Minty Fresh Breath and a Fresh Start.

"Mica this is Blake and Blake this is Mica", Elizabeth cooed to her two youngest children. It was only 9:00 a.m. on Monday, but Elizabeth was already quite exhausted. Let's just say that Mica was not as happy about the family's new addition as Elizabeth was. "Mica come on, he is your brother", Elizabeth pleaded right before Blake let out an adorable giggle, "See he likes you!" "No Ma!" Mica wailed before looking away from Blake. "This should be fun", Elizabeth sighed before awkwardly helping Mica out of her crib. This task proved to be much more difficult than Elizabeth thought it would be; especially considering she was holding a new born infant in one arm and a very grumpy toddler in the other.

Eventually though, after much stopping for breaths and uncomfortable repositioning, Elizabeth managed to get Mica happily rocking on her rocking horse.  "Now Mica, you know I love you, but you are making everything much more difficult by giving Blake the cold shoulder. He does love you", Elizabeth stated while nodding to add emphasis. Mica could have cared less if Elizabeth had sung her request while wearing a bear costume; she was not going to look at her little brother. She, in fact, was looking everywhere possible... Everywhere except at Elizabeth and Blake.

After a minute or two of Elizabeth trying to reason with her stubborn daughter she just gave up, "You sure are like me. Once you set your mind to something you just don't let it go". Elizabeth had already laid Blake in his stroller and was going to fix her two angels bottles when she heard the playpen door creak open.

Elizabeth looked just in time to catch Mica sprinting out of the playpen while screaming, "Mama. Mama!" Elizabeth smiled while wondering how on earth Mica had managed to get off of her rocking horse without hurting herself. "Mama", Mica finally giggled when Elizabeth picked her up. "Oh, so now you want me to hold you", Elizabeth said through a grin just before kissing her on the head. Elizabeth wished so much that she could stay frozen in time with just her and her beautiful children, but she had something that she wanted to do that day. So she wrapped her arms around Mica and gave her a tight bear hug, and then she walked into the library.

"Hey Mom", Ryan said over his shoulder while turning to a new page in his textbook. Now mind you Elizabeth did not like for her children to miss school, but Ryan was a Genius and could learn at home just as well as he could at school. "How much more work do you have to do?" Elizabeth asked while crossing her fingers behind her back. "I'm actually done", Ryan said with a huge grin while shutting his book, "Why do you ask?" Elizabeth was mentally smiling, but physically she was giving her eldest child her best puppy dog eyes. "Do you think maybe you could watch Mica and Blake for a while?" Elizabeth said while adding just enough pleading in her voice to get what she wanted, but not enough to sound desperate. Ryan looked at his mom for a few minutes with a serious expression before bursting out in an uncontrollable fit of laughter. Elizabeth dropped the charade then and put on her best serious face... Which was a hard task because at the moment the usually "Mr. Serious" was laughing so hard that he was crying. "What?" Elizabeth asked after Ryan's chuckles started to die down. "You looked just like Calista does when she tries to talk her way out of being in time out", Ryan said while breathing deeply and trying to calm himself. Elizabeth smiled and remembered the many times that Calista pleaded with Elizabeth after being put into time out. "Anyways, yes I will watch the babies", Ryan said while putting on his "Mr. Serious" act again. "Thank you", Elizabeth said while following Ryan out of the library and into the living room, "I will only be a while, but those two still haven't eaten breakfast. I am pretty sure there are two bottles in the fridge." "Okay Mom. I love you", Ryan said as Elizabeth was shutting the front door behind her. "Love you too, Ryan", Elizabeth smiled while walking out into the early morning breeze.

Elizabeth thought it felt so good to finally get out of the house. Sure, she loved her house, but after a while she started to feel Stir crazy. I mean who would not feel a little cooped up? She only left the house to either conceive a baby or to give birth to a baby. So she decided that it was okay, and took a personal day. Of course Elizabeth went to the spa; it was the most relaxing place she could think of. Elizabeth was right too. It was so relaxing, in fact, that she did not even notice when the clock on the wall went from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile back at the House:

 "One second!" Ryan called out when he heard a knock at the front door. He had just put Mica in her high chair with a bottle, and was about to go to see who had knocked, when Blake let out a pitiful wail from the living room; thus telling Ryan that his nap was over. Ryan then sprinted to Blake's side and scooped him into his arms just before stubbing his toe on the hard metal of the crib. Usually it was a walk in the park to baby sit his younger siblings, but since Mica still wanted nothing to do with Blake; his walk in the park turned into tying to paddle a canoe against a river's current. Ryan took a deep breath and simply called out, "On second thought, why don't you just come in?"

