Generation 1, Chapter 37

 

Once Peter came home he tried to resume a normal routine but he tired easily and quickly. But he forced himself to live a life as normally as possible. He wanted to give his children memories they would be able to look back on in fondness. He took Brian out in the family car and taught him how to drive. Brian was nervous at first but quickly caught on and enjoyed the one on one time with his Dad.

Then one night Peter surprised Brian with his very own 'junk' car.

"Dad your the best" Brian exclaimed looking at the hunk of junk in the yard. Smiling from ear to ear he hugged his Dad saying "Thank you so much. This is exactly what I wanted."

"Your welcome. I just hope it's something that can be restored. I'm not exactly knowledgeable about these kind of things. But I know you are, so I hope you like it."

"I can't wait to get started" Brian enthused.

"Well then get to it." Peter told him adding "Just remember I get the first ride when you get it finished."

"That's a deal" Brian agreed, happily delving into working on his car. Peter watched for a moment, enjoying the excitement Brian had for this project. Slowly turning towards the house he sadly shook his head wondering if he would live to see it finished.

Jean worried constantly that Peter was over exerting himself but she didn't want to discourage him doing things with the kids. She knew the treatments weren't working despite the optimistic attitude Peter pretended to have. She wasn't sure if he was trying to maintain a positive attitude for her sake or for his. But he refused to give up and for his sake she wouldn't either. She decided she needed to focus her frustrations and decided to start ballet again.  At one time she had been pretty good at it, when she was a little girl but it had been years and her body didn't move the way it used to. But slowly she limbered up and it became easier. At times she and Corina would practice together.

The kids were another constant worry for Jean. She wondered what would become of them after Peters death. Would they have to live with Vallari? Could she manage all five kids on her own? She was afraid she wouldn't be able to manage it but she didn't want them to be neglected by an uncaring, money hungry woman either. Not at a time when they would need all the loving support they could get. She knew this weighed heavily upon Peter's mind but he refused to discuss it, somehow fearing that planning for it also meant he was giving up. However Jean felt that despite everything that day was fast approaching and they would both have to face the cold hard facts. She knew it should be handled now, while Peter still had the strength and the resolve to deal with Vallari. Waiting would only tip the scales in Vallari's favor. Jean decided to contact Peter's Lawyer for advice to see what their options were and go from there.

Jean made the appointment for that afternoon. While she waited, she practiced maneuvering in her new wet suit. She planned on learning to scuba dive and wanted to make sure she could move around in it all right. She was nervous about the upcoming appointment and half realized that she was teaching Elliot how to walk while in her suit. While going through the motions of encouraging Elliot to walk to her, she wondered if he would have any memories of his Father at all. She worried how growing up without a father would effect him. She was sure Adam would do his best to fill that void but that brought it's own concerns. She wanted Adam to enjoy his life, to be young and care free before being loaded down with responsibility. She was afraid he was going to try and fill his father shoes and lose sight of his own dreams to help his family. No matter how she looked at it, it was a bad situation.

When she left, Adam wasn't home yet from school and Jean was a little concerned about leaving Peter home alone with Elliot. Peter seeing her look of concern became somewhat irritated but quickly calmed down as he knew that she had reason to be concerned. He wasn't the same and his health was failing but he knew that he was still capable of caring for his toddler son, just don't ask him to run a marathon.

"Honey don't worry so much I'll be fine. Elliot is still napping and with luck he'll stay that way until Adam comes home. besides I haven't forgotten how to change diapers yet." He smiled as he escorted Jean to the door "Enjoy your afternoon. Do something fun."

"I will" Jean said hesitating wondering if she should tell him about the lawyer but decided against it until after she knew something. She leaned over and kissed his cheek saying "I love you."

Watching Jean drive off in the car, Peter marveled at how lucky he was for meeting Jean. He didn't know how he would have managed without her. While he was thinking about Jean, Elliot woke up and started to cry.

"Well little man, you woke up early" Peter said lifting Elliot from his crib.

"Had a bad dream" Elliot wailed wanting comfort as he snuggled into Peter.

"It's ok little man. The dream is all gone. There's nothing to fear. It's ok." Peter soothed and snuggled him until Elliot wanted down.

