Chapter 9: The Simple Life

Nights were long and hard.  Gunther tossed and turned until a peaceful calm permeated the room.  Then he slept his most deep and refreshing sleep.  He somehow always managed to wake up feeling younger and ready to take on the day.  Gunther's favorite morning sights were that of his grandchildren.  He counted himself lucky that he was afford so much time that he was able to meet them and know them.  Gunther lifted Jada into the air and zoomed her around the living room.  She fit perfectly with the family, as if Mortimer and Bella had created her themselves.  The love that emanated from his son and daughter-in-law brought more joy to the Manor than the previous generations combined.

Cassandra and Darryl made another friend at school, though they only had a short amount of time play together.  Amanda's family recently transferred to Sunset Valley so her mom could do some training at the military base.  In a couple of months the training would be finished and they would be moving to a new military base.  Cassandra noticed that Amanda had a hard time making friends because she moved around so much.  She invited her to come over after school to play.  Cassandra, Darryl, and Amanda spent time playing tag, talking about other students, swimming, and telling ghost stories.

Bella enjoyed the sound of Cassandra with her friends and her toddlers playing with their toys.  This pregnancy was the easiest of them all and so far Dr. Jolina said everything was progressing as it should.  Bella started to gain back some weight as it was expected.  Especially since she craved grilled cheese sandwiches.  She occasionally mixed it up by using a blend of different cheeses or by adding a slice of pastrami, but as long as she could have grilled cheese she was set.  Bella wanted to limit herself but since she was pregnant she gave herself a free pass with a promise to herself that she will hit the gym once her little one was born.

On the days her friends couldn't come over to play Cassandra got on the laptop to do more work.  Gunther sometimes caught a glimpse of her and watching in awe as her fingers danced over the keyboard as she was practicing buying and trading stock shares.  He knew that Cassandra was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the boardroom at Doo Peas.  He hoped that she would one day rake the Landgraabs over the coals and give them a run for their money.

Mortimer and Bella knew they were only having one baby, but she was getting so big it was fun to joke around that there was a twin hiding in there somewhere.  Bella was good natured about it, but the comments from the people around town sometimes grated on her nerves.  They would joke about the same thing; saying things like 'are you sure there is only one in there' or 'you are only 8 months pregnant?  You look like you could go into labor anytime now'.  That second one stung the most.  She actually could go into labor at any time since Alexander was premature.  She just wanted the baby to stay in the womb as long as possible.  Bella did not want to have to go through another ordeal like she did with Alexander.

Time had passed with ease.  Cassandra was spending more time at home playing with Alexander and Jada.  Bella noticed Cassandra was having a hard time dealing with Amanda moving away.  She knew Cassandra didn't like to show it or talk about it so she let her be.  Bella figured anytime Cassandra spent with her siblings was a step in the right direction regardless of the motivation.  Cassandra would soon be back to her normal self; treating Jada and Alexander with indifference and spending all of her time with Darryl.  Until then, Bella enjoyed the feeling of the wholeness when they were together.

It took only about a week before Cassandra was tired of playing with her brother and sister.  She had better things to do.  She wanted to hang out with Darryl some more, but his family was going through a rough time with his grandparents so he wasn't really around.  Cassandra really didn't want to go back to playing with the toddlers so she grabbed the paper and sat down by her grandpapa.  Cassandra knew that his work was very important and she wanted to do important work, too.  She flipped to the money section of the newspaper and pretended to understand the financial mumbo-jumbo.

When Bella made it to 35 weeks she was exstatic.  Then the 36th week and the 37th week passed without so much as a false alarm.  She was relieved beyond measure.  Bella's pregnancy was half way through the 38th week when she noticed the contractions one morning.  She decided not to say anything to Mortimer and let him go to work.  Throughout the day Bella spent time making meals to stick in the freezer and cleaning the house.  When she became agitated she went outside for a walk.  By late afternoon, she knew this labor was the real deal and called Mortimer to come home.

Mortimer called Dr. Jolina to let her know that Bella was in labor.  At the doctor's suggestion they waited until the contractions were closer together before heading to the hospital.  Dr. Jolina told them it would be fine to labor at home as long as Bella felt that everything was going as it should.  Later than evening Bella and Mortimer left for the hospital when the contraction became seven minutes apart.  Bella would grab Mortimer's arm during a contraction or if she felt like he was speeding.  Sometimes he didn't know whether it was the first or the second reason or both at the same time.

