the guests had all gone home. (With the exception of Loki and Circe, of course, but they were just boxing up leftover cake to steal.) Erin made her way toward one of the new deck chairs with the sole purpose of enjoying the night air…and some peace and quiet for once.


Slide 32:It was then when Erin spotted her good friend Nervous, snoozing rather soundly on one of those comfy looking pool chairs. I don’t want to wake him, she thought. However that chair next to him seems rather inviting… I could use a little R&R myself.


Slide 33:She plopped herself onto the empty chair and leaned her head back, only somewhat noticing that he no longer seemed to be snoozing.


Slide 34:Looking straight ahead, avoiding the blonde’s eyes, Nervous said, “E-Erin it’s nice to see that you are finally out of the crowd. Is a-anyone still here, or just me?”


Slide 35:“My brother and Circe are still here. I just needed some air. How are you, Nervy?” He hesitated. “A-actually, n-not so good. ‘M having some relationship… problems.” Aw, he needs a hug, poor thing. With a short, somewhat stifled sigh, she leaned off her pool chair to get up. “What is going on, Nervy? What’s her name?”


Slide 36:Nervous stood with her. “Isn’t it obvious, Erin? The girl of my dreams, the love of my life, the peas to my pod, won’t open her eyes and realize that I am the man for her—” Did he just call the love of his life…peas? “—even if her…your p-present circumstances may require some moral code bending to be with me, you have to know that we are made for each other!” Smooth, Nervous, very smooth. That sounded a lot better in your head. Crap. She doesn’t look like she likes what she’s hearing.


Slide 37:Erin cringed away from Nervous slightly, as he was starting to motion more fervently with his hands. “Nervy, you can’t be serious about this,” she muttered. “I think you may have had a bit too much juice.”


Slide 38:The man’s face turned from pleading to fierce in less time than it takes to check the mail for red bills. “I haven’t had any juice at all! Erin, all I want is for you to throw away your um… past and come embrace a better future with me!”


Slide 39:That did it. No one calls Ein my “past” and gets away with it, she screamed inwardly. Erin’s arms shot down to her sides, and her face twisted into a shape she didn’t even know was possible, especially for her. “Ein, is not,” she growled through clenched teeth, “and will never be just my past!“ She spit the word back at him. “He is my husband and I love him and my family, I don’t know how the hell you got it in your head that I was on the market, maybe I was too nice to you sometimes—“ She paused to calm down a little. This was her best friend, after all.


Slide 40:That pause was all that Nervous needed. He took the opportunity to grab her waist for a shut-up-you-know-you-love-me-I-just-need-to-kiss-you kiss. It was a last ditch effort and a little drastic for Nervous, but he had gotten this far thinking he may have a shot...


Slide 41:What the hell is he thinking?! “Nervous! Get off me!” Erin shoved her arms into Nervous’ chest to try and repel his attempt at stealing a surprise smooch. Wow, she’s pretty strong! She must work out. He thought as he was being shoved backward.


Slide 42:Then he saw the look on her face. It showed him how furious she was at him for ruining what they had, but there was also sorrow for not being able to return any of his feelings. “Nervous, I’m sorry. I have never thought of you like that! You’re like a brother to me, just like Loki! And Ed! I’m sorry, I have never and will never love you the way you love me. I’m so—“ “Don’t even say it. I get it.”


Slide 43:And with much more gusto then he knew he had in him, he stole his kiss…


Slide 44:…and then booked it across the desert before he could see the reaction on her face, or her fist in the air.


Slide 45:She sat down. Shocked. Violated. Forlorn. She started to cry for the loss of a good friend. After a short time, she realized what she needed.


Slide 46:“Ein?” She murmured, creeping into their room quietly in case he was sleeping. He smiled at her, and she knew he meant, “I’ve been waiting for you.” She didn’t have the heart to tell him what had happened.


Slide 47:"Damn it!" Nervous growled as he kicked the table. That was a bad idea. "Ouch.“


Slide 48:He moved to the mirror, and he was filled with hate as he stared at the reflection there. He gripped the frame, steadying himself. What's wrong with me? Does nobody care about me, really? My own mother sold me to the Beakers, and my dad is... I really thought Erin was The One for me, and now she's gone and abandoned me too. I really thought...I thought...


Slide 49:"You want a wonton?“ Such a simple phrase, and so long ago, yet it had been the start of something beautiful! Or so he thought, anyway.