Ryan went and laid Blake on a blanket on the floor and surrounded him with pillows. Close enough to protect him, but not close enough for him to suffocate on. Then he went to see who the mystery guest was. "Hello?" the stranger called just before cautiously stepping into the house. "Hi", Ryan said as he walked around the corner and into sight, "Sorry about that. The kids are a little bit crankier then usual". "It is alright", the stranger said while softly laughing, "Trust me I understand". Ryan was a little taken back by the warmth and kindness that the stranger let show in her voice, because it kind of reminded him of... of his mom. Though that thought made Ryan speechless he quickly regained his train of thought, and like a true gentleman said, "I am sorry, how rude of me, but I did not catch your name".

"Oh!" the stranger said as she threw her hands up in shock, "How silly of me. I am Cadence Sierra!" As soon as those words met Ryan's ears he was left breathless. "Oh my gosh! Cadence Sierra is right in front of me! I could touch her right now if I wanted too... Wait, no. That would be creepy. It truly is Cadence though! She is a 100 Baby Challenge mother!" Ryan was thinking frantically while racking his brain for something to say to this legend. Ryan and his mother did not always talk about the challenge, but Ryan knew enough to know that Cadence was the whole reason his mom wanted to start the challenge. Without her his mom would not have even heard about the challenge, and that means that Ryan would not be here today. Ryan was slowly starting to hyperventilate as he said, "Nice to meet you Cadence. I mean really nice to meet you! You are like a legend in this house. Do you want to talk to my mom? She would love to talk you! I cannot believe that I am talking to you". Cadence started to laugh as she said said, "Sure! I would love to talk to your mom. That was kind of the reason I came here. I need to tell her some important news." Ryan was about to bound up the stairs to get Elizabeth when he suddenly started to think rationally. "Oh... My mom is not here right now", Ryan said while his face suddenly fell and his eyes dropped to the floor. "Oh", Cadence said while a frown started to grow on her face, then suddenly she smiled, "Oh well. Can you give he a message for me?" Ryan instantly perked up and as a huge grin spread across his face Cadence told him the message.

On the other Side of Town: 

"I have no clue why I am here", Elizabeth thought sadly while standing in front of Daniel's house. Elizabeth did not know why she had decided to take the scenic route home, or why she decided to turn onto Daniel's street, or why on earth she decided to get out of the car, and why in the world she decided to spray on a spritz of her favorite perfume. So now she was standing under the moon on a cold fall night questioning her sanity and smelling faintly of cupcakes. "What was I thinking?" Elizabeth said while turning back toward her car. She was only five steps away from the warmth of her car, where the heat was on and her favorite song was playing, when the thought of Daniel hugging her flashed through her mind. Then, without another thought, she ran to the front door as fast as her feet could carry her.

"I should leave. I want to hug Daniel. It's cold. I wish I was in his arms. It's late I need to get home to my babies. I wish he would hold me", Elizabeth was arguing with herself as she stood waiting for Daniel to answer the door. She stood and stood and thought and fought. Then she kept standing. She rang the doorbell once more and listened as it echoed through the house.

After another five minutes of waiting in the cold night breeze Elizabeth started shivering. Elizabeth finally realized why Daniel was not answering the door, "Daniel works the night shift at the hospital. Duh! How could I have been so dumb." Elizabeth then turned from the door and started back toward her car once more. Suddenly as she tried to watch her footing while going down the stairs her vision started to blur. "Why am I crying?" Elizabeth asked herself while sniffling. As she got into the heated cabin of her car she was filled with a rush of emotions. She was happy that Daniel was not home, for the fear of confrontation, but at the same time she was so sad that she started to sob. It was a feeling that can only be described as bitter sweet.

"Touchdown Llamas!" the football announcer on the television yelled as Elizabeth walked into the living room. It was 7:41 p.m. by the time she had finally gotten home, and Ryan was the only one who was up. "Ryan?" Elizabeth asked as she walked around the corner of the couch and into his line of sight. "Ah!" Ryan jumped after being caught off guard, and as he snapped back to reality he smiled and said, "Oh. Hey mom; you scared me." Elizabeth chuckled nervously while sitting next to her eldest. "What's wrong mom? You seem tense", Ryan said while turning off the T.V. and looking at his mom.

As Elizabeth sat down she looked at her oldest son and then, as if on cue, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "I went to the spa, got my nails done, and then I got a massage", Elizabeth said, and then while looking at the ground she added, "Then I went by your dad's house". "You went by Dad's house? Good. Wait, why are you blushing?" Ryan asked while looking into his mother's eyes curiously. "Because he was not there", Elizabeth said while still felling like a fool for not remembering Daniel's work schedule. "I could have told you that", Ryan said while laughing under his breath, "He works tonight". Elizabeth ignored her son's teasing and decided to tell him why she was so embarrassed, "That means that he can't come to your party though". Ryan remembered then that he had not told his mom about sending Daniel the invitation. He decided then not to; he would make it a surprise for her. Elizabeth deserved a surprise."It is okay mom", Ryan said while hugging his mom. Elizabeth took comfort in her son's understanding and hugged him back.