When they arrived at the hospital Bella's contractions had sped up to 3 minutes apart.  They were going to have to use valet parking so Bella could get up to the maternity floor in time.  Dr. Jolina had agreed to meet them at the hospital even though she wasn't the only OB/GYN at the hospital anymore.  Since Bella had done most of her laboring at home, they did not have time to get the epidural ready.  Later that night Mortimer and Bella welcome their son Damen into the world.  All Bella's pain melted away as the nurses laid Damen across her chest.

Cassandra sat at the kitchen island waiting for her mom to get home with her new baby brother.  She got to visit them in the hospital for a little while, but they wouldn't let her stay.  Having Grandpapa in charge wasn't bad but Cassandra was ready for her parents to be home.  Bella didn't need to stay in the hospital for more than a day and Damen got to come home right away.  Cassandra was excited they got to bring the baby home.  She remembered how sad her mom was all the time when Alexander was in the hospital.  Cassandra tried reading to pass the time but she realized she was reading the same paragraph over and over without actually remembering what she was reading.  She looked at the clock.  Her parents and the new baby should be home any minute.

Cassandra jumped off the stool when she heard door open.  She rushed to her mom to see the new baby.

"He looks the same as other babies," Cassandra said.

"I know.  Isn't it funny how that happens, Cassandra?"  Bella replied with a smile.  "He'll grow into his own before we know it."

"I like him mom.  Is he a good baby?"

"Yes sweetie.  Just remember, he is a baby so he will cry and be smelly sometimes, and he'll need your father's and my attention."

"Oh, I know.  I read it in a book.  I'm just glad you're home now.  Grandpapa tried cooking."  Bella smirked.  "I tried telling him to get the dinners that you cooked out of the freezer but he wouldn't listen."

"How about I make you your favorite dinner tomorrow to make up for it?" Bella offered.  Cassandra hugged her mom and they played with Damen until it was time for him to eat and sleep.

A couple weeks later Bella and Mortimer blind-folded Cassandra and brought her upstairs.  She knew that the surprise was going to be her new room.  Cassandra didn't know what it was going to look like.  Her parents had kept that a secret.  Cassandra jumped up and down with joy when she took off the blind fold.  Her easel was still in the room, right by the windows so she could look out and get some ideas.  She got a brand new bed with some tables and lamps; new sheets and blanket, too.  She even had enough room to have a slumber party.

Mortimer and Bella took turns doing the overnight feedings.  They took a joint paternity/maternity leave to care for Damen and to spend time with Alexander and Jada.  Cassandra understood the attention a baby would need, but the toddlers wouldn't be able to understand.  They both became curious about Damen, then they would go back to playing with their own toys, only peeking up at the baby if he made a fuss.  Mortimer dreamily smiled at his son while feeding him in the night.  Having children was intoxicating.  Mortimer started think that Bella should be pregnant all the time again.  They had the independent wealth to raise a large family.  He knew that Bella would murder him in his sleep for suggesting such an idea.  Mortimer would have to wait until Damen was a toddler, at least, before he mentioned having more children or Bella might have him committed.

 As Damen grew his schedule became routine.  Mortimer spent nap times with Alexander and Jada.  He was amazed at the transformation Alexander was going through.  Preschool was working wonders on him.  Mortimer was able to sit and play and babble with Alexander.  Mortimer left like the luckiest man alive when he son looked him in the eyes.  During one of their play times Mortimer thought he would fly to the moon in back when Alexander wrapped his little arms around Mortimer's neck and said "I wuv you da".

Cassandra was annoyingly bored without Darryl around.  Bella called Darryl's mother Bebe to arrange for Darryl to come over after school for awhile so his family could get things in order.  After that Darryl started coming home with Cassandra every day.  Bella or Mortimer made them do their homework straight away before they took off to play.  Bebe was grateful that the Goths took care of Darryl for a couple of hours every day; he started improving at school by leaps and bounds.

Cassandra enjoyed having her best friend over every day.  He was like a brother.  She wouldn't know what to do without him.  After they had their turn to run themselves ragged outside.  Then they would come inside to watch TV before Darryl's mom came to pick him up.  Of course they wasted the first half hour debating what show to watch.  Darryl wanted to watch the cop drama Order & Law; Cassandra wanted to watch Outlast, a reality show featuring regular sims trying to outlast their teammates on Twikii Island.  Cassandra managed to win the argument every time and they both had their favorite contestant they wanted to win.  During commercials Cassandra and Darryl would make plans to be on the show one day and win together so they could split the winning jackpot.

The simple life was some of the best moments the Goths would cherish.  Bella would stay home and care for their three little ones during the day.  She watched her husband head for the company car and her daughter for the bus to school before gathering up the newspaper and taking a moment to herself.  Later in the day Mortimer and Bella briefly crossed paths.  They kissed each other as Mortimer would come in the door and Bella walked out the door for work.  Some days it seemed hectic, but it work for them.