"Dad play?" Elliot asked.

"Sure bud for a little while" Peter agreed as he sat on the floor watching his little boy and he wondered what he was going to be when he grew up. Would he be there to see him graduate, go to college, get married, have kids? He tried to ignore the little voice in the back of his head telling him no. He tried to fight the growing depression that weighed heavily upon him but at moments like these he had to fight hard not to burst into tears at the unfairness of it all. He wanted to see his children grow up, he wanted to share their joys, be there to help and guide them. He wanted to grow old with Jean, the love of his life, but none of these things were going to happen.

"Daddy ok?" Elliot asked.

"Yes bud I'm ok only tired." Peter said wiping a tear from is cheeks resolving to get his affairs in order. To try and make it easier for his family to cope when the inevitable happened.   He just hated to admit defeat.

Meanwhile in the distant future Emit was muttering to himself "This isn't right, this is all wrong. I have to figure out what happened in the past that changed the future." As he watched another Plum Bot disappear, erased from existence. Something needed to be done soon or everything they knew would be gone.

Generation 1, Chapter 36

As Peter waited in the Doctor's office he dwelled upon the events of the past week. He remembered being told the prognosis, cancer, it was what he most feared but expected. When he left the hospital after beginning the chemo regimen he felt both hopeful and scared. He wanted to believe that this would help and he'd be back to his old self in no time, but his body was telling him otherwise. He was still weak, nauseous and shaky a combination of the disease and chemo; although he was no longer in as much pain thanks to the pain meds the doctors had given him.

When they arrived at home the first thing he did was take Jean into his arms and she released all her pent up emotions and tears that she was holding back, trying to be strong for his sake. But slowly losing the battle as reality hit home.

"Honey it'll be alright. I don't know how but I'm sure every thing will work out ok." He said soothingly holding her close.

Sniffling a little Jean pulled away from his embrace angrily saying "I don't see how. How can it be alright if I have to go on without you? How will it be alright that the children will grow up without a father? I don't see how any of this will be alright. I feel like I'm in a dark tunnel and I can't see a way out."

Peter gathered her into his arms as she was convulsed in sobs. She clung to him as if he were her life preserver and she was drowning. Once she gained a modicum of control, she turned to Peter saying "How should we tell the children?"

Hesitating Peter said "I think we should wait until after we see the specialist. I don't know, I keep hoping the doctor here is wrong."

Jean looked at Peter in concern "Peter you know they're not. I don't want you getting your hopes up or mine. I, I don't think I could go through this again."

"Honey I know what the odds are but don't take my hope away. Without hope, what's the point of going to see the specialist? Without hope why even start treatment, if it's all for nothing? Please Jean, don't give up on me! As long as I have you and the kids rooting for me, I'm going to fight this thing all the way to the end. Just don't tell me it's hopeless because without hope I may as well just curl up and die now."

"Ok, ok you're right" Jean agreed shakily. "But I still think the kids need to know. We can't leave them in the dark, it'll hurt but it's better they know than left in the dark."

"You're right I know, it's just that I don't want them worrying and being scared."

"They'll be less scared knowing the truth than leaving it up to their imaginations."

As Peter waited for his turn, he tried to focus on anything other than the appointment. He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare and go on with his life. He tried not asking why, why him? But there was no answer, it just was and he had to deal with it the best way he could. His mind went back to the day they told the kids.

I remembered how they had so much to do and arrange before coming here and he was thankful that Jean did most of the work while he rested. Jean requested a babysitter to watch Elliot and she even went so far as to call Vallari and ask her to check on the kids every so often while they were gone. Peter would have preferred her not knowing they were planning on being gone but Jean made it sound like they were going on a vacation instead of a doctors visit. Jean felt that Adam would need all the help he could get and Vallari was just across the street and she was technically their mother. She just couldn't comprehend that Vallari had no concept of what being a mother meant. It was amazing that Vallari even agreed and Peter couldn't help but wonder what she was planning. Peter mostly just hoped for the best and relied on Adam's common sense.