After Elizabeth got out of Ryan's bear hug Ryan could tell she was still upset, "I said it is okay. Why are you still sad?" Elizabeth cleared her throat nervously before saying, "I wanted to see him. I keep telling myself that I don't, but I do. I miss him so much". Ryan felt sad for his mom and was willing to do or say anything to make her feel better. Then he remembered just the thing to perk her up, "I am sorry. Every time I bring him up I seem to forget just how much Dad means to you. Hey, but I know something that will make you feel better!" Elizabeth managed a smile and looked at her son, "What?" "Cadence Sierra stopped by the house a little over an hour ago. She wanted me to tell you that all of the 100 Baby Challenge mothers are here in Twinbrook!" Elizabeth perked up so quickly that it gave her emotional whiplash, "Cadence Sierra was here?" Elizabeth looked around her living room in a frenzy, "But the house is so messy." "Mom, she did the 100 Baby Challenge too; I am sure she has seen worse", Ryan said while looking around the spotless room too. Elizabeth stopped freaking out then and looked at her son, "Did you say that all of the 100 Baby Challenge mothers are here in Twinbrook?" Ryan smiled at his mom's shocked expression and said, "Yup, they are having their annual meeting here at the 100 Baby Challenge house".

Elizabeth was still confused, "They have an annual meeting?" Ryan smiled and simply said, "Yup. They invited you to the next one." Elizabeth smiled and when she did her face simply glowed. She was so happy that she jumped up from the couch and did a victory dance. Ryan just sat there and laughed. He was happy to see his mother so happy.

 It was around 10:34 a.m. on Tuesday when Elizabeth got a call from Victoria, "Hey Tori!" "Tori? I like it", Victoria said while laughing into the phone. Elizabeth laughed too while balancing Blake in one arm and the phone in the other. "Anyways I have some good news to tell you", Tori said in a sarcastic tone with some underlying serious notes. "And what might that good news be?" Elizabeth said while trying to mimic Victoria's voice. "I found you the next challenge dad", Victoria said while putting pride in her voice, "His name is Pepper, actually, and he is the guitarist in my band."

"The guitarist from your band?" Elizabeth asked as if to clear her thoughts, "Did he ask to do the challenge?" "Of course, Silly. You are the gossip of the town. You are more famous than my band is... And that says a lot", Victoria said with an air of disbelief, "You did not know you were the talk of town?" "No", Elizabeth said honestly before nervously asking, "Did you explain the rules to him? Did he understand them?" "Yes and yes", Victoria said while laughing at her friend's nervousness. "Great!" Elizabeth said in disbelief. She could not believe her luck, this week was off to such a great start. First she gets invited, by her idol, to the annual challenge mother's meeting; and second she gets a guy to ask to be a part of her challenge.

After Victoria told Elizabeth where Pepper lived, and they said good bye, Elizabeth ran upstairs put on some more make-up, sprayed on some more cupcake perfume, and Gussy'ed up. After that she followed the directions Victoria had given her, and then she ended up at a small brick house in the middle of Twinbrook's swamp area. Elizabeth was so nervous that she was shaking. As she got closer to the house her mind flashed back to holding every one of her children for the first time; and then, as if it was magic, those memories gave her courage.

By the time Elizabeth reached the front door she was no longer nervous, but instead she just felt awkward. Right across the pond, which she had her back to, was Zane's house. She could see right through his glass back door into his living room. She quickly knocked on the door, in a hurry to get out of Zane's possible line of sight. She was standing at the front door, impatiently tapping her foot, when the door opened and a stream of light filtered out of the house and into the dark, cloudy day.

When Elizabeth could finally see past the bright light she was met with green eyes. "Daniel?" she thought quickly, but then after having more time do think she thought, "No, they are too pale and dull to be Daniel's eyes. They are almost minty". "Hello", the guy said coolly and calmly, "You must be Elizabeth Reting; Victoria told me that you would be coming over." Elizabeth was shocked by the man's appearance. His skin was white and his eyes, clothes, and even his hair were pale green. "Yup that is me", Elizabeth laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her neck, "You must be Pepper." "So Victoria did tell you about me. I am Pepper Mint, her band's guitarist", he said before shaking her hand. "Pepper... Mint? It all makes sense now. The cool green hair and eyes. The icy undertone in his voice. Even his breath smells like he just brushed his teeth!" Elizabeth screamed in her head while putting all of the facts together, "He would be a perfect addition to the challenge fathers."