Occasionally Bella would hire a babysitter and run some errand around town.  Bella started volunteering at the school after the principal approached the diner for an extra curricular cooking program.  She rotated her time teaching lower elementary students to make fruit parfets, upper elementary students to make mac and cheese, and a variety of foods for the high schoolers who were interested in a cooking club.  Bella had always thought it was adorable that Cassandra and Darryl were best friends.  Once she started spending time at the school she realized that they were the only friends they had for each other.  They seemed happy with that but Bella hoped Cassandra would be able to reach out and make some other friends.

Gunther's career was coming to an end.  His run as Leader of the Free World was just about up.  He felt that he had another election run in him, but he was unsure if it is something he wanted to do.  He had decades in office.  Research was indicating that his policies were outdated.  Truth was he had outlived most of his constituents and friends.  Gunther knew he was well beyond young and hip.  He visited the gym on occasion, though it wasn't something he could really get into.  However, the gym was a hotspot for the younger crowd and if Gunther was going to find more acquaintances for another run for office he had to start somewhere.

 Bella met up with her friend Donna Landgraab at the gym for an aerobics class. Their husbands may hate each other but they kept the family feud separate from their friendship.  Bella and Donna met at the diner and became fast friends.  Unfortunately, their children would not be raised as the best of friends.  That didn't stop Bella and Donna from meeting at the gym or grabbing a cup of coffee occasionally.  They had hoped they could work towards getting their husbands to be civil to each other but the grudge ran too deep.

As she promised herself after too many grilled cheese sandwiches, the gym became her second home.  In the past she worked alone on the treadmill or the weight machines, then she discovered the fun of working out with a friend.  Slow and steady and the baby weight started coming off.  Eventually, the aerobics class was not needed anymore.  Bella only stopped by a couple times a week to maintain her weight goal.  She decided to shake things up a little and take up swimming for exercise so if she needed to miss a day or two she could make it up at home in her own pool.

Life was busy for all.  Even the simple life can keep those who are living it on their toes.  Bella and Donna, both distracted by family and work, met less often than they would like.  They still managed to meet every once and awhile.  During one of their follow-up gym visits Donna announced that she got the promotion she was working towards and that she was expecting her second child.  Bella hugged her tightly.  She was excited for her friend even though she was hoping for the same promotion.  The most exciting news was the pregnancy.  Bella had experienced the miracle three times.  The women shared in the joys of their lives and families.

Chapter 8: Revelations

The weekend was over before they knew and later that morning Bella and Mortimer would be welcoming another child into their home.  The social worker was scheduled to stop by around 10:30 so Bella rushed off early in the morning to get in that day's work-out.  Bella was nervous.  Mothering came naturally with her own children; she wondered if this would be different.  Mortimer was so confident that the toddler would be a perfect fit, but Bella just didn't know.  At least her work-out let her release some of her pent up nervousness.

While they were waiting Mortimer spent some time with Alexander.  Cassandra was in school and wouldn't be meeting her new sister until the afternoon.  Mortimer was hoping Alexander would get along well with his new sister.  They were practically the same age; Jada was a couple months older.  Mortimer's idea was for Alexander and Jada to be more than just normal siblings, he wanted them to be best friends and confidants.  He thought it would be good for both of them.  Jada needed family and Alexander needed someone he could relate to, even as a toddler.

Alexander was turning out be quite the special little boy.  He was brilliant.  There was no doubt about it.  The doctor had confirmed their suspicions about Alexander at his last appointment.  He was high functioning, but was probably slightly autistic.  Unfortunately, bad news was associated with the revelation that Alexander was a genius.  Alexander had the best attachment to Bella and the doctor explained it was because Bella spent so much time with him in the hospital when he was born.  Mortimer was working on building a connection with Alexander.  Some days Alexander would respond to play but other days he would just sit quietly and sort blocks.

 The social worker arrived at the house right on time.  Mortimer and Bella waited quietly in the house even though they wanted to rush out and snatch the little girl from the social worker.  They felt lucky to have everything work out so well.  Social workers usually received a bad rap.  Many people hated them and the news usually only mentioned social workers when children were being removed from the home.  Mortimer wished he could call the news station and let them know how much good this social worker has done for the family.  She could have made it a long, drawn-out process but she guided the Goths through this change with compassion and ease.

Jada went to Mortimer first.  She already knew him.  With a smile on his face, he gathered his new daughter into his arms and held her tight.  Mortimer introduced her to Bella and Alexander.  Mortimer and Bella watched in amazement as Alexander responded to Jada.  They took her around to show her the rest of the house.  Gunther came home and met his newest grandchild.  By the end of the day the household was changed in such a way that none of them could imagine what their lives would be like without Jada.  Just the day before they hadn't had Jada as a part of their lives, yet that time seemed like different time altogether.

