As I stand outside the nursery door, waiting for either Amber, Poppy or Willow to start crying, I can not help but think I could really do without being on baby sitting duty today. At the moment I am feeling constantly tired, because I have only been back home for a few days, and after a hectic two weeks away and hardly any sleep, I think I'm still suffering from jet lag
I had nothing planned for today, other than popping into the vampire den to see Shadow, because this afternoon, we have a hospital appointment for our first baby scan. I really could do with some time out to relax, my head is overloaded with too many things, and I'm tired, because it feels like the hassle going on around me never stops, so I am constantly on the go!!
I thought today I would be getting a day off to chill out and spend some time with Crystal, Vanilla and Snow. Poppy I am not too bothered about, because even though Maize has now taken full custody of his daughter, Poppy has spent most of her life down here with us and Crystal is still looking after her while Maize is at work anyway, so she is always here during the day time. It is just my extra Neice and Nephew I could do without.
With very little notice, I have been given Amber and Willow to look after, because today is the day that Forrest spills his and Caramel's secrets. While Forrest is explaining everything to Bay, Fudge and Mint, Dad and Granite are explaining everything to Mosaic, Slate and Parsley. They thought it was best the two babies weren't there to interrupt things. I knew this was coming sometime this week, and that I would be on baby sitting duty while it happened, but Forrest could have picked any other day, just not today.
I chuckle to myself for a moment, wandering just how Forrest and Caramel's secrets are going to go down with everyone, especially how Bay, Fudge and Mint are going to take finding out that Forrest is their biological Father and not Alpine, and why. He told me the truth and whole story over a month ago, and I still don't think I can get my head around it.
Sunny's funeral is now over and thankfully it went without a hitch, and his secrets are still safe with just a handful of us, and all of Sunny's children were spared the heartbreak of learning the truth about him. Although Ruby could quite easily have blown it, by just suddenly storming off part way through the service, but everyone just put it down to grief. Only me, Mace, Granite and Turmeric knew it wasn't grief, she was angry knowing his secret, and Turmeric had to chase after her to calm her down and keep her quiet, to stop her blowing it all out into the open.
The day after the funeral, even though I felt guilty for leaving Crystal so soon after the service, I was jumping on a plane to Rainbow Valley with Prelude, where I have spent the past two hectic weeks, mostly working. I was able to attend Sunny's burial in Amber Valley, so that Mustard was not alone, and was also around while they found and exhumed Crystals twin sisters remains from the woods. The most amusing part for me, Sunny and Saffron's spirits came along for the ride.
River also went out to Rainbow with me, because he got his wish of getting involved in a medical capacity, he got to play the archaeologist and practice the forensic medicine that he loves so much. Mustard had to join us out there, he was coming out to Amber with Sunny's body and couldn't travel with us, in case Prelude or River picked up on anything and worked out Sunny's sordid secret. The best part about my two weeks away, I got to catch up with Denim and Pheonix, who I have really missed.
I spent most of my time in Rainbow with Rocky and Prelude, sorting out all the last minute details for our up and coming tour, that will have me away from home for three months soon, which I am really not looking forward to. Being my first tour I am already nervous and stressing myself out over it, because I really don't know what to expect, I'm just really glad that I will have Rocky there to hold my hand and show me the ropes. It makes it harder knowing that I will be away from Crystal while she is pregnant, and I have to go three whole months without seeing her, Vanilla, Snow and Shadow.
Shadow in particular is stressing me out, he really is not happy about me being away for so long, he is playing up something cronic and getting very upset, and I really don't know what to do about it. He in particular is making me feel very guilty for having the career that I do. If he wasn't a vampberry I could take him with me on my trips away, like I can sometimes take Vanilla, but it is just impossible with him.
"Where is your head at?" Crystal makes me jump, appearing suddenly.
"Nowhere. I am just stood out here waiting for the screams to start." I smile at Crystal "Three sleeping babies, but I don't know how long for. You know Amber and Poppy are teething, so I doubt they will let Willow sleep for long."
"Well instead of standing out here like a neurotic idiot, USE THE BABY MONITOR because you need to come and spend some time with your own children!! Vanilla and Snow are beginning to forget what you look like, they have seen so little of you lately." she mumbles "And you will be off again before we know it on that stupid tour!"
"Seriously Crystal, you know I can't help how busy I've been for the past three weeks, and remember I should only have been out in Rainbow for a week, but this stuff with your twin sister, had me out there an extra week."
"I know but I get fed up sometimes, you are always running around doing something that doesn't include me and the kids."
"I'm sorry ... it's my job, and I would much rather be at home most of the time, but unfortunately I have stuff to do." I smile at her "Why do you think I am rushing around so much at the moment .... to get everything done so I can take time out for when the baby comes." I laugh "The album is finished, and I have a few new singles stacked up waiting to go out, so after the "stupid tour" as you call it, you will have me for at least six months, without working interfering, there are only a few thing I can't avoid doing, and Rocky has said any new stuff that we will be working on, he will come here to do it, while I'm on maternity leave." I smirk at her
"Yeah, we'll see." she laughs sarcastically
"You haven't forgot the baby scan this afternoon have you?"