After Pepper invited her in Elizabeth noticed that his living room was decorated to match him perfectly. After taking in everything about the room Elizabeth turned her attention to Pepper... She hated to admit it but, like Zane before him, Elizabeth was attracted to Pepper. Who wouldn't be? His sparkling green eyes, his shiny pale green hair, and his always minty fresh smile were a total A+ in any girl's book. As she walked across his living room she looked Pepper in the eyes and innocently said, "Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to, if you don't want to".

"I'm sure", Pepper said while extending his arms for a hug. "Thank you", Elizabeth whispered gratefully while breathing in his minty scent. "I cannot wait to get you in bed", Pepper said with a grin. Elizabeth hoped that he hadn't noticed, but she locked up after that. No man had ever talked to her like that, not even Daniel. He was so direct... Pepper may have been gorgeous, but he definitely wasn't mature yet.

Elizabeth wasn't going to let Pepper's comment ruin the mood; so she shimmied out of his hug, looked into his eyes and, as seductively and innocently as she could, said, "Really? Why don't you lead me to that bed of yours?" Pepper smiled at that. Then he stepped closer to her and huskily whispered, "I have one request first. Let me kiss you".

Elizabeth agreed to the request and kissed Pepper; and you know when you brush your teeth with really strong minty toothpaste and it burns a little? Yup, that was what the kiss was like. It was minty and cold, yet warm at the same time. After the kiss Pepper led Elizabeth to his room.

  After that things got a little awkward. All Pepper could look at was Elizabeth's chest. Elizabeth definitely felt nervous as she said, "So should we get started?"

After all was said and done Elizabeth quietly got out of Pepper's bed, and he did the same. "That was a lot of fun", Pepper said while staring at the bed in disbelief. All Elizabeth did  in response was roll her eyes.

When Elizabeth got home she walked right to her daughter's side; all she wanted to do was hold her little girl. 

When 2 o'clock finally rolled around, and Ryan pulled into the driveway, Elizabeth had already put Mica and Blake down for their naps and she had moved on to working in her now-green garden. 

Elizabeth was surprised when she looked up from her watermelons and saw an unfamiliar face. "Mom this is my friend; he is on the football team with me", Ryan said after seeing his mom's unsure face. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Reting", Ryan's friend said as he stepped forward to shake Elizabeth's hand. Elizabeth stood to return the hand shake, but then looked at her dirt covered hands and thought better of it. As she gave him an apologetic look she said, "Call me Ms. Elizabeth". Elizabeth, even though she already had six kids, felt old when people called her Mrs. Reting. 

When Elizabeth knelt back down to continue gardening Ryan's friend leaned in and whispered to Ryan, "Dude, your mom is hot". Ryan gave his friend a weird look before whispering back, "Do not start hitting on my mom." Then after Ryan gave him a playful shove his friend whispered back, "Isn't she doing that sleep with a lot of men challenge?" Elizabeth was not going to let them know that she could hear every word they were saying, and she hated confrontation, but she decided that then was time to cut in. 

"Actually I am doing the 100 Baby Challenge", Elizabeth said while getting up from the ground, "So the main goal is to have 100 amazingly special children, the men are just something that has to be involved. Trust me if we could do it by ourselves we would". Ryan's friend looked like a deer in headlights. He was shocked and then, as the realization of what had happened registered in his mind, his eyes fell to the ground in embarrassment. "Sorry Ms. Elizabeth", his friend said while looking like a disciplined child. "It is okay", Elizabeth said with no harshness in her voice and a huge smile on her face, "I just want to make sure that everybody else in town understands that". Then Elizabeth turned her attention to Ryan, "Do you want to invite your friend to your birthday party?" Ryan, who had wondered off during his friend's scolding, looked at Elizabeth with a huge grin, "When is it?" Elizabeth looked at Ryan with a look that only a mother could give and as brightly as she could muster said, "Tomorrow". 

Right after Elizabeth said that the sound of little voices drifted over from the other side of the house. Not too long after they could hear the voices Calista, Ian, and Jenna came bounding into the back yard. Calista saw that her mom was talking to Ryan, and could tell that it was important, so she ran over and asked Ryan what was going on. "Mom was just telling me that we are going to have our birthdays tomorrow", Ryan said this while watching Jenna and Ian come up behind Calista. 

Ian heard what Ryan had said and was ecstatic. Ian may have been annoying, and I'll be it a little Childish, but he did it all with the best intentions. He wanted to be just like his big brother, and be as strong and smart as he is. So the idea of becoming a teenager, just like his big brother, was amazing to Ian. 