That evening they gathered the children together and gave them the sad news. They were shocked into silence and saddened into tears. No one knew what to say until Adam broke the silence asking what was on everyone's minds "Can this specialist help?"

"Honestly we don't know but he has had some success. Adam there are no guarantees, we can only hope." Jean said smiling at Peter as she said it.

"I understand everyone is scared but I promise you that I'm going to fight this with everything I have. But you all have to help. Keep a positive attitude, be good and listen to Adam while we're gone. I'm counting on you to do this and I know you can." Peter said sounding confident and knowing he was only partially successful as he looked at this children's faces.

"Mr Van Winkle the doctor will see you now" receptionist broke into his thoughts.

Peter tried not to jump when he heard his name called. He looked towards his wife who tried to smile encouragingly. As they got up to follow the receptionist he felt Jean take his hand as they walked into the doctor's office.

Meanwhile Adam was trying to maintain a positive attitude, setting the example for everyone else. Although inwardly he was worried about his dad and every night his nightmare repeated itself. All the kids were crying and clinging to him as Vallari laughed like a maniac when she tells them their father is dead. He always awakens at this point shaking and crying. He hoped with all his being that the specialist would come up with a miracle but he knew deep down that he wouldn't and his nightmare would come true.

It didn't help that Vallari was over every night. Through Windy she found out that Peter was seeing a specialist for cancer and not expected to live. So Vallari would come over  and tell everyone how they were going to come and live with her once their dad was dead and she would finally have what she wanted most, money. She would have control of their inheritance until they were eighteen, Adam very much doubted that anything would be left once she was done with it. There goes his dreams of going to college and becoming the Pioneer in Robotics. He would have to stay at home to help his siblings survive Vallari's care taking. No matter how much Adam tried to stop Vallari from talking about this in front of the kids, she continued as if she enjoyed causing them pain. After she would leave he spent hours dealing with the aftermath, the tears, the crying, the nightmares until Adam felt exhausted. He couldn't help but wonder why, why couldn't it be Vallari who was dying from cancer? Why his dad? Life was so unfair!

Then one day at school Adam was congratulated for the party he was planning while his parents were out of town. He was told everyone was coming and looking forward to it. This was news to Adam and not something he wanted to deal with. He was already stressed out to the max and he knew that Vallari would call the cops, who would call his parents, who already had too much to deal with.

He knew exactly who was responsible. "How could you invite all these people to our house for a party?" Adam demanded of Windy on the way home on the bus.

"You can't honestly be mad at me. I did you a favor. It'll be fun."

"This is the last thing I would call fun. My parents have enough to deal with for goodness sakes." Adam hissed at Windy.

"Oh get real, your parents won't know anything about it."

"You know as well as I do that Vallari will call the cops and then they will know."

"No she won't. Who do you think helped me plan the party? All you need to do is pick up the decorations, decorate the house and order the food."

"Oh is that all!" Adam said barely containing his anger.

"Well yes. I did everything else. Invitations for all these people was a lot of work."

Adam wondered what he should do. He didn't want to cause his parents more worry but a party might be a good way to distract everyone from what's been going on, besides it was Brian's and Elliot's birthday and they weren't going to have a party otherwise. That's it he would turn Windy's wild teen party into a double birthday party. That would foil Windy's plans and doing something nice for his brothers on their birthday.

Windy was none too happy with what Adam did to her party In fact she was livid; especially after hearing remarks from her friends of how lame her party was. She was never going to be able to live this down. She was so embarrassed. It didn't help that Brian kept thanking her for his surprise birthday party.

Brian was sure that everyone had forgotten all about his birthday and he had been pretty depressed about it. Adam was glad he thought of this idea and thanks to Windy he didn't have to worry about Vallari calling the cops. 

Adam styled Elliot's hair and couldn't help but notice how much he looked like his Dad. Adam just hoped his Dad was around long enough to teach him the important things in life like he had taught him. If not Adam knew he would have to and he would have to help Jean as much as he could too. He knew that would be what his Dad would want and he didn't want to let him down.