"Like I can forget, when you remind me every day, a hundred times a day!" I laugh at her "I didn't plan to do anything at all today, but Forrest did warn us that they couldn't predict which day they would do it, because of Alpines rocky head."
"What are we going to do if they haven't finished in time for our appointment?" she frowns at me "River and Winter are at work and we can't expect Saffron and Atlas to look after Amber and Willow as well as our two, Ocean and Poppy."
"Why not - we do." I laugh at her "Don't panic, if the worst comes to the worst, we will just have to drop Amber and Willow off with Slate and Mo, whether they have finished or not. I've already warned Granite we have an appointment and can only have them till dinner time."
"Where are all our spirits today, I haven't seen any of them, not even Glimmer."
"They are probably at Caramels, watching Forrest drop his bomb. I know Storm is worried about Bay, and Cos is worried about Alpine, so I expect Sunny, Cos, Storm and Saffy are there. I'm not sure about Glimmer though, I haven't seen her for a few days." I frown at her "Talking about the faded, have you and your Mother decided where you are having your sister buried, because the police have told River they will be releasing the remains soon."
"Yeah, we think probably here?"
"Why here?" I frown at her "I expected you to put her where her grave is, with Sunny and Saffy."
"It's not easy going out to Amber Meadow is it, especially not for Mom. There are too many bad memories for her there." she smiles at me "It is bad enough that Sunny is buried out there and none of the Shines can go to visit his real grave, besides I would rather have her close, so here is the best place."
"Okay, well you will have to talk to River, burials is something I've never had to organise and I don't have the foggiest clue where to start, he said he would help you get all that sorted out."
"Crimson said he'd help me too." she smiles at me
"Good, it gives me one less thing to worry about." I smile at her "Where is your Mom anyway."
"You might guess ... with your purple Granddad." she sniggers
"Please tell me they are ... NOT!"
"No silly!! I think they are too old for all that!" she sniggers "While you was away, they rediscovered their love for playing crib."
"Crib?" I frown at her
"It's an old peoples card game, your Granddad said the young ones don't play any card games these days, especially not cribbage, because they are too busy on their phones and the internet." she starts laughing "Your Muffin Grandparents play with them sometimes, and Shale. Some days it's looked like we are running an old peoples home down here, as well as a cresh!" she starts really laughing and I can't help but laugh with her. "Mom and Grape, have been spending most of their time together playing cards and talking about the old days."
"Yeah, I noticed, he seems to be a lot happier and more active since your Mom has been here."
"Your Dad says its an old people thing ... they keep each other company and they are on the same wave length - they are both stuck in the past." she laughs
"So who is actually watching the kids right now?"
"Don't panic!! They are not on their own, Scarlet is here, she came while you was in the nursery getting Amber to sleep."
Crystal mentioning Scarlet sends a cold chill of dread through me. Her baby is due any time now, and I really need to speak to my Dad about it, before the unstoppable bomb drops, which will causes total chaos in the extended family. At least Dad can be pre-warned because no doubt he will be the one having to sort the aftermath out.
Crystal has become quite close very quickly, to all her Shine Neices and Nephews, all except for Strawberry. Scarlet and Saffron she is particularly close to, and I am not looking forward to what is coming. Scarlet finding out she is not Sunny's daughter means that Crystal is not technically related to her - which I know is going to be very hard for them to take, especially Crystal.
Just as we start to make our way into the living room where Vanilla, Snow and Ocean are playing, my phone starts to ring, and I just answer the call straight away. Crystal rolls her eyes and carries on without me.
"Tap what are you doing?" My Dad, barks at me down the phone
"You know what I'm doing - I'm at home looking after Amber and Willow."
"Good! Take Amber and Willow back to Mo and Slate ..." he seems to be flapping
"Seriously!! I have only just got them off to sleep." I tut at him "I thought Mo and Slate were collecting them when it was finished."
"Well things have changed. Wake them up, drop them off at Forrest's with their Dad's, then come to the hospital, I need you to bring me my glasses, and hurry up."
"Why are you at the hospital - I thought you had the day off."
"Yeah so did I ... they have just rushed Forrest in with a head injury."
"Is it bad?"
"Look Tap just hurry up, I don't have time to talk - I'm needed in theatre ... and DON'T FORGET my glasses!!"
The call cuts off suddenly. I can't help but just stand and stare at my phone for a minute - he is needed in theatre, so does that mean it is bad enough for Forrest to be going into theatre?!
Crystal is seriously not going to be happy that I have to go out again.