Jenna, on the other hand, knew better. She knew that if she aged into a teenager then Ryan would change into a Young Adult, which meant that he would have to leave the house. So Jenna looked at her mom, and then at Ryan, and then she did what she had never done in front of anyone before... She burst into tears. 

Elizabeth was shocked; she had seen Jenna on the verge of tears, she had seen Jenna so mad that she was practically breathing fire, but she had never seen Jenna cry. Even as a baby Jenna had only cried once, and that was when Daniel was saying good bye. So Elizabeth was about to rush to Jenna, and put her in her arms, when Ryan turned to Jenna and just hugged her. Ryan knew what it felt like to lose someone you love; he had lost his father after all. So when he saw Jenna crying it reminded him of all the times that he had missed his dad. As Ryan was hugging her, Jenna's sniffles and sobs died down as she whispered, "I don't want y... you to lea...leave". Ryan just hugged her, he did not know what to say; and then, as the memories flooded back to him, he just said what his dad had said to him, "Jenna don't cry. I love you so. I will be just down the road. If you need me, just call. I'll always come to visit, no matter what." Elizabeth, who had been watching the scene play out, just smiled. After that the afternoon went by pretty uneventfully; nothing had happened until all the kids were already in bed. 

It was 10:30 p.m. that night and Elizabeth had just put the tenth load of laundry, for that day, into the dryer. She pressed start and was about to turn to the laundry basket, and start on more clothes, when she suddenly got the urge to puke.

 She ran to the bathroom, and like every time before it, barely made it in time. 

On Wednesday morning Elizabeth went and got Mica dressed and packed her diaper bag. "Do you want to go visit the other challenge mothers?" Elizabeth said after getting Mica out of her swing. "Ma ma ma ma", Mica said right before hugging Elizabeth's neck. Elizabeth then got Blake ready and then, since Ryan was at school, she called a baby sitter to watch him.

When Elizabeth pulled up to the house it was 10:00 a.m., and she was greeted with the sight of solar panels and wind turbines. She even got to see some really cool green cars. 

As Elizabeth was getting Mica out of her car seat she was greeted by Cadence, "Hey, you must be Elizabeth!" Elizabeth was stunned that Cadence was actually talking to her. She was so stunned in fact that she did a full 360 with her eyes to to make sure that Cadence was talking to her. She was.

Elizabeth was about to make a fool of herself and stutter uncontrollably when a sim dressed in violet walked up. "Hey, you must be Elizabeth," the sim said with a bright smile; and then turned to Mica, who was so scared that she was burying herself deeper and deeper into Elizabeth's arms, and with an even warmer smile said, "Hey, look at that we match." Then Mica did something that she never did before when she meets knew people. She laughed, and smiled, and even turned to face the sim.

Then the stranger looked at Elizabeth and said, "Nice to meet you two! I'm Violet Newbie." Elizabeth, who was still stunned and watching Mica, looked up at Violet and smiled. Violet gladly returned the smile, looked toward the house, and said, "Well, do you want to come inside?"

When Elizabeth got inside the house she realized that it was not actually a house. It was like a working community. There were no doors, only arches; and there was a community kitchen, office, gym, and connecting it all was a large garden. It was like she had died and gone to challenge heaven. 

After Elizabeth had looked at every single room she was suddenly exhausted. "This place is huge", Elizabeth said to Mica while sitting down on a couch in the, what Elizabeth guessed, was the living room. "I know!" a voice came from right next to Elizabeth. Elizabeth spun towards the voice in shock; she was so tired that she had not even noticed the other person in the room. The girl laughed happily before saying, "Sorry, I did not mean to scare you". And then as she extended her hand the length of the couch the sim said, "I'm Ashby Starr. You must be Elizabeth." Then as Ashby turned her direction toward Mica she said, "And you, cutie, must be Mica".

After Elizabeth talked to Ashby about why she started the challenge, and about her cousin Harmony who had disappeared in China, she went into the garage. The garage was not actually a garage though, to Elizabeth's immense surprise, it was more of a skills workshop. There was a tattoo chair, a mechanic's table, a chess table, an easel, and even a guitar. Some one was actually on the guitar. "Hey! My name is Vanessa Wood!", she yelled over the guitar. Then she stopped playing the instrument and looked at Elizabeth, "You must be Elizabeth. I am so happy to meet you."