Brian became a teenager and he had a strong resemblance to his dad although his eyes were a strong reminder of who his mother was. He gained the vehicle enthusiast trait and was rather disappointed when he didn't receive a car for his birthday. But Adam reminded him he would receive his birthday gift once his parents came home, so he was still hopeful. He was thankful to Adam for giving him this surprise birthday party. He knew that Windy thought it was going to be a wild teen party and so he delighted in thanking her for his party. He liked how she would scowl at him every time he thanked her.

Meanwhile Peter had his first radiation treatment that left him feeling worse than he started. He was completely drained of all energy and combined with the chemo he was once again feeling dizzy and nauseous. He was resting in the recovery room while Jean was talking with the doctor.

"The prognosis for your husband isn't good. The best we can hope for is that the cancer will go into remission. The positive thing is it doesn't seem to have spread any where else. Which is amazing considering how advanced the cancer is."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Jean asked

"No we'll want to have him back for regular treatments. The most important thing is to maintain a positive attitude. Sometimes that will keep a person going longer than it would seem possible."

"I understand and thank you."

 

Generation 1, Chapter 35

Months have passed since the wedding and Vallari has been conspicuously absent. Everyone was relieved that she wasn't over causing trouble and even Windy wondered what was up. However there was reason to for concern, Peter knew that Vallari never gave up and never backed down. Something was brewing, they just didn't know what. He feared this was just the calm before the storm. He just hoped they would be able to weather the storm when it came. He even wondered if she had been putting something in his food or water, or possibly the shampoo and soap he used that was causing him to be ill for so long. He refused to believe she could be that devious but he wanted to rule it out. He had been secretly testing everything they used at the Science Lab but so far everything has come back negative. In a way that was a relief as that meant whatever was happening was just to him and not to the entire house. The negative aspect was something was definitely, seriously wrong with him and it was only getting worse. Soon it was going to be beyond the point of being ignored.

"Dad, Dad, earth to Dad." Corina's voice broke into his thoughts.

 

"Uh sorry, honey I was lost in my thoughts. What do you need?"

"Nothing much but I need you to sign my permission slip for the field trip to the Theatre this week."

"I can sign it now if you have it handy." Peter signed the paper Corina handed him. "Does Doloris have one for me to sign too?"

"Probably, but I think she was having Mom sign it. Um Dad?"

"Yeah, honey what is it?"

"Are you ok?"

"Sure, why do ask?" Peter responded wondering if he looked as bad as he felt.

"I dunno, you just look kinda tired. Like you do when you have the flu or something."

"I'm probably working to hard."

"You should probably take a break and rest for a while." Corina suggested and Peter smiled at her motherly advice agreeing that he would rest for a while

 

After leaving her Dad's room Corina went downstairs where she was cornered by Windy by their new hot tub.

"So what do we have here, little miss prima ballerina?" Corina hated it when Windy called her that. Why did she have turn what she loved into an insult? It's gotten to the point that she hated to practice ballet anymore because Windy teased her mercilessly.

"Leave me alone"

"Or what? You'll tell daddy or step-mama? Just tell me what you're gonna do. Come on, tell me. I really want to know." Windy taunted as she snatched Corina's permission slip out of her hand.

"Hey give that back!" Corina cried trying to grab it from Windy. Windy laughed as she held it above her head as Corina struggled to reach it.

"Come on if you want it, take it from me. You've got to do better than that." Seeing that Corina was about to burst into tears of frustration Windy taunted "Aww don't cry you stupid little brat!"

Windy continued to torment Corina until she grew tired of the game and dropped the permission slip into the hot tub.

"You did that on purpose!" Corina cried as she plucked the soaked paper from the water, watching her Dad's signature smearing in illegibility.

Corina turned and ran for the stairs as Windy taunted her "Ah is the itty, bitty baby crying?"

After watching the interchange between Corina and Windy, Doloris decided something had to be done. "You should pick on someone your own size!"

"What's the fun in that?" Windy inquired "Are you volunteering to be my next victim?"

"I'm no one's victim least of all yours."

"Oh I'm so scared."

"You should be because unlike Corina, I defend myself."

"Oh please, what can you do me?" Windy asked rolling her eyes. "Tell your parents. Please they're so soft-hearted all I'd have to do is say I'm sorry and they'd believe me."