I walk into the Neurology department, still a little worried by the phone call that I received from my Dad, not too long ago. After getting earache off Crystal for going out again, like I expected, I dropped Willow and Amber off with their Dad's at Forrest's house. To stop him from phoning me, I had to make a painful call to Shadow to tell him that I could not get in to see him until later tonight, which didn't go down too well with him.
My mind is now troubled. Dad wanting his glasses, generally only means one of two things, there is something wrong with his contacts, or he needs to cry. Seeing as he told me they have just rushed Forrest in and possibly into theatre ... I take it he is upset and if he needs a cry, that really worries me, because Dad doesn't cry easily. Dad has always been very close to Forrest, he is one of his oldest friends.
I know that Forrest joked that he would probably end up in the hospital today, he predicted that Bay might knock him out, once he learns the truth about Forrest being his biological Father, but I never expected his prediction to actually happen. I don't know how Forrest has managed to get his head injury, or why he might have been rushed into surgery, because Dad didn't really say, it was just one of his quick sharp phone calls barking out his orders, which generally annoy me.
As I walk through the double doors I spot Granite, literally curled up on one of the couches in the corridor, and he is really crying, which makes my blood run cold ... now I really am worried. I suddenly get the feeling that I might be walking it to some bad and horrible news.
"Hey!" I say quietly as I stare down at Granite
"Tap!" he mumbles as he opens his eyes and stares up at me
"Forrest is okay isn't he?"
"Yeah he is better than we expected." he mumbles as he sits up wiping his face. I can see he is very embarrassed, by me walking in on him crying.
"Are you okay?" I smile at him as I sit down
"Ignore me, it was Leafy, he just really scared the hell out of both me and your Dad for a while!!" he mumbles "He had a few too many seizures, a slight bleed which we sorted out in theatre and he is suffering from severe concussion. Hopefully he should be fine."
"So why are you crying? You gave me a right scare when I saw you lying there like that!"
"I'm sorry, nobody was supposed to see me." he rolls his eyes in embarrassment "To be honest, I am not really sure why I just cracked up ... relief I guess. My head is already all over the place at the moment, with Mace's trail only weeks away, I am not coping with just the thought of Mace being locked up for time and us being apart. Then Leafy goes and does this and I just had visions of losing both of them, and I don't think I could cope with that and stay sane and sober!"
"So what happened? How did he get his head injury." I frown at him "Bay didn't thump him, like Forrest predicted did he?"
"Hell no!!" he laughs for a moment "You know about his pedophobia don't you?"
"Yeah, his child phobia" I nod
"Talking about his phobia to the kids made him pretty anxious, and Caramel is pregnant again, and Leafy had a freak out knowing he has more babies on the way, and another thirteen years of hell in front of him. She is having twins and mentally he is struggle to cope with it, so he had a panic attack and passed out. On the way down he bounced his head off the table pretty hard, then off the floor."
I start laughing and Granite frowns at me
"I'm sorry!! I wasn't laughing at Forrest hurting himself!! It is you saying Caramel is pregnant ... wait till Mom hears about it, it is going to set her off again and she is going to start giving Dad hell again ... she has only just shut up about wanting another baby!!" I laugh "He has only just convinced her that she is too old to be having more babies now, and if Caramel is doing it, she will think she can too."
"Yeah I know!" he laughs "Your Dad said exactly the same thing!! He even said he thinks it is time for him to have the snip to shut your Mother up permanently." we both sit laughing for a moment.
"I seriously can't get my head around Forrest's phobia. He tried to explain it to me, but it's all too much for my stupid head!!"
"Basically it is just like any other phobia. Spiders, heights, needles, blood ect. Most people have a phobia and there is generally a reason behind it. Put a tiny spider in front of most people and they are irrationally scared stiff of it. In Leafy's case, he has issues from his childhood that have scared him mentally, which has given him an irrational fear of children. Leafy just reacts to children like most people do to spiders."
"That is the bit that I do get, it is Forrest having the phobia that I don't understand." I roll my eyes at him "Do you know why I can't get my head around it ... Sandy Shores."
"Oh Tap if only you knew what was going in when you weren't looking!!" he starts to laugh "Leafy was crawling the walls in the bedroom having Vanilla there. The first night when she kept crying, Leafy literally climbed out of the bedroom window and went and sat down on the beach where he couldn't hear her crying." he starts laughing "I cleaned up so much puke over those two days, it beats me how you never smelt it!! Me keep dragging him into the bedroom, wasn't for sex like I was making out, it was because I could see he was starting to wobble, it was to get him away from you so he could have his melt down in private." he smiles at me "It is just a good job you found Snow after we left, or he might have just given the game away ... one child he can deal with just about, two, he has no chance."
"You should have told me!!"
"We couldn't, he has always been very scared that the more people that knew the more likely his big secret would get out ... not only has he always been very embarrassed and ashamed of his phobia, he has always been terrified of Bay, Fudge and Mint being screwed up by him and his erratic behaviour caused by the phobia." he rolls his eyes "He only told you when he did because he was scared you would say something about catching him and Mel together, and it would all blow up, and the kids would get hurt ... he has always broke his neck to protect those kids."