Slide 50:He threw on jeans and a t-shirt and dragged himself to the desk. Looking back, Nervous couldn’t say how long he sat in that chair, fretting. It was a long time. He needed to think, he needed a plan...


Slide 51:He had a plan. His fingers fumbled over the buttons as his hand shook. He had never called this number before. It was for emergencies only, but this was definitely an emergency.


Slide 52:He waited, waited, waited...would they ever pick up? “Come on, come on,” he groaned as the phone continued to ring.


Slide 53:Grimmy looked at the number before answering. Nervous?


Slide 54:"NERVY?“ "...Dad?“ "YEAH. WHAT'S THE MATTER?“ "Um...well..."


Slide 55:"SPIT IT OUT, NERVOUS. I’LL HELP YOU, BUT YOU GOTTA MAKE IT QUICK. I WAS JUST ABOUT TO...WELL I WAS BUSY.“ "I need a favor." "...“ "Dad?“ "WHAT KIND OF FAVOR, NERVY? I CAN'T RESSURECT SOMEONE FOR YOU JUST BECAUSE...YOU'VE GOT TO CALL THE HOTLINE, AND—”


Slide 56:"You wouldn't happen to have directions to the North Forest, would you?“ "THERE ARE A LOT OF NORTH FORESTS, NERVY..." "Y-yeah, but you know...THE North Forest?"


Slide 57:"OH OH, THE NORTH FOREST. RIGHT, YEAH. YOU GOT A PEN?“ "Yeah.“ "OK. FIRST THING YOU WANNA DO IS HOP ON THE 110 TOWARDS SIM STATE...“


Slide 58:He gave out the complicated directions, and then listened to his son’s plan. When they were done, Grimmy put the phone back into the holder with an eerie sigh.


Slide 59:He ghostly plopped down onto his couch, and turned on the TV. Kid had almost made him miss Heroes, damn it. "KIDS TODAY...”


Slide 60:Fiona did a bunch of double takes between her best friend and the computer screen, looking quite like a cartoon character. She was so excited about something that she couldn't even say what. "Fiona, spit it out before your head spins off!" Ainsley giggled. "What is it?"


Slide 61:"You can...you can change the color of everything!" She finally exclaimed. Fee had snagged Molly's copy of Sims 3 that morning, and she apparently thought it was awesome. "So...if I wanted to, I could turn my stove pink?“ "Yep.“ "What about the microwave?“ Fiona nodded happily. “That, too!”


Slide 62:Ainsley straightened up a little. "The fence?“ "...“ "Well can I?“ "No, actually...“ "That's kind of stupid, isn't it? You can change the color of everything, but not the fence?“ "But everything else!" Fee cried. Ainsley laughed at her. For a normally quiet person, Fiona sure was making some noise. "Heh, OK, OK, keep your hair on,” she said. “Come on, let’s go eat before the bus get’s here.”


Slide 63:Chloe had the unhappy task of cleaning up the kids' breakfast. "Six kids. Six messy kids. Living together may have been a bad idea, and yeah Ed and Ein are twins, but..." She thought for a moment. "Actually, considering that Ed has 8 extra brothers out there somewhere, this isn't so bad. His poor mother..."


Slide 64:Erin hugged her only son while the rest of the kids piled on the bus. "Have a good day, sweetie! Just think, it's your last day before high school! Isn't that awesome?“ "Sure mom, but your camera just smacked me in the face."


Slide 65:"Come along, little girl. Time to go!" The driver said with a wide grin. Fee had been standing at the foot of the stairs for a whole minute now, staring at him. The man’s grin faltered slightly. "Look, kid, you need to get on the bus. Now."


Slide 66:Fiona beamed at him. "Did anyone ever tell you that you look like a pedophile, mister?“ she asked before climbing on.


Slide 67:The kids were at school, Erin at the newspaper, and Ein at the hospital, so Chloe and Ed had the house to themselves. Chloe shook the jar harder and harder, waiting for something to fall out. Nothing did, and she grimaced. Calling to the man in the next room, she whined, "Eeed, why don't you ever tip me?!”


Slide 68:"We have the same money, Chloe-Chloe! That would be silly!“ "Your brother tips Erin, though!" She whined again. Ed chuckled to himself and made a giant jump with his pixelated snowboarder. "Woo, fifty-nifty pointy-points!“ "What was that laugh about, Ed?"


Slide 69:"You said Ein-twin tippies Erin-person, and he does. But...“ “But?”