Smiling sweetly Doloris said "We can leave the parents of this. They're not the ones I'd tell."

"Then who? I'm dying to know." Windy said sarcastically.

"My brother, your boyfriend, Adam. You know the one who made you real for some unknown reason. Do you think he would like you more or less once he knows how mean you are to Corina? You know how protective he is of all of us."

"Wait! You can't tell him." Windy said almost pleading.

"Oh can't I?"

"What do you want? I'll do anything. Just don't tell him."

Gotcha, Doloris thought. She didn't know what game Windy was playing but she knew enough to know Windy didn't want Adam catching on to her real personality. This might be fun having Windy in her control. Unfortunately Doloris was enough of Vallari's daughter to realize all the possibilities of the situation.

Before she was able to hash out the details with Windy, Jean called her over.

"Doloris I want to talk to you for a moment." Jean said hoping to get to the bottom of why Corina was so upset.

"About what?"

"Do you know why Corina's upset?"

"Um no" Doloris said realizing she had hesitated too long in answering.

"Doloris, honey, if you know something you need to tell me. I want to help Corina but I can't if I don't know what's going on."

"Why do you always have to know everything? All you need to know is that I took care of it." Doloris said taking the offense knowing that Jean wouldn't approve of how she took care of it.

"That young lady, was uncalled for" Jean said sternly.

"Well maybe if you spent more time with us instead of with the baby, you'd know what's going on." Doloris threw back at her, hoping that would divert Jean's attention to something else.

"What are you talking about? I spend time with all of you."

"No you don't because you love him more than us because he's yours and we're not" Doloris insisted.

"What! I love all of you as if you were my own." Jean confirmed feeling hurt at the accusation. However Doloris had successfully diverted her attention from Corina to something else. So Doloris calmly listened for a while and agreed that it was silly to be jealous of a little baby.

Later that evening Jean was reading on the couch in the living room, while Brian played video games.

"Honey are you looking forward to your birthday?"

"Uh huh" Brian answered shortly not wanting to be distracted from his game.

"Is there anything you want for your birthday?"

"A car" Brian responded with the first thing that came to mind.

"Well what kind of car?" Jean persisted in asking.

"I dunno. Maybe one I could fix up. You know one I would I have to rebuild myself." Brian said warming to the idea.

"You mean a junk car?" Jean said in surprise, thinking that Brian would have wanted a sports car or something.

"It wouldn't be junk by the time I got done with it" Brian said confidently.

"I'm sure not." Jean agreed wondering where she would find a car that Brian could fix up. Then decided to enlist Peter's help.

Adam meanwhile was taking a real liking to Elliot. He would take every opportunity to play with him that he could. He marveled at how little and helpless he was. Although he was looking forward to the time when Elliot was big enough to do stuff. Adam enjoyed being able to help his parents with the new baby, as he knew they were a bit frazziled at times trying to keep up with the rest of the kids.

Unknown to Adam, Windy had silently followed him into Elliot's room. She observed Adam playing with the baby and she knew that Vallari was right. To keep Adam tied to her, she was going to have to figure out how to have his child. Not now of course, she wanted to have some fun first. She disliked the idea of having children but she could see the merit in Vallari's plan. Have his child, be the dutiful wife and mother, then divorce him take the house, the money in exchange for the child. But she wondered, why hadn't it worked for Vallari? What went wrong? What did she need to do to get it right?

Peter awoke in the middle of the night with severe stomach pains. He quietly got up so as not to disturb Jean and went to check on Elliot. Elliot was awake and becoming fussy, so Peter changed his dirty diaper and fed him his bottle. Peter wondered whether he should break down and see a doctor and if he did and it was something serious, had he waited too long. Part of him wanted to pretend nothing was wrong, he didn't want to know but he couldn't shake the feeling that his time was running out. The more he thought about it the more depressed he became at the thought of not seeing his children grow up. What would become of them? Would they be able to stay with Jean or would they have to live with Vallari? Was there anything he could do to prevent that?

Putting Elliot down to sleep, Peter silently went back to his room and quietly got dressed. Then he laid down, trying to rest until it was time to get up and get the kids off to school. He was in so much pain he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He made a note to call the hospital for an appointment with the doctor Jean had suggested.