Elizabeth was dancing to the music with Mica when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Hi, I'm Leiah Mistoffelees", the sim who had tapped Elizabeth's shoulder said. "And I'm Nicki Cranford", Nicki called from the easel. "Nice to meet you all", Elizabeth said to everyone in the room and then, feeling a little silly, said, "I just have a question. How do you all know who I am?" Everyone in the room smiled to Elizabeth understandingly. Then a sim, who Elizabeth hadn't noticed yet, stepped forward and said, "Hey, I'm Della Wriner. We know who you are because we are all challenge mothers. We are like a family... And we all try to read each other's blogs." Elizabeth stayed at the challenge house until 3:00 p.m. "Oh, I just remembered!" Elizabeth said just as she was about to leave, "My kids are having a birthday party tonight. Do you all want to come?" All of the mothers gladly agreed.

When Elizabeth got home she was happy to see that the builders were finished with the tent. Elizabeth, as a surprise for all the kids, had a tent set up around the back patio. To make things even better she had it decorated in Halloween decorations; she even went and made Jenna's favorite dessert: Cobbler.

By 7:00 p.m. the party was already in full swing. Elizabeth was tending to the punch fountain, which had a line, when everybody got quiet. Elizabeth followed every one's stares just in time to see Daniel walk through the tent's entrance. Elizabeth's breathing stopped. "What do I have something on my face?" Daniel asked while furiously scrubbing at his cheeks, unaware of why everyone was looking at him. Everyone turned their gaze to Elizabeth then, to see how she would react. "Ian, Calista, and Jenna why don't you all start opening your presents?" Elizabeth said in hopes that it could be a diversion while walking towards Daniel. It worked. 

 "Hey", Daniel said while still looking worried and distant, "Do I have something on my face? I was sure I checked before I got out of the car, but maybe I missed something." Elizabeth didn't meant to sound rude, but she was confused, "What are you doing here?" Now Daniel looked confused, "What do you mean? Ryan sent me an invite." Daniel looked just in time to see Ryan slipping into the crowd of challenge mothers while mouthing the words, "Your welcome." Elizabeth must of seen it too, because she said, "Oh. Well, we have a lot to talk about." "Yes. We do", Daniel said while looking at Elizabeth's baby bump, "You are pregnant." Then Daniel did something that shocked her; he bent down and kissed her stomach. "I... I... What?" Elizabeth was at a loss for words. "I realized that if doing the challenge is what makes you happy then it makes me happy too", Daniel said while pulling Elizabeth into a hug.

"I missed you so much. I am so sorry", Daniel said into Elizabeth's ear. Then, when Daniel realized that Elizabeth was not hugging him back, he let go, "What's wrong?" "I got your letter", Elizabeth said distantly, while remembering the day she got it. "Good", Daniel said, and then looking at Elizabeth's face said, "But I don't understand, why are you sad about that?" Elizabeth reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter. Elizabeth had kept the letter with her since the day she first got it; she never read it, of course in fear of the horrible pain returning, but she liked to keep it as a reminder. It was a reminder of Daniel. As she handed the letter to Daniel she turned away briefly; and looked back to say accusingly, "You called me a hooker." Daniel looked at her shocked, and was about to defend himself, when Elizabeth just glared at him and growled, "Read it." Daniel read the letter and then gasped. He grabbed Elizabeth's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I did write this letter, and I did sign it. But I did not call you a hooker! I did not even write those last two sentences", his eyes were pleading for her to believe him. "Daniel", Elizabeth said as a smile grew, "I believe you! And you have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that you didn't say that; but now we just need to figure out who did."

After those words left her mouth silence set in between Daniel and Elizabeth. Then, as if on cue, a deep voice shot through Elizabeth's thoughts, "Hello Elizabeth." Elizabeth turned and saw Zane, who was handing her Blake. She gladly accepted her son and looked into Zane's dark eyes, "Are you ready for him to age into a toddler?" Zane's eyes shimmered as he looked at his son, and he said yes. Elizabeth decided that a private celebration was in order and so she and Zane brought Blake into the living room.

 As Elizabeth could have predicted Blake was adorable. He had dark brown, almost black, hair that fell in chocolate waves at his shoulders. His eyes weren't burnt marshmallow, like his father's eyes, but they were just as delicious. They had shiny milk chocolate and caramel swirls in them. 

Meanwhile at the Party:

"Hey Dad", Ryan said while emerging from the crowd of mothers. "Hey son", Daniel said after a moment of shock. He, like Elizabeth, could not believe how much Ryan looked like he had as a teenager. "So Dad", Ryan said while scratching his neck, much like his mom did when she was nervous, "I was just wondering. Do you know anywhere, in town, that I can live once I move out of here?" Daniel was glad that Ryan had asked that, "Actually, I wanted to talk about that. You see, that is my gift to you." Daniel dug through his pocket then and pulled out a brochure. The brochure was for a house, "I bought you this house. It is right next door to mine. It's not much, but it is large enough for some of your siblings to live in too." Ryan's face lit up, "Really? Thank you so much dad!" Daniel looked embarrassed then, "I was hoping to get to make up for lost times." Ryan was so happy that all he could do was to hug his dad.