Slide 70:"Ein-twin also has to re-tuny-tune the piano every-wevery time Erin-person plays, and he doesn't tell her that. Erin-person is more sensitive than you, Chloe-Chloe.“


Slide 71:"I'm sensitive too! Tip me!“ Chloe shouted. "Okie dokie…” “…Wanna go woohoo?” “OKIE DOKIE!”


Slide 72:Fiona sat in the living room after school, contemplating the assignment she'd been given. 'A' is for apple? What the heck, this is insulting! Give us a challenge, like...'A' is for antidisestablishmentarianism, she thought. Fee heard the garage door opening, and threw her notebook down. Daddy!


Slide 73:She ran to him, and flung herself into his arms for a hug. Ein chuckled, and hugged back.


Slide 74:Fiona’s eyes lit up when she saw her father wasn’t alone. “Aunt Circe!” the girl squeaked, and gave the woman a hug. “Hey, kid,” Circe said with a laugh. She never could figure out why her nieces and nephew liked her so much, but she definitely loved them. Circe hadn’t been joking at that last SAMRIID meeting. She was working at the hospital now, with Ein, and the virus was all but forgotten. “What do you say to a game of catch, Fiona?” The little girl nodded vigorously.


Slide 75:They played until the sun went down. Circe's throws were getting more and more rough as she realized that Fiona hadn't dropped the ball once. Fiona grunted softly as the ball smacked into her hand once again. She looked to her left to see her mother and Mrs. Rama-something stepping out.


Slide 76:"Mommy!“ "Hey, there! What are you two up to?“ "Playing catch. Aunt Circe keeps throwing it at me really hard, but it's OK. She'd just mad I'm better than her.“ "Is that right?" The girl nodded, and Erin grinned. "Good job, then! Now why don't we go put on our bathing suits and get ready for cake with Molly and Patrick? I'm sure they're already annoyed they had to wait for me to get here, so let's hurry. 'K?“ "‘K."


Slide 77:The Dorans decided against a big party for this birthday. They still needed time to recover from the last one. Especially Erin, but she wasn't going to say anything about that.


Slide 78:Cara pondered her cake for a moment, and made her wish...


Slide 79:Patrick blew out his candles...


Slide 80:And poof, teenagers! Much to her parents' displeasure, Cara grew up absolutely gorgeous. She struck a pose and said, "Heh, whatdya know...I'm kinda hot!" Ein groaned in the background.


Slide 81:Patrick rolled his eyes at his sister, but then he grabbed his arm with a confused look. A confused look which quickly turned into a smug grin. "Awesome.“ Erin laughed at her son as he considered his new muscles. "I always knew you'd grow up into such a handsome man! Try not to break too many girls' hearts, OK kid?"


Slide 82:Cara grabbed her cake and took a look at her cousin. "When did you get so short, Molly?“


Slide 83:The redhead growled. "I'm not short, you big freak!“ "Hey, I was just joking! You'll be right behind me anyway."


Slide 84:"I don't know if I can eat all of this," Ainsley muttered softly, thinking of her nonexistant figure. Fiona settled into the chair next to her and said, "I'll eat it when I'm done with mine, OK?“ "But the flies are going to get it before you—”


Slide 85:“…Or maybe not," Aine finished at Fiona stuffed the entire slice into her small mouth. "Geebus, Fee."


Slide 86:The next morning, the bus driver came as usual. Also as usual, he wore his creepy grin. Fiona stopped at the bottom of the bus' stairs, and pulled something small and silver out of her hoodie pocket.


Slide 87:“What’s that?” "Camera. I swiped it off my mom when she got home last night. Say cheese, Pedophile Man!“ Lucan giggled as his cousin snapped a shot of their bus driver. "Hey! Kid, cut it out!“ Click, click, click! "Get on the bus, or I'm leaving you here!"


Slide 88:Fiona obliged, and as she walked past him to her seat she awarded herself with a mental pat on the back. "Hehe...“ Pedophile Man honked the horn.


Slide 89:Because the older kids come home earlier than the younger ones, Cara had time to fix sandwiches for everyone. The parentals would be at work until late, she and Paddy were going out, and she didn't quite trust the nanny to do much other than burn crap.


Slide 90:Fiona took a bite, and gagged. She raised her eyebrows at her sister. "What's wrong, Fee?“ "Cara...“ "What?“ "Why does this sandwich taste like plastic?"