Jada was slightly behind average in development.  The social worker had explained that the combination of her illness and the large amount of other children in her foster home were most likely the root cause.  Mortimer had taken paternity leave during Jada's adjustment but they didn't overwhelm her with catching up to where she needed to be.  Once they felt Jada was ready Bella and Mortimer started encouraging Jada to use words instead of crying.  It was reminiscent of when Cassandra was learning to talk, but once Jada didn't feel frustrated she started to pick up more words and sentences.

 Cassandra was happy that Jada was her new sister.  Alexander was weird but Jada was normal, so at least she had a normal little sister.  She was also secretly excited because Jada's arrival meant she was getting her room in the attic.  Cassandra thought her parents were being extremely slow about it.  She grumbled at them every once and while but decided it was not in her best interest to make them too mad.  Cassandra started peppering her grandpapa with questions while everyone else was busy.  She found a couple of websites that mentioned lemonade stands or lawn mowing business for kids.  Cassandra knew that her grandpapa could help her get one started.

 Life was getting back to normal.  Bella was back to her routine at the gym.  She had come a long way.  It wasn't easy to keep the weight off and each pregnancy resulted in additional weight gain.  Her job at the restaurant only added to the problem.  Bella bought some sessions with a personal trainer and set up a long term plan.  Then the weight started to drop.  She was somewhat surprised she was able to get her weight to drop below her pre-Cassandra weight.  Bella far exceeded her goal, but the gym provided the much needed personal time, as well and a little social time with people who were not family members.

Mortimer enjoyed his wife's new figure, though he would love her no matter what she looked like.  He found her the most sexy when she was confident in herself.  If going to the gym was what made her happy then Mortimer was going to give her the support and the time she needed.  He benefited from her time at the gym as well.  Bella often came home in an elated mood with some extra energy left over.  With Cassandra in school and the toddlers down for a nap, Mortimer and Bella took full advantage of each other.  While it was average for most married couples to woohoo once a week, Bella and Mortimer found their way to bed three or four days of the week.

Mortimer's job at the laboratory was evening out and most of his co-workers had adjusted to his promotion and his changes in protcol.  He became a handy man around the house after discovering a talent for building things at work.  Mortimer could easily fix almost anything around the house.  His father was going to throw out the busted laptop and buy a new one.  Mortimer fished it out of the recycle bin and refurbished it for the kids to use.  Cassandra was the only child old enough to use it, but eventually all the children would want access to it for various projects and to get accounts on MyTwitFace.

Cassandra never lived down the cemetery project for Junior Achievement.  Most of her classmates taunted her by calling her "freak" or "daughter of death".  She only had one true friend in Darryl Hart because they made fun of him too.  His grandparents were the neighborhood crazies.  Darryl was embarrassed by his family so he never let anyone come over to his house.  His mom took care of his grandparents at home.  Cassandra didn't mind.  She just invited Darryl over to her house instead.  They would spend hours together dreaming of ruling the neighborhood and making their classmates miserable when they were older or they would just dream about one day leaving this awful town for a place more exciting.

Jada started surpassing her developmental milestones, just as Bella and Mortimer expected.  They had enrolled them both in preschool, but after a couple weeks it was apparent that Alexander was going to need some extra attention.  He often became distraught if Jada wanted to play with the other toddlers in the class.  At the suggestion of the preschool head-mistress Mortimer and Bella placed them in separate classrooms.  Jada only attended the preschool three times a week, as did most of the other children, but Alexander attended pre-school all week.  On the days she was home while Alexander was in school Jada quietly played with toys or sought out whichever adult was home to read a story.

Mortimer grew accustom to the needs of Alexander and Jada.  He often forgot that Cassandra needed him too.  She was such an independent child.  One day, while getting Jada ready for lunch, Mortimer noticed that Cassandra was having an issue on the computer of the next room.  When he told her he would be there in just a minute, she had replied she didn't need him and would just find Grandpapa.  Cassandra had stopped coming to them with her needs.  Mortimer decided to spend more time with his oldest before she was unreceptive to being with them and coming to them with her problems.

Mortimer enjoyed fishing, though he mostly only took out his pole when required by work.  He bought a small pole at the store and gave it to Cassandra.  At first she looked at him kind of funny, but after thinking about it for a minute she decided it could be fun.  Mortimer started teaching Cassandra to fish in the pond in their yard.  While they fished he talked about his idea for a large garden.  Cassandra liked fishing but she really liked the idea of the garden.  Mortimer told her stories of her Grandmama Cornelia's garden and his love of gardening came from her.