"Why has it taken them so long to tell Bay, Fudge and Mint the truth, if he has been okay with them since they were teenagers?" I frown at him
"Between you and me, Leafy has been nagging Mel for the last six years to tell them the truth and she wouldn't do it, scared of what they might think or how they would react, that is why it has taken so long to come out." he laughs "If the truth be told, it is only happening now on Mel's behalf, because she's had no choice because of the trial. Forrest is expecting Gravel to blurt the truth out to the kids in court out of spite, Leafy told her he was doing it now with or without her blessing, if you ask me he should have put his foot down with her six years ago!!
"Why did you invite me to stay out in Sandy Shores - if you knew Vanilla was going to upset him?"
"To be honest Tap, I wasn't thinking at the time. It was actually Forrest's idea about you being able to pretty much hide out from your fame and the world at the beach house because of the private beach. When I heard you moaning about being hounded everywhere you went outside of Sugar Valley, and how you would love to take Crystal and Vanilla on vacation ... it reminded me about what Leafy had said, so I asked." he laugh "Don't worry yourself or feel guilty, it was my fault, I was the one who put him through that. We actually laugh about it now, his cat flap in the wall, the window, he flew out of it so often, it was very comical, especially from where I was standing."
"Surely this phobia can be cured?"
"Not always, Forrest needs to deal with his psychological issues, which he hasn't been able to do so far." he rolls his eyes "Now if we could wipe his memory of his childhood, then he might stand a chance of getting over it." he laughs jokingly "Unfortunately we don't have that power, and I wouldn't wish amnesia on anyone, but for Forrest right now, with Mel being pregnant, and expecting twins, it might just be his only cure, and I doubt he hit his head hard enough to cause any permanent damage, even with the bleed."
I stare at him for a moment, thinking about what he has just said.
"I thought you was looking after your Neice and Nephew." he frowns at me
"Yeah I was. I dropped Willow and Amber off at yours on the way here, even I'm not stupid enough to bring babies into see Forrest." we both laugh for a moment "Dad asked me to bring his glasses in."
"Oh yeah, he's a little blind and one eyed at the moment!" he laughs "Forrest had a few seizures before we got him into theatre, and in the commotion your Dad got a thump in the face and lost one of his contacts. So don't be surprised if he gets a black eye."
"So how did the confession actually go?"
"Okay, I think. Bay, Fudge and Mint are still a little shocked about Leafy being straight more than anything." he laughs "None of them have kicked off or said anything, and they can't have taken it too badly because they are all sat in his room with him now he has come out of theatre."
"Can I ask you something ... tell me to sod off and mind my own business if you want to ... but why the hell did you two get married if he's straight and you are gay?"
"We thought we loved each other, we had been together since we were toddlers, and mistook emotional attachment for love. Well I know I did, Leafy is still adamant he loved me, but he is still kidding himself. After twenty years, it is pretty obvious he loves Mel, he just doesn't realise it himself yet, like it took me five years to realise I love Mace, because we were too busy holding onto each other to see anything else, our emotional attachment has blinded both of us, and I needed to come back for us both to see the truth. Forrest is just taking a little longer to get there because his head is screwed up." he laughs "When we were teenagers Leafy tried to play gay to keep me, which is what has screwed him up so much, to cut a long story short, it is basically me and my fault he has the phobia." he grins at me "So now you know!!"
"Aren't you worried that Slate might be doing the same thing with Bay?"
"Of course!! At first, me and Leafy were terrified that he was attaching himself to Bay for all the wrong reason and that he would mess himself up trying to play gay, just like Leafy did. If it all went wrong, Bay would have been just as messed up as Slate, it would have broken him, I think you know he's always loved Slate." he grins at me "But luckily it seems to be working out for them, and neither of us are worried about them any more. Slate has obviously always had it in him, to be bisexual and he didn't realise it." he starts laughing "You would think Slate is the gay one how often he jumps on Bay." we both sit laughing "He has had no struggle at all thankfully!!"
"So is Bay okay? How has he taken Forrest being his Dad?"
"I'm not sure, he's been very quiet. Forrest is expecting it to affect him the most, so we just need to keep an eye on him, to make sure he doesn't go down again like he did when Slate was on life support. Mint seems the least bothered by it, I secretly thinks she is happy that Forrest has turned out to be her creator, because finally she knows who she looks like." he laughs "Fudge I really can't tell, but Mel thinks it will upset her the most as far as Alpine is concerned, because she has always been the closest one to Alpine."
"How is Alpine?"