Slide 91:Cara laughed. "It's not plastic, it's tofu! Tofurkey...like turkey...you get it?“ "Why can't we just have turkey?“ "Because eating meat is inhumane, silly!“ "Daddy eats beef jerky all the time...“ "Yeah, well...he's just misguided."


Slide 92:An hour later, Cara and Patrick were at the bowling alley downtown. "Watch and learn, Cara!“ "Oh, please."


Slide 93:"STRIKE! YES!“ Patrick shouted ten seconds later. "You are such a spaz!” "Whatever, you try it!"


Slide 94:As his twin snagged a ball, a girl in buns and a green dress came up to Patrick, smiling widely. In the back of his mind, Patrick noted that she was pretty. He also recognized her from his English class. "Oh! Hey, Zoe,” he murmured. "Hey, Patrick," she breathed excitedly. "What a surprise to see you here, what are the odds, right? Wow, it must be FATE or something!"


Slide 95:"Um, well really...today is Teen Night at the alley, so I would think a lot of kids would show up...“ Zoe laughed, and waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever. So HI! How are you doing? You look really great, did you change your hair or something?" she said all in one breath.


Slide 96:Patrick needed to think fast, before he got caught up in something he didn't want to be in. It was clear this girl had a crush on him. "I'll...be right back.“ "Where are you going?!“ "Just...asking my sister a question, real quick like."


Slide 97:"Hey, Paddy! Did you see, I got a spare! Totally sweet, right?“ “Sure. Can we, uh, go?“ "What, why? We just started!" Cara noticed her twin sneaking a glance to his right.


Slide 98:"Oh! Who's that girl? She's waving at you, man!“ "Crap, really?“ "What's your beef, dude? She's pretty cute, I guess, and she obviously thinks you are, too.“ "I know!“


Slide 99:Cara waved back unable to stop herself from being polite, and Patrick started walking to the door. "Paddy! Get back here.“ He groaned, but turned around.


Slide 100:"Cara, I really don't think me being here is a brilliant idea....“ "Why are you being such a downer, bro?“ "I'm not being a downer, I'm trying to be nice!“ "Nice about what? How is totally bailing on a chick nice?“ "I don't want to give her the wrong idea!“ "Too late for that, she's right behind you," Cara whispered. "Damn.“ "But what do you mean 'give her the wrong idea'...? You don't have a girlfriend or anything, and it's not like you're gay..."


Slide 101:"Heh..."


Slide 102:"Oh my Plumbob, you are, aren't you?!“ she whispered in shock. "Sort of?“ "How can you be 'sort of' gay?“


Slide 103:"Ugh! You're like the worst twin ever! Did you really not know?“ Cara was ignoring him, still pondering the possibility of being 'sort of gay'. "I guess you could be bisexual, in which case you better date that girl, Paddy. She's got it bad, bro, and I don't think we need any more people to knock over our trash bin. Uncle Ed's ex-girlfriends are bad enough, and—” "Let's go!"


Slide 104:"So...“ "So, what?“ "How's it feel to be a girl?" Cara asked, gesturing toward her twin. "...Shut up.“ "Oh, come on! Loosen up.“ "...“ "What if I let you beat me on FIFA?“ "...Maybe."


Slide 105:"Hah, nice move!" Cara said. They came home early, much to the younger kids' delight. The nanny had burned dinner, and then she used Erin and Ein's bathtub for the rest of the time. "You can't beat me at my own game!“ They played in near silence for a while, aside from the heys, craps, and damns they shouted every now and again. Cara wasn't exactly sure what to do. Her brother, her twin...he'd just come "out" to her, but what was she supposed to say? She didn't have a problem with it at all, though. Heh, we can check out hot dudes together! Er, no that's still really weird. I wonder…"Paddy?" she asked.


Slide 106:"If this is another crack on me being gay, save it.“ "No, it's not that at all. I was just wondering if you, y'know, had a boyfriend? Or someone in mind?“ "...“ "You do!“ "No," he said, but he found himself thinking of his heart's desire anyway.


Slide 107:Johnny was a really nice guy. A little older, yeah, but cool. "What's his name?!“ "Johnny...Smith...“ Cara's eyebrows raised. "Johnny? Johnny as in Molly's cousin-slash-nephew?“ "...Yeah.“ She could really rag on him about this, he was wide open. She didn't.


Slide 108:“Does he like you, too?” “Who knows? As a friend, yeah, but as more? I don’t know.” "That's cool, he's a sweet guy," Cara said in acceptance. She glanced at the floor where one of the family's cats was walking in front of the screen. Was it snoring? "Paddy, have you ever noticed anything funny about UFO?“ "Oh, yeah..."