Every Sunday Mortimer and Cassandra would go fishing.  Sometimes they would visit other places in Sunset Valley.  However, their favorite place was their very own pond.  Cassandra was becoming an expert at catching minnows.  Mortimer was soon going to have to sneak off to catch or buy different types of fish to stock the pond while Cassandra was at school or sleeping.  Cassandra was a mystery to Mortimer.  She seemed to have aquired the best of all members of the family.  Cassandra had the tenacity and business sense of her grandfather, the love of nature like her grandmother, the perseverence of her father, and the ease of painting like her mother.  Mortimer gazed at his first born and marveled at the wonder she was.

Bella was somewhat surprised when she discovered she was pregnant again.  Mortimer was down right shocked when she shared the news, though she didn't know why he would be so shocked.  It wasn't as if they were trying prevent it or if they even cared at the time.  Bella was not plagued by morning sickness with this pregnancy so she was able to keep the pregnancy to herself for awhile.  She wanted to make it through the first trimester before making any big announcements.  Since this was her thrid pregnancy she noticed that she was beginning to show much quicker than before.  Bella made it to the second trimester before her boss actually worked up the nerve to ask if she was expecting.  When she confirmed the news Chef Frio released her for the maternity leave the law required.

  Bella and Mortimer decided to tell Cassandra the good news since word of the pregnancy was making its rounds.  They wanted Cassandra to hear it from them and not someone around town.  That evening Mortimer cleared the table to let Bella tell Cassandra.

"Cassandra I have something I would like to tell you," Bella said as she took her daughter's hand.

"Okay," Cassandra replied.

"I'm going to have a baby.  I'm pregnant!"

"Really?" Cassandra questioned.  "From your tummy?"

"Yeah, I'll be getting much bigger before the baby gets here."

Cassandra looked at her mother's stomach with doubt.  Worried shadowed her face.

"What is wrong, Sweetheart?" Bella asked.

Cassandra hesitated.  "Will the baby be like Alexander?"

"I don't suppose so.  The two of you are different and this baby will be unique, as are all of you."  Bella hugged her daughter.  "Everything will be just fine.  You'll see."

With the pregnancy practically public knowledge, Mortimer and Bella started making plans.  They were going to hire a contractor to get started on Cassandra's room and to redo the nursery.  Mortimer and Bella went back and forth on whether or not to find out the sex of their baby.  Mortimer wanted to know and Bella wanted to be surprised.  They could hardly narrow down their ideas for a list of names.  Bella was being extra cautious and Dr. Jolina was watching her closely.  Bella needed to have some extra appointments so they could catch any problems if some were to arise.

Each passing appointment was a relief.  No problems were detected as of yet.  Once Bella was noticeably pregnant Cassandra started taking more interest in the baby.  She would often sneak up to Bella and hug the baby bump.  Cassandra loved to rub her mother's tummy.  She was excited when the baby began to kick and move.  Mortimer and Bella eventually did decide to find out what they were having.  Cassandra was thrilled to be getting a new baby brother.  They were nowhere near ready to pick out a name so everyone still just called him baby when they talked to Bella's tummy.

When she wasn't following her mother around, Cassandra disappeared to the attic to paint.  In a couple weeks she would have to stay out of the room so the workmen could get the renovation done.  She wanted to spend as much time up there before that happened.  Cassandra started painting a picture for her parents to hang in the new baby's room.  She knew she could get Grandpapa to take her to buy a present, but she wanted to give them something special that she could eventually tell her new brother about.

Alexander and Jada didn't fully comprehend what it meant that Bella was going to have a baby, but they were told nonetheless.  The news didn't affect them on a daily basis.  They did get excited every once and awhile and pretended they had babies in their bellies too.  They would talk about it to whoever would listen, even if they had already talked about it before.  Mostly, days were just normal days for them.  Separating them into different classes didn't seem to have any negative effects.  If anything, it strengthened the bond they had with each other when they were together.

If they didn't look so drastically different anyone could mistake them for twins.  Alexander and Jada were near each other always.  They played together and walked around together.  Sometimes Bella or Mortimer would find them snuggled up together in a nap because they fell asleep looking at one of their picture books.  As parents, Mortimer and Bella felt lucky that Alexander and Jada would be able to rely on one another as they adjust to a new baby in the house in a couple of months.