"He got upset. Coal is at home sitting with him, we thought it best if he didn't come to the hospital, just in case he became unhinged, we already have enough to deal with, and he was already starting to rock and roll." he frowns at me suddenly "Alpine kept saying the strangest thing .... he said Sunny, Cosmic, Storm and another ghost were there, waiting for Forrest. He actually lost it at one point saying Forrest had faded and they had come to collect him. He freaked Bay right out, because he kept talking about Storm!! he starts howling "Caramel says he thinks he can see your ghosts."
"He can. Storm and Cosmic have told me Alpine has started seeing them lately ... since Cinnamons funeral, but he can't hear them like I can." I laugh back at him "And they were at Forrest's today, Sunny, Cosmic, Storm and Saffy, Sunny's twin brother .... they were being nosey, but Storm was worrying about Bay."
"Seriously Tap!" he frowns at me "I know I've been told you think you can see ghosts, but really, do you expect me to believe not only do you see them, you speak to them too!" he starts to almost howl.
"Yeah." I smirk at him
"I'm sorry Tap ... ghosts are something I can't believe in! They are not real and you will never be able to convince me otherwise!" he is laughing
I think about something that Sunny has been nagging me to do for him, which involves not only Mustard, but Granite and Mace too. There is no way that I can do what Sunny wants, without first convincing them that spirits are actually real and he is still here.
"They are very real to me, and they don't like being called ghosts ... they are spirits!!" I smile at him as he sniggers. "I've already had Forrest pecking my head over it, because he has started to believe that me and Alpine are seeing them, because we are seeing the same spirits. Also because I see and talk to Cosmic, and everyone will tell you Cosmic faded before I was even born, so I couldn't know him unless I am seeing him now in spirit form - which I am."
"So come on then, what do these
"They look exactly how they did when they were alive, except for they are transparent and bright and they talk to me just how they always have, just like I'm talking to you now." I smirk at him "I haven't lost Storm or Sunny even though they have faded, because for me, they are still here like they always have been, only they are now in the spirit world. Although they do annoy me sometimes, they are always coming through walls and making me jump, or invading my privacy." I laugh "and they are very good at telling me about things that I would rather not know, things that only they see."
"Like what?!"
"Like peoples secrets ... I knew about Caramel and Forrest before I even caught them, because Storm told me, the spirits didn't tell me about the kids being Forrest's because they didn't think I could take it, but Cos has been watching them for years, making sure Alpine wasn't being abused by the situation. All of Sunny's shit, I lied, he didn't tell me while he was alive, he only told me after he faded, because he needed me to clean his shit up, which you and Mace helped with." I smile at him "Cosmic has known for years that your Dad's grave was fake, there are no bones buried there ... spirits can tell these things."
"Get out of here, you are pulling my leg aren't you!!" he starts laughing at me
"No!" I smirk at him "Some one went to the cemetery yesterday, to put flowers on his Mother's, baby brothers and Sisters graves. He apologized to his Sister, because he feels guilty that she has been hurting these past five years while Mace was with him, even though he didn't have a clue who Mace was and especially not who he was married to." I laugh as his eyes widen. "Then he sneaked off to Sugar Falls to buy an expensive engagement ring ... didn't you Granite."
"What!?" he looks confused "Somebody was listening, and saw me?"
"Only Sunny." I smile at him "I didn't even know you had a baby brother called Slate buried in that graveyard until Sunny told me. Sunny watched you visiting Tami's grave then he followed you, he took a ride with you to Sugar Falls. He was with you for half the day because he was suspicious, he knew you fibbed to Mace, when you told him you was going to Raspberry for a few hours to see Meadow, when he'd seen Meadow here in Sugar with Alpine at Forests, and he heard you sneaking a call to Meadow asking her to cover for you, when you was sat in the car."
"Sod off ...." he frowns at me
"Well it's true isn't it?" I smirk at him
"Yeah." he mumbles quietly as he nods sheepishly
"Sunny said you drove straight over to Sugar Falls, you went into McBerry's for just fries and coffee, he was amused by how much ketchup you used and that you kept laughing to yourself."
"Yeah, because if Mace had been there he was have been moaning at both the fries and the ketchup." he laughs quietly
"Then you went into half a dozen different jewellers before you finally found the ring you wanted. You kept looking at the wedding rings too didn't you, and asked about having your names engraved on the inside of the rings .. which amused Sunny no end, because he didn't realise you was the romantic type." I laugh at him as he rolls his eyes at me "I can even tell you where you have hidden the engagement ring."
"No you can't!!" he starts laughing at me
"Oh yes I can, Mace is never going to find it upstairs is he." I laugh at him
"You have hidden it in the corner of one of the bedrooms upstairs, Atlas and Saffy's room ... you have got a really clever hidey hole haven't you!!" I laugh at him as his eyes nearly pop out of his head "You moved a cupboard, pulled back the carpet, lifted a lose floorboard, where you have a metal buscuit tin hidden. How would I know that when you locked the door and was totally alone in the room ... only a spirit could have seen you." I smile at him
"This is nutz!!" he is staring at me wide eyed
"Sunny said you sat laughing hysterically for ages when you lifted the tin lid and found a full bottle of vodka and a stash of drugs still in the tin. He said you called Forrest a twat out loud, for never finding your stash or hidey hole over the past 20 years." I raise my eyebrows "It is worrying that you left the booze and drugs in the tin and didn't get rid of them!"