Slide 109:"...he sleepwalks.“ As if he was deliberately proving such a thing true, UFO let out a loud meow followed by a snort, a snore, and another meow.


Slide 110:Pat, pat, pat. Erin rubbed the seasoning into the meat with care and expertise. She was also grumbling something that sounded like, "Damned fortune sims..."


Slide 111:She spun around to see her daughter walking away with a plate of chips and pretzels. Chips and pretzels Erin had specifically laid out for the headmaster. "Cara! Those are not for you! Didn't you see the note that said 'NO!' I put next to the platter?“ "Oooh, so that's what that meant! Sorry mom. Want me to put them back?“ "Yes. Wait, no! You've already touched them. Just go eat before anyone else sees you and gets nosy.“ "On it!"


Slide 112:Erin went back to her cooking just as a wetsuit-covered hand reached out for the dish. "Heeeey! Chipity-chips! Thanks muchly, Erin-person!“ The blonde woman whimpered, wondering where the note had gone. "You're welcome,” she said through clenched teeth.


Slide 113:"Hey, mom? Are these pretzels vegan?" Cara asked before taking a single bite. As her mother shook her head, Cara made a dramatic gagging noise and pushed the plate away. "Why didn't you get the vegan kind?!“ "A little dehydrated egg isn't going to kill anyone.“ "Lies!“ "Why do you want icky vegan chippies, Cara-person?“ "I don't want to eat an innocent baby bird!“ "Pretzels don't have baby birdies in them, silly!“ "What do you think eggs are, Uncle Ed?“ "OH NO!“ And so this was the day Edward Doran became a vegetarian.


Slide 114:Erin rolled her eyes at her daughter and brother-in-law as she pulled the pie out of the oven. She ignored Ed as he threw his and Cara's food in the garbage disposal, but she didn't ignore the small person wafting the pie smell toward herself. "No, Molly. If you're going to steal something, take the freaking non-vegan chips. 'An innocent baby bird' indeed. Geez."


Slide 115:Erin cheerfully elected Ed as the person to greet Headmaster Andrews, but she immediately regretted it when she saw the high five through the window. Lucky for her, the headmaster wasn't a stick in the mud like she'd been told.


Slide 116:"Excellent, excellent!" he said, reaching up to Ed's hand. "It's such a pleasure to meet a young, happenin' family, Mr. Doran. Normally the people who have me over are quite a bore with all their schmoozing and nonsense.“ "Schmoozy-woozing? What's that?“ "Ha ha! I like your attitude, Mr. Doran!“ "Okie dokie. If you come this way, Erin-person said I had to show you the house.“ "I'm right behind you!"


Slide 117:The tour went extremely well. Headmaster Andrews called the house "fashionable with good coloring, and modern with a good touch of classic." Edward didn't really care, he just wanted to get this over with so he could get out of this tie.


Slide 118:Dinner went well also, even if the Dorans were all a little grumpy at Erin for making them dress up. Erin didn’t care what they thought. Ein had asked her to do this, so she was going to do it right. Eyeing Cara’s and Ed’s leaf-filled plates, she hoped sincerely that the headmaster didn’t bring up anything meat related.


Slide 119:"These pork chops are divine, Mrs. Doran! I must have your recipe for my wife."


Slide 120:"Mmf--" Erin said, swallowing. "I mean...thank you very much, sir. I can write it down for you later.” She snuck a look at Cara, daring the blonde teenager to say anything about baby pigs.


Slide 121:"My aunt Erin cooks like this ALL the time, Mr. Andrews," Ainsley said pleasantly. Chloe grinned at her daughter, and wondered how much Erin had paid her to say that..


Slide 122:The headmaster wasn't quite sure why the whole table began giggling softly after the child's statement, but he decided it must have been some inside joke.


Slide 123:"Hey, Fee?“ "...“ "I think I just figured out why they made us sit in the kitchen.“ Fiona pried her hand out of her mouth and looked shocked. "Why would they do that?" She looked at the mashed potatoes between her fingers. "Oooh..."


Slide 124:When Erin handed Mr. Andrews the recipe later that evening, he said that he would be glad to accept all six Doran children into his academy.


Slide 125:"You so owe me, Ein. If you hadn't wanted this so badly I never would have done it. I'm just not the maternal type!“ Ein just smiled and kissed his wife