The household was busy.  Gunther didn't know how Mortimer kept it all together.  Mortimer did have something that he never had; a partner, lover, companion, and ally.  Gunther went to bed worn out and alone.  He believed he was alone.  Lolita still took form every night.  She watched his somewhat labored breathing.  She couldn't remember what breathing felt like.  She gazed upon his face, wrinkled with age.  Lolita still thought he was beautiful.  She smiled to herself.  Most people always discribed Gunther as handsome, good-looking, or smooth.  To Lolita he had the beauty of a Greek God, and she still thought so.  She vaguely wondered what it would have been like to have his children, grown old with him, and watch their grandchildren in awe.  She never did get a chance to tell Gunther she was pregnant.  He never knew; the test result buried in the back corner of a storage room in the basement of the hospital at her father-in-law's request.   Lolita garnered enough strength to lay beside him in bed and pretend she was wrinkled and gray and his family was one they had made together.

Chapter 7: Family Happenings

Mortimer and Bella were beyond nervous bringing little Alexander home from the hospital.  He may have grown while he was in the NICU but he was still such a little thing.  Mortimer moved the crib into the master suite even though the nursery had been completed for months.  They were just too nervous leaving Alexander in a room while he was on the breathing machine.  Mortimer took some time off to let Bella get back to work and to keep an eye on the baby; he just didn't trust a babysitter with him.

Alexander's early arrival really set Bella back in the diner.  Her absence allowed for a couple of her co-workers to get the promotion she was vying for.  Bella had her moments in the hospital when she cried to herself while her baby boy was sleeping and the nurses were on their rounds elsewhere.  She devoted her time to helping Alexander get stronger and felt guilty anytime a thought of her life or the diner crossed her mind.  Mortimer somehow read her mind and took control once they had Alexander home.  It was nice to be back at the diner but the work seemed more difficult; the atmosphere more ruthless.  Bella had been working so hard she didn't even realize it was her birthday.  Gunther wished her a happy birthday as he was leaving for the evening and she arrived home from work.  Bella tried not to let it get her down but she was a full adult now and she wasn't where she thought she would be in her career.

Mortimer had gotten her a beautiful necklace for her birthday and Cassandra and Alexander made her a wonderful picture with their hand prints and foot prints.  They had made her day special even though she had completely forgot.  A couple weeks later Bella treated herself by renewing her gym membership.  Two children later Bella knew she wasn't going to be the skinniest thing in town.  She didn't really want to be either.  She was really starting to embrace her curves.  Her figure was something to celebrate.  Working out was less about competing with a hot, young thing and more about something she could do on her own to let her head clear and focus.

Gunther decided to use the change in the household to take Cassandra under his wing.  Mortimer spent most of his time with Alexander and was planning on returning to the lab soon.  Bella was busy rebuilding her career.  They both were wonderful parents to Cassandra still, but she was left to her own devises at times.  Gunther found his granddaughter in the dining room one Saturday after breakfast.

"Good morning my little Cassie.  What are you planning today?" he inquired.

"Oh, I don't really know Grandpapa.  Maybe paint."

"Would you like to spend sometime with your old Grandpapa today?  I could tell you some stories about the town."

"Sure.  Can I still paint?"

"Yes dear one, you can paint.  Did you know that our family owns part of Doo Peas?

Cassandra was astonished, "We own the news?"

Gunther chuckled, "We have a say in how it works, Cassie, but we are interested in the business of it all.  I'll show you on the computer as soon as your homework is finished."

Cassandra went straight for her homework.  She knew her grandpapa was an important man, but she didn't know they owned stuff.  Cassandra tried to focus on her homework, but her imagination was making it difficult.  Her grandpapa could help her get on TV.  If they owned the news then she would have to be allowed to be on the TV as a star news anchor.  It was the hardest thing she had to do in her life but she finished her homework in record time.  Hanging out with Grandpapa was a lot more boring than she thought it was going to be.  He talked about having to share Doo Peas with the Landgraabs and profit margarine and share placeholders.  Cassandra thought she was going to get away to paint after he was done talking about business, but he started talking about the cemetery.  They didn't own that place but they were responsible for taking care of it.  No wonder some kids called them the family of death.  Grandpapa finally stopped talking and Cassandra bolted up the stairs to her easel.

Mortimer didn't know what his father was thinking trying to get Cassandra to understand or be interested in business.  Nothing could be more boring to the child.  Heaven knows he has sat through that several times.  Even overhearing the conversation bored him to tears and he was a grow adult.  Mortimer couldn't complain though, Cassandra wasn't being ignored while the baby received much of the attention.  He was actually surprised that she took it all so well.

Grandpapa told her that she could grow up and have everything she ever wanted, it was just going to take some work.  Cassandra started by doing her homework and getting on the honor roll; just like Grandpapa said.  Then she signed up for the Citizenship Now kids program after school; just like Grandpapa said.  Cassandra thought the stuff she got to do was pretty fun.  They went on tours, pretended to be lawyers and judges, pretended to write laws as if they were Leaders of the Free World.  The rest of her classmates were really excited because at the end of the session they were going to meet the Leader of the Free World.  That didn't matter so much to Cassandra; she lived with him.