"What the hell!!" he chokes "I honestly don't have any intention of touching either the drugs or booze ... I did not leave them there because I wanted to, I had to."
"You heard Atlas and Saffron coming up the stairs." I smirk at him "Yeah, Sunny said you only just got everything back in place and unlocked the door, before they walked in, and you pretended you was getting their dirty washing." I grin at him "You got a splinter in your finger from the floorboard in your rush to put it back didn't you."
"Yeah I bloody did!" he holds his finger up to show me "This is crazy!!"
"Next time you go in your hidey hole, you won't find the vodka or drugs ... Sunny got rid of them, to stop you from getting tempted!" I laugh at him "After 20 years he thought they might blow your brains out and you will mess yourself up if you even tried either of them, and he wasn't going to leave them there for you to do it to yourself."
"Yeah right, I was just starting to fall for it then .." he laughs at me "Like Sunny would give a shit about me, he hated me, he would probably be hoping that I take the drugs and booze, not save me from them."
"He didn't hate you, he was jealous of you openly being who you should be - gay. That was a big part of his problem, he stupidly backed himself into a corner when he was a teenager pretending he was straight at the boarding school so that he didn't get bullied for being gay, like he was at the school in Amber Meadow, and he hated the life that he created for himself in his stupidity, that he couldn't get out of. He got Ruby pregnant and it just spiralled out of control He lashed out at you gay guys, because he hated himself for having to live the lie, even though he knew it was his own fault, and his homophobic act was to drive the temptation away, especially your cute face." I snigger "He hasn't admitted it to me, but I swear he fancied you in particular."
"Sod off, Mace has said exactly the same thing!!" he chokes
"Sunny wasn't happy about you being Tami's brother, especially because of what he watched her go through while Mace was missing and with you, and he's admitted he put his guard up with you straight away because of you being Gravel's brother, and he though you would be a berry hole just like him ..." I grin at him "He's told me, he is watching you very carefully, because if you ever hurt his mate Mace, you will literally be feeling his hands around your throat ... and because of Mace, he is looking out for you, because he knows what losing you would do to Mace."
I start to laugh at the expression on his face. He is just sitting there saying nothing, but I can tell I've messed his head up with it, and he is thinking about it.
"Go and check your stash, when you see it's not there, think about what I have said, then come and tell me ghosts aren't real! And if you want real proof that spirits are real, I can give it you." I smile at him "Oh, and Sunny has left you something in place of your stash, he says you will enjoy that a lot more ... something only you and Mace know about apparently!" I smirk at him.
"Like what?" he frowns at me
"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me he just kept laughing." I laugh at him "Maybe you can tell me, when you know what he's left you." I stand up "I had better go and give Dad his glasses before he starts having a tantrum."
I walk off howling with laughter at the look of sheer shock and confusion on his face.
I walk into Dads office, still laughing quietly to myself. I am amused to see, that Dad isn't sat behind his desk like normal, he is lying on the examination couch with this hand over his eyes, like he is taking a nap.
"Wakey Wakey Dr Muffin!!" I shout quiet loudly and he jumps up like a startled rabbit.
"Tap seriously!!" he frowns at me before he starts laughing
"I finally caught you slacking at work!" I start to laugh at him
"As if!! Anyway technically I am on a day off today." he laughs "I'm just getting a headache ... it's been one of those days!!" he mumbles
"Yeah, I hear Forrest has thumped you, so its not surprising that you are getting a headache!" I laugh at Dad as I hand him his glasses. He frowns at me "Granite told me, you might be getting a black eye because Forrest thumped you."
"He didn't exactly thump me!" he laughs "It was more a case of me being too close when he started having a seizure, I didn't move quickly enough, and he head butted me in the face."
"He is going to be okay isn't he?"
"Hopefully!! He is stable now, and we are just waiting to wake him up, to know for sure, but it might be a few days before we can do that yet?"
"Why?"
"He has given himself severe concussion, as well as had a bleed on the brain. His brain activity is a little erratic at the moment, so we are just keeping him under and waiting for it to get back to normal ... it helps to prevent any long term damage."
Dad puts on his glasses and makes his way to his desk and sits down, so I automatically sit in one of the chairs opposite him. I can't help but think he looks rough and a little droopy eyed like he has also been crying like Granite.
I wander for a moment if I should pre warn him now about Scarlet's real Father, while I have the chance and we are alone. I know that is a conversation that I really need to have with him now, because Cinnamon and Scarlet's baby is due any time now ... but I am not sure how to even start that conversations with him.
"What took you so long to get here anyway? I was beginning to think you had been distracted, wandered off and forgotten."