With everyone in such high spirits the rest of the party went by so quickly that everyone was shocked when Della announced that it was 4:00 a.m. Believe me, when I say, that everyone slept in late on Thursday.

Thursday morning Elizabeth ushered all of her kids together for a family photo before Ryan left. Jenna had grown into a beautiful girl. She was upset, because she had to get glasses; Elizabeth had explained to her that she had no idea where she got that genetic from, because no one in Elizabeth and Daniel's family had glasses. Calista, on the other hand, got Elizabeth's vision and was proud of it. She never let Jenna forget it. Ian was just happy that he looked so much like Ryan. And Mica, oh little Mica, she did everything in her power to look like Elizabeth

When Ryan left Elizabeth cried. And cried. And cried. She was so sad to see her little boy leaving. The only thing that held her together was when Ryan called Daniel to tell him that he was coming. Daniel agreed to call Elizabeth the moment Ryan arrived.When Ryan left he looked his mother in the eyes, kissed her on the forehead, and said, "Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever". And then Elizabeth cried some more.

 Elizabeth knew that if she did not get out of the house then she would get depressed over Ryan leaving. She also knew that, for the sake of her children, she could not let that happen. On the other hand Jenna had already moved on, not forgotten, but moved on. It was made easy for her by Blake, who was very attached to his older sister. The void left by Ryan, for Jenna, was filled. Elizabeth knew that the void left by Ryan in the house would never be filled; so she asked Jenna to watch Blake and she headed over to Dr. Blueflame's house. She needed to leave before she started crying again.

 "Hello Elizabeth", Dr. Blueflame said as she ushered a very pregnant Elizabeth in, "How have you been?" Elizabeth looked at Dr. Blueflame and in a rush of words she told her everything that had happened since she last saw her. She told her about the weird letter, the chilling pond, and Daniel's apology.

Elizabeth was already crying by the time she started to talk about Ryan moving out, but talking about her little boy leaving only turned her tears into sobs. 

"I'm sorry", Elizabeth said while wiping away some dripping mascara, "I must look like a wreck." Dr. Blueflame, who had been nodding understandingly through the entire story, just smiled, "No. Elizabeth you look beautiful. To me, you look like a mother who just really loves her children."

 Dr. Blueflame waited for Elizabeth's tears to dry before she turned all of her attention to Elizabeth's stomach. "So you are with child", Dr. Blueflame said while running all of her usual tests, "Would you like to know the gender?"

 "Do I ever not want to know?" Elizabeth said while rubbing her stomach lovingly. "You are having a boy", Dr. Blueflame looked into Elizabeth's eyes and smiled.

 When Elizabeth got home it was 6:00 p.m. and she was exhausted, physically and emotionally. Luckily, when she saw Ryan's empty parking spot it only hurt a little.

But is still hurt; so after she gave the kids baths, and put them to bed, she decided to tie her hair back and soak in the tub for a while. Maybe it was just the water, or maybe it was just that everything was quiet, but either way Elizabeth realized that everything was okay for once. For once, all was right.

 Another thing that Elizabeth realized was that she was really excited for this next baby. So as soon as her feet hit the cold tiles of the bathroom floor she was off to her library. Once she got to the library she grabbed her favorite pregnancy book and sat down in the kitchen. 

On Friday all of the kids stayed home from school. They weren't sick, but they were tired. Elizabeth did not even bother to get them up, because everyone was just exhausted. She figured that B's instead of A's were better then passed out Retings. Not to mention that Elizabeth had a feeling that she would be going into labor that day. Calista spent her day relaxing and painting away her worries. 

Ian spent his day by trying to teach Mica how to play chess. He missed getting to play it with Ryan and wanted a new practice partner. By about the fifth game he was starting to get frustrated, "Mica get it straight! The king is that one, not this one."

"Hey! I'm sure you did not get this on the first try either!" Mica said while trying to concentrate on her next move.

"She is right you know", Jenna called from her spot in the kitchen, "She is doing pretty good, compared to you". Jenna had used her time on her day off to Teach Blake how to Talk. She even decided to Teach Blake how to Walk.

Elizabeth spent her day doing random tasks around the house to keep herself busy. She did six loads of clothes, sung her heart out on the guitar, and then by 11:00 a.m. she was making Key Lime Pie. She had been craving it for two days. She was singing a little tune to herself, while mixing, when suddenly she was hit with the pain of a contraction. She set the bowl on the counter and gripped the brown granite. After the contraction was over Elizabeth called for Jenna.