After Cassandra finished the Citizenship Now program she was signed up for the Junior Achievement program at Doo Peas.  She was kind of hoping that she would be able to hang out with a couple of friends but heading to the office kept her busy.  She did have to admit that this was a little more fun.  One of the best projects was planning a city and building a small model.  The mentor told her that her model was one of the best because it was in her blood.  Cassandra didn't exactly know what blood had to do with building a city and she didn't want to know either.  The second favorite activity was running a business.  Cassandra chose the Cemetery.  The other students sniggered under their breath.  She rolled her eyes and ignored them.  Her family already took care of the place so they might as well make some money while they were at it.

Cassandra like to take the long way home after Junior Achievement especially when the butterfly gardens were in bloom.  She knew it worried her parents when she came home a little later than usual, but she couldn't help trying to catch the butterflies.  Her dad may get a little mad, but he would also give her a little money for finding certain butterflies.  Cassandra always forgot about being home if she thought she could find a rare species.  Sometimes she would wear her bubble gum pop lip gloss and the butterflies would practically swarm.

Alexander eventually did not need the respirator at night.  Mortimer and Bella still did not want to move him out of their room, but he was making progress every day.  Alexander went to the doctor every other month rather than at milestones because he was a preemie.  It was at his eight month check-up that his development matched his chronological age.  The doctor did caution that it could take up to his second birthday.  After Alexander figured out how to sit up on his own rolling over and crawling soon followed.  Next thing they knew he was pulling himself to a stand and easily eating finger foods.  Now it was Alexander's first birthday, one they could feel that Alexander was actually becoming a toddler.

  Bella was amazed at how different her two children could be.  She read all about it in books and magazines but she didn't really believe until now.  Alexander was like Cassandra in which he never wanted to be put down.  That's where the likeness stopped, though.  They soon discovered that Alexander was a calm toddler.  He was also extremely inquisitive and curious.  Whereas they moved Cassandra out of their room as soon as possible, Alexander's crib was still there.  He slept through the night and was so cuddly when he woke up.  If there wasn't a smile on his face, he would have a look of concentration.  Either way it was cute.

Since Alexander was getting bigger, Mortimer and Bella were talking about moving him out of their bedroom.  Cassandra was guessing that she would get stuck with him.  She did not want that to happen.  Cassandra sat down with her dad for dinner one night.
"You know Dad, now that I'm older I deserve my own bedroom"
Mortimer was slightly confused.  "You have your own room Cassandra."
"I have a baby room and you are going to put Alexander in there."
"Cassandra we are only talking about what to do with your brother.  No one said he was going into your room."
"I want a new room anyway.  Then Alexander can have the old one."  Cassandra was not going to give this up.
"I don't know what you have in mind Cassandra.  All the bedrooms are being used,"  Mortimer explained.
"I want the attic.  You can finish it up and it will be a bedroom,"  Cassandra countered.
"Well your mother and I will have to talk about it.  For now you have your current bedroom."

Much to Cassandra's dismay, her parents moved Alexander's crib into her room.  She argued and wailed, but nothing worked.  Mortimer explained that work was much too busy right then to remodel the attic.  She would have to deal with the situation for the time being.  Alexander still insisted on being carried everywhere even though they knew he had the capability to walk.  Bella was swamped at the diner and even though the laboratory was making strides with the experiments, management was a mess.  A recent resignation left Mortimer to deal with the nightmare of it all.

One of the perks of his new job was the company car and driver.  If he got called in to the lab the car would already be waiting for him.  It was nice, but something he wasn't used to.  His father had used limo services for years.  Mortimer had rather driven himself around.  He unconventionally sat in the front seat of the car and noticed that he made his driver a little uncomfortable.  He could have sat in the back but he rather build up a professional relationship with the driver.  He didn't feel as if she were beneath him in status.

All the chaos had finally come to a head and the lab exploded in a frenzy.  The personnel scrambled from the building as a fire swept through a few of the laboratories.  Thankfully, there were no fatalities.  Mortimer and a couple of his associates did need to be checked out at the hospital for smoke inhalation before being sent home.  While the others were evacuating Mortimer and a couple other scientist attempted to save as much work as they could.  They managed to save most of the work but they couldn't get everything.  The fire set their progress back by a couple of months.

In the meantime, when Mortimer and Bella managed to snag some calm moments, home life was great.  Little Alexander was growing so well no one could even tell that he was born a preemie.  His pediatrician was amazed.  Alexander was a happy-go-lucky toddler.  He was picking up new skills every day, he enjoyed being played with, and feeding time was easy.  Alexander developed quite the taste for food and often begged Bella to put him in the highchair.