He must have dozed off as he abruptly came to realize he was going to be sick. He rushed to the bathroom just in time.

"Honey are you ok?" Jean called in concern. When she received no response from Peter she opened the door. She saw him kneeling over the toilet violently heaving. She kneeled down beside him and rubbed his back. There wasn't anything she could do other then offer support. She quietly said "Honey you need to see a doctor."

Peter simply nodded in agreement, knowing that whatever was wrong he could no longer deny it. He felt weak as he slowly got up to wash his face. He tried to smile reassuringly to Jean but the look she gave him, he knew he wasn't successful. Jean rushed to the bedroom in search of her phone to call the hospital. As she was searching she saw Peter emerge from the bathroom, a ghostly white pallor spreading across his face.

As he watched Jean search for her phone, Peter tried to concentrate on staying on his feet. He wasn't walking straight, it felt like he was trying to climb imaginary stairs that slanted crazily off kilter. He knew Jean was staring at him, he wanted to reassure her by telling her everything was going to be ok. But his vision blurred and his legs turned to water as he heard Jean calling his name but he couldn't respond.

"Peter, Peter! Oh god Peter!" Jean cried as she watched him fall to the floor in a dead feint. She finally located her phone and frantically dialed 911. The ambulance arrived 20 minutes later. Peter hadn't regained consciousness during all that time. Although he moaned in pain but nothing Jean did would revive him. Jean followed him to the hospital after arranging for someone to watch Elliot. She waited for what felt like hours but finally the doctor came out to talk to her.

"Mrs Van Winkle?"

"Yes. How is my husband?"

"Not well I'm afraid" the doctor looked at Jean in concern then said "Why don't we come over here and sit down. Your husband is very ill and I'm afraid it's a very rare form of stomach cancer."

"Oh no" taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, realizing this was her worst fear coming true. "What's the treatment?"

"I'm sorry but other than radiation and chemotherapy in the hopes of it going into remission there really isn't any known treatment. But we're always making breakthroughs and maybe one day we'll find a cure."

"But not in time to save my husband."

"No I'm sorry" the doctor said with compassion.

"How long?"

The doctor looked at Jean "You have to understand your husband has been ignoring signs for a while, delaying treatment such as it is, so he might have 2 or 3 years at most but most likely less."

Jean burst into tears despite her best efforts not to. The doctor waited until she gained some control before continuing. "I would suggest your husband see a specialist I know that specializes in rare cancers. He's had some success. He may be able to help. Here's his card. I've already set up an appointment for next week."

"Thank you doctor. Can I see my husband now?"

"Yes and Mrs Van Winkle, he knows. I've already told him. I'd like to keep him overnight but he can go home tomorrow. We'll start the chemo today."

Generation 1, Chapter 34

It was a busy couple of months after Elliot was born. Jean was busy planning the wedding and finalizing the guest list. They both decided to have an informal ceremony and reception in the garden. Peter was disappointed that his parents couldn't make it to the wedding but he knew they were happy for him and Jean.

The only thing that marred the happy festivities was Jean's concern over Peter's health. She knew something wasn't right but he kept saying he ate something that upset his stomach or he was dizzy from the chemicals in the lab at work. It all seemed reasonable but still the nagging worry persisted. She would feel better if he would just go and see a doctor. However she decided to wait until after the wedding, hoping that it was just a major case of butterflies making Peter's stomach more upset than usual.

The day of the wedding finally arrived and everyone gathered in the garden. The happy couple met under the arch and as the ceremony began, everyone's attention was diverted towards the lone figure running across the street shouting to stop the wedding. Vallari entered the garden as the guests parted to let her in, unsure what she was planning to do.

"Stop the wedding!" Vallari panted out of breath "They can't get married. I won't allow it." She tried to get closer but Crash and Optimus Even blocked her path.

"You should leave" Crash told her.

"I will not" Vallari obstinately refused to leave. "Why should he be happy when I'm miserable!" Vallari cried when she realized that no one was going to help her stop the wedding. Worse they were actively preventing her from approaching the bride and groom.