"Yah Mom?" Jenna said after she scurried up from her spot on the floor. "Don't freak out honey, but I am in labor", Elizabeth said as another contraction set in, while cringing slightly she told Jenna rushed instructions for what she was to do. Elizabeth was leaving Jenna in charge of the house.

"... Did you catch all of that?" Elizabeth said in her 'serious voice'. "I got all of it", Jenna said with as much seriousness as her mom had used, and then she bent down and rubbed Elizabeth's belly, "See you soon little brother".

As Elizabeth was trying to slip out the front door Mica started to get worried, "Mom! Where are you going? Can I come?" Elizabeth looked at her little angel, smiled, and said, "You cannot come honey. I am sorry, but I will be back soon." Mica was sad that her mom was going somewhere without her; she was even more upset when she found out that she was coming back with another brother.

When Elizabeth got to the hospital she had already been in labor for forty minutes. She was happy when she finally got to lay down on the crisp sheets of the hospital bed.

Pepper, to Elizabeth's surprise, actually came to the hospital at 12:25 p.m.

Back at the House:

 "What did Mom want to talk to you about?" Calista asked Jenna while inspecting her painting.

 "She just wanted to tell me that I was in charge while she was at the hospital", Jenna said while walking past Calista, "You know what that means, right? That means that she trusts me the most." For as long as Calista and Jenna could remember they always had a kind of 'competition' when it came to their mom. It basically was to see who she loved the most; and though Calista took the competition as a joke Jenna took it very seriously.

Calista did not usually let Jenna's taunting get to her, but this time it felt like she needed to do something to prove herself.

Across Town:

 Elizabeth's little boy was born at 12:59 p.m. He was paler than Elizabeth, and to her immense surprise he smelled of mint. "So was it what you thought it would be like?" Elizabeth said to Pepper, who was sitting in silence next to her. He did not respond.

When the cab finally reached Elizabeth's driveway she literally jumped out; she was happy to get a chance to escape the awkwardness of the car. She was more than stunned when Pepper followed her, "Elizabeth wait! I'm sorry; I am just shocked. I love my son more than I thought possible. It just came as a surprise to me." When Elizabeth heard Pepper say that she smiled, and so did her baby.

When Elizabeth got inside her house she went and laid her little boy in his crib. Jenna walked over and peered into the crib, "What is his name?" Elizabeth stroked his cheek and smiled, "This is baby number seven: Spear Reting." "Spear?", Ian asked after overhearing. "Yes", Elizabeth said practically beaming, "His dad's name is Pepper Mint, and his name is Spear (Mint) Reting". 

 Elizabeth made sure that Spear was asleep before wandering into the kitchen, "I guess I should clean up that Key Lime Pie. It is probably bad by now". But when Elizabeth spotted the Key Lime Pie it wasn't how she had left it. It was finished, and to tell the truth it smelled really good. Elizabeth was not about to question the magical dessert fairy, but she was a little curious as to how her dessert had finished itself. "Do you like it?", a familiar voice asked from behind Elizabeth.

 "Calista?" Elizabeth said still unsure about what was going on. "So do you like it?" Calista asked curiously. "Yes. Yes I do", Elizabeth said while looking back at the pie for a moment, and then back at Calista, "But I don't understand."

"I just wanted to make sure that you knew I was trustworthy", Calista said a little embarrassed, and then she looked at Elizabeth and said, "And that I love you." "Well, thank you", Elizabeth said as she hugged Calista, "But you don't need to prove anything to me."

"I know", Calista said while turning away, "I just felt like it". "Okay", Elizabeth said a little worried about her daughter. Don't get her wrong, she loved that her daughter did something nice for her, but Calista was acting a little weird, "Now that I think about it Jenna is acting weird too. What is going on with my girls?"

At 7:00 p.m. Elizabeth was making her rounds and locking all the doors, she was not taking any chances after the break in, when she heard someone knock on the front door.

She opened the door and felt a chill when she realized that no one was there. "Hello?" she called out to the air while stepping out into the dark. She stopped short when her foot hit a little letter on the ground. As she bent down to pick it up she scanned her front yard for a person. No one was there. 

Elizabeth walked out to her mailbox with the letter, thinking that the mail man was just having an off day, then she opened the slightly damp letter and read what it said:

"So you found out that Daniel did not call you a hooker? Good job, but this is not over.  You will be mine Elizabeth Reting. Just wait."

 Elizabeth dropped the letter; and then, as if she had called it's name, she felt the lingering stare again. "It wasn't Cat Stielburg who was watching me", Elizabeth whispered to herself, after putting two and two together.  And then, as she felt someone getting closer and closer to her, she ran back inside.