Bella used this opportunity to try out some new recipes.  She needed an edge to get the next promotion, which she and a couple of co-workers were vying for.  Bella noticed the kids menu at the diner hadn't been touched in years and most children didn't enjoy eating there.  With Alexander as her taste-tester Bella set out to create some new dishes that would knock the socks off the kids that were dining with their parents.  Alexander's favorite seemed to be the breakfast dish Bananas Foster Oatmeal.  Bella knew this was the dish she was going to present to her chef, along with a draft of a new children's menu.

Alexander picked up talking almost immediately.  At first he babbled incessantly, then  his vocabulary exploded.  Soon after they couldn't get him to keep quiet.  First it was a couple words at a time.  Then he was speaking in small, three-word sentences.  Suddenly, Mortimer and Bella noticed that he was asking full questions.  They could hardly believe it.  What was more amazing was that Alexander seemed to understand the actual answer and he could also tell when they were giving fluff information.

Cassandra couldn't believe that her parents actually moved her baby brother into her room.  And to make matters worse they said she was going to have to wait before the attic could be her new room.  When her parents weren't looking she convinced the maid to move her easel up there.  She may have to sleep in her bed but they weren't going to force her to play in there while her brother was awake.  She could hardly stand the sound of him banging his toys around and she wasn't even allowed to paint because Alexander could get into them.

Alexander may have annoyed Cassandra, but he was amazing his parents.  They noticed how quickly he picked up on his puzzle toy.  It wasn't long before he had the thing mastered.  Yet he would still sit with the puzzle for hours slipping the blocks through the holes they belong to.  Sometimes he became so focused that Bella or Mortimer had to pry him away to feed him.  Then Alexander started separating the blocks by the colors; sorting them into perfect little rows.

Mortimer was nostalgic for when his children were smaller.  They seemed to grow too fast on any given day.  He and Bella had already considered their family complete;  they gave their first child a sibling.  Yet, Mortimer didn't feel that should be the end of it.  He wanted to fill Goth Manor with the laughs of children and the memories of a large, happy family.  He knew Bella wouldn't want to have more children since her pregnancy with Cassandra was physically a struggle and her labor with Alexander put her at risk for losing a baby in the future.

Mortimer enjoyed his time at home with his children.  Cassandra's attitude had been foul since they moved the crib into her room, but she would get what she wanted eventually.  She just didn't know that.  Mortimer was enjoying his parental duties with Alexander, since he didn't have to work so hard to get Alexander to cooperate.  Alexander was too eager to learn, which was often cause for more mess than necessary.  Mortimer knew it was time to add to the family.  He had the perfect idea but he just needed Bella to be on board.

Mortimer approached Bella one weekend morning, "Bells, I think we should have more children."

"Are you serious?" she asked with doubt.  "Mortimer are you crazy?"

"Hear me out Bella..."

"Mortimer, we have two wonderful children," Bella interrupted. "They keep us very busy and our jobs are just as demanding as ever."

"I think we should adopt."  Mortimer threw the idea out there while Bella took a breath.  She stood there in stunned silence.  Mortimer wasn't asking her to be pregnant again.

"Well, it sounds like this has been on your mind awhile," Bella said. "Let's hear it then."

"There is a toddler who comes to the lab once a week," Mortimer began. "She lives in foster care and has no known parents.  She was left at the hospital as a baby because she was very sick.  Everyone's best guess is that they left her there because they couldn't afford the medical bills.  The doctors could not stop her disease from damaging her DNA and the lab was working on genetic alterations at the time.  Her cure was the first success.  Then she surpassed expectations.  It has become apparent that a side effect is a hyper-athleticism.  Her experiment is complete; with a doctor's care she just needs her medication once a day.  All that is left is to find her a home."  Bella took the whole story in.  She didn't ask for many details about her husbands job but the pride she felt was bursting at the seam.

"You would like that home to be ours?"  Bella asked.  Mortimer could only nod.  "Then let's bring our daughter home to meet her sister and brother," Bella said as a smile spread across her face.  Mortimer reached over and pulled his wife into an excited kiss.

Later that afternoon Mortimer was fielding calls between their lawyer and a social worker.  Normally adoptions would take some time, but Mortimer's personal investment in the case expedited matters.  Their lawyer had the papers in front of a judge before the day was done.  The social worker agreed to the rush since the toddler already knew and was familiar with Mortimer.  He and Bella had the weekend to prepare for their new arrival.  On Monday morning they would be welcoming a new toddler into the family.