"I've actually been here for quite a while, I was sitting with Granite out in the corridor talking, he was very upset when I walked in."
"I'm not surprised, it got a little hairy there for a while." he mumbles. "Forrest scared both of us because of how many seizures he was having."
"Granite said something to me that has got me thinking."
"You be careful you don't give yourself a headache!" he laughs
"Funny!" I laugh at him "This phobia of Forrest's ... I might be able to cure it."
"And how on earth do you think you are going to do that?!" his eyebrows raise then he starts having hysterics.
"Dad I'm being serious!! Granite said - if he didn't remember his childhood and the things that are screwing him up - then he wouldn't have a problem which would cure the phobia." I smirk at him "I can do that ... wipe his memory." he laughs for a moment then stops. "Let me try!"
"Tap I really don't think ..."
"Why not?! It's worth a try isn't it!! What harm will it do if I wipe away his childhood memories, they are only causing him grief by them being there. It will only be like he has amnesia like Mom, and you have said yourself in some ways it has been a blessing because she can not remember the bad things that really upset her ... like her childhood and how Prelude and her parents treated her, Cosmic and the baby fading ..."
"That is all well and good, but as you know Tapestry, this vampberry brain wiping is not all that Jazz cracks it up to be .... Crystal is the perfect example of that!"
"Yeah I know and that River remembered things too that had been wiped away, but the memories only come back in dreams and a lot of the time they were jumbled up with other stuff, and they both just dismissed them as being wacky dreams, they never believed they were a memory. We all have bad and wacky dreams, even when we haven't been memory wiped." I smile at him "There is still a hell of a lot that Crystal does not remember, like she still doesn't have a clue how she got here from Rainbow. A lot of the stuff she will never know about, unless I tell her or let her see it through my eyes."
"No, its not ethical, it's a stupid idea Tap." he laughs
"Is it .... stuff ethics!! There is nothing ethical about me or my unusual abilities is there."
"I'm surprised you even know what that word means!"
"Shadow has decided to educate me - so my vocabulary is growing." I grin at him "You only think its right to cut him open or ram medication down his throat to cure him ... well I've got a much better way to cure him, which will take seconds to do, and it won't hurt him."
"Oh I don't know .... as a doctor, me letting you do it, just seems ..."
"Unethical ... I know!" I laugh at him sarcastically "Which is kind of hysterical you saying that when you've let Jazz mess in your head ... and all the stuff that you have done and taken part in to cover up my abduction, Honey, Shadow and our cold friends with fangs!!" he just sits chuckling to himself for a moment
"Tell me something, did you once think or believe that Shadow or Honey were alive after you had your brain wiped up until the night I walked into the den and you had to be reminded that they were still here?"
"No I believed the lies that Jazz planted in there, that they were burried in the cemetery ..."
"Well then, so isn't it worth me wiping Forrests childhood memories to cure his phobia."
"Don't think for one minute that I'm going to let you mess in his head ... he has just had brain surgery!!" I laugh at him
"Seriously I think you know me wiping his childhood memories is not going to make him retarded even if he has just had surgery!" I laugh at him "Otherwise you, River, Winter, Mulberry, Ice and Crystal would all be basket cases now!!"
"Funny Tap!!" he laughs at me
"You need to speak to Daddy clone, and see what he thinks, I bet he will be all for it!!" I laugh at him "I could do it before you wake him up, then it will be just like he has woken up with amnesia, because of the bang on the head." I grin at him "Will you be able to live with yourself if you have to sit and watch him struggling mentally with the new babies, when we might be able to cure his phobia, but you didn't even try!!"
"Get you, when did you start to think logically and be so sensible!" he laughs at me "It's a shame you don't operate in sensible mode all the time, because I know you still have lapses. Sometimes I wander if the vampberries didn't mess in your head while you was away ... how different you are now."
"They can't get in my head remember, only Shadow." I grin at him "Besides while I was away, Daddy Clone didn't wrap me in cotton wool and suffocate me like you do, it helped my brain grow."
"Stop calling him Daddy Clone!!" he laughs at me as he wags his finger at me "Your brain hasn't grown enough for you to understand that smoking is bad for your health, especially your throat and vocal cords!! And this is what I meant by your lapses in being sensible, because don't think I don't know you are still smoking on the sly!"
"Oh I understand its bad for me .... but what you don't seem to understand, it is something I have to do!! I get ribbed enough for being too squeaky clean for a Rock Star, when I'm at work, because I don't drink, do drugs or shag every fit woman that throws herself at me ... " I laugh at him as his face twists up probably because I've said the word shag. "The old me would have been doing all of it, so you are very lucky he still isn't here anymore ... and smoking is the lesser of the three evils in my book, and it keeps them off my back ... it is not like I am smoking all the time, especially when I'm home ... its only when I'm mega stressed out or when I'm out working at one of the parties!!"
"Well you need to stop!!"
"Yeah like Coral needs to stop pretending she doesn't have two babies, like she needs to get a job and quit sponging of me and you, like she needs to stop shagging every man in town, but I don't see you on her back!!" I snap at him
"I'm dealing with your sister!" he mumbles and I just laugh at him
"Anyway, what would you rather I do instead of smoking, drink on my meds, get off my head on drugs or sleep around, like all the others do, cheating on their wives and girlfriends, catching STD's off the dirty tramps, like Coral and Straw?" I snigger
"You don't have to be doing any of it, just because they pressure you into it!! Rocky doesn't!" he smiles at me, and I can't help but laugh
"Doesn't he." I laugh at him "Okay so he doesn't smoke, and is very faithful to Lacey, however when he's out working he does drink and occasionally does drugs ..." I watch his eyebrows almost launch off his face "He is a Rock Star, it comes with the territory, even Grumpy Grape gets stoned from time to time and he's older than you." I laugh at him "Maybe I should take you to one of these parties, that generally turn into drug and alcohol fuelled orgies ... then you might just give me credit for what I am not doing rather than you jumping on my back for what I am doing ... smoking OCCASSIONALLY to fit in for a quiet life!!"
"What drugs?" he frowns at me "What drugs is Rocky doing?"
"Coke and weed, OCCASIONALLY." I regret even telling him now. "He's not like most of the others, like Blaze for instance, who is permanently off his head on something. Rocky only does it at the parties and not always, and when he does it, it is done in moderations, he never gets off his face."
"So how OCCASIONALLY are you doing coke and weed?"
"I don't do it at all!" I grin at him
"Yeah, like I believe that!!"
"Ask Prelude, I don't touch the stuff!!" I smirk at him "It doesn't react well with my meds, and I know because I have already learnt that lesson. I did the booze, coke and weed years ago, when I was a kid, before I even thought about being a rock star ... " his eyebrows nearly fly off his face again
"WHAT!?" he snaps
"Oh if only you knew what me and Storm used to get up to when we were kids" I start laughing at the expression on his face.
"What about Coral and Mo?" he frowns at me "Were they doing it too?"
"That's up to them to tell you." I smirk at him "I don't run telling tales on them like they did me."
"Where did you get it from?"
"Dodgy Swan ... surely you knew he was dealing to all the kids?"
"Hell no!! The adults yes, but not the kids!!" he squints at me suspiciously "So who is dealing in this town now he has been locked up?"
"I seriously don't have a clue as I don't do it any more!!" I laugh at him, probably trying to catch me out with his question. "Don't stress, I honestly have not touched any of that shit since Storm faded, and I don't intend to in the future ... on my life!!"
"Yeah, and I wander if you would be sat here saying that if you hadn't been abducted, had space away from me where you grew your brain, like you reckon." he laughs sarcastically
"So, what about Prelude?" he frowns at me
"What about him?" I laugh
"What does Prelude get up to at these parties that you Rock Stars go to?" he frowns at me "I've never been too comfortable about you two being out there in that environment, you are both way too easily led."
"The old Tapestry and Prelude were easily led." I smirk at him "He is constantly nagging me to quit smoking too, so don't stress!" I laugh at him "He isn't drinking if that is what is worrying you ... I think what happened to his Dad and Slate because of alcohol totally woke him up on that score, besides El would batter him!!"
My phone starts ringing which saves me from the rest of the conversation. I can't believe he hasn't gone off on one at me for admitting I was a naughty boy when I was younger.
"Tap where are you?" Crystal
"Still at the hospital talking to Dad."
"We have the baby scan in an hour, we are going to be late!!" she snaps at me
"Stop stressing, we have an hour still, so we won't be late!! I'm coming now." I laugh at her "Get the kids ready, so we can just drop them straight off with Saffron."
"There is no need, Saffron and Atlas are here. Turmeric is kicking off over something apparently, and Shale thought it best if they watched the kids here."
"Okay, well I'll be back in a bit."
"Yeah, make sure you are, and don't go wandering off anywhere and forgetting."
"Like you will let me forget!" I laugh at her.
I laugh as I close my phone and stuff it back into my pocket. Crystal has been working herself up into an excited tizzy over the baby scan for weeks, I will just be glad when it is over and done with now, then she might calm down a little.
"I've got to go Crystal is stressing." I laugh at Dad "You are still coming aren't you?"
"Coming where?" he frowns at me
"The baby scan."
"Oh fudge!! The scan slipped my mind with everything that has been happening today." he pulls a face, then smiles. "Yes, of course I'll be there." he smiles at me
"The appointments at 2.30pm ... so I'll see you there." I smile at him
"I'll just check on Forrest, then I'll go down to maternity and wait for you. he smiles
"And don't forget to have a think about Forrest getting amnesia." I smirk at him
"Okay ... I'll think about it." he mumbles
I laugh as I leave his office, doubting he will let me wipe away Forrest's memory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