Peter didn't know what to do when he saw Vallari sprint across the road bent on stopping the wedding. He was afraid she would attempt something like this when she saw the ceremony begin. Peter was thankful that Crash and Optimus Even had his back and stopped her. He thought he should try to talk some sense into her but as he hadn't been able to do that all the years they had been married he doubted it would do much good. Also it would take attention from Jean and focus it on Vallari, which ultimately was what Vallari wanted. He refused to be diverted by Vallari and he was certain he was right when he felt Jean's hand slide into his, giving him strength and comfort. He turned away from the spectacle that was Vallari and focused completely on Jean.

They said their own vows to the sounds of Vallari's sobs and shared their first kiss as husband and wife. As they turned to their friends and family, Peter knew that this was the happiest day of his life and that no matter what Vallari did or said could change that. His children were there sharing in his joy and he hoped that some day he would see them all happily married and that they wouldn't experience the heartache he had in marrying the wrong person.

Jean joyously held Peter's hand in hers and drew him towards the cake. Then they sliced the cake and made their way through the guests, being stopped along the way receiving well wishes from everyone there. It couldn't be better, Jean thought until she caught the glare that Vallari threw at her from across the garden. She couldn't help but wonder why Vallari was there. What drove a person to be where they were not wanted and where they were obviously not happy to be? Why did she persist in wanting to cause so much pain and grief? She had an unwelcome feeling that she was going to have an unpleasant confrontation with that woman, she just hoped it wasn't today.

The kids were mortified by the actions of their Mother but they were glad that their Dad and Jean did not dignify her by responding to her. They were happy to have a new mother, one they were secure in knowing she cared about them and would do anything for them. Adam felt especially uncomfortable with Vallari there and attempted to stay out of her way as much as possible. Although he was concerned by the obvious friendship between Windy and Vallari. He wasn't sure he liked that development and he noticed how delighted Windy seemed to be at the uneasiness his parents were experiencing due to Vallari appearance. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea for him to have agreed to be Windy's boyfriend. Somehow he had the uncomfortable feeling that he had been manipulated and he wondered if it was Vallari pulling the strings, coaching Windy on what to do to get him to do exactly what she wanted. Maybe he had nothing to worry about, he most certainly was not getting married anytime soon and definitely not to Windy.

Windy delighted in the aftermath of Vallari's appearance at the wedding. She especially liked the glares exchanged between Peter and Vallari and the stunned look Jean had when Vallari glared at her. Windy followed Vallari into the house after picking up a slice of cake. As she entered the dining room she smirked in anticipation when she saw Peter, Jean and Vallari were the only ones in the room. 'Oh this is going to be good' Windy thought to herself.

Peter looked up as he noticed Jean stand up beside him. "Oh this isn't going to be good" Peter thought as he saw the glare Vallari was giving Jean.

Jean took a deep breath and said "Vallari I would appreciate it if you would leave."

Smirking a little Vallari said "Why should I?"

Trying to keep a lid on her temper Jean said "You weren't invited. It's just plain rude to show up at someone's wedding without an invitation."

Smiling nastily Vallari diverted her attention to Peter. "What's the matter Petey? You need this little girl to fight your battles for you? You never did have much backbone."

"Vallari I believe my wife asked you to leave." Peter said supporting Jean and deciding not to rise to the bait Vallari provided to get into a fight with her.

Setting her cake down, Vallari ignored Peter and decided to come to the point of what she wanted to say. "Listen girlie, you are not my kid's mother. They are not to be calling you mother. I won't have it, do you hear me?"

Taking a deep breath, Jean put a hand on Peter's should to reassure him she could handle this  and said "Our kids will call us Mom and Dad. We are their parents, we love and care for them. You lost that right when you act like a monster.  If you don't like it that's just to bad."

Vallari was silent for a moment but before she was able to respond she was interrupted by someone clapping enthusiastically. Adam was never more proud of Jean than he was at that moment. He was glad someone other that his Dad stood up to Vallari. He couldn't help himself when he started clapping in agreement. From that moment on Jean became his mother from that day forward. As far as he was concerned Vallari ceased to exist and he was delighted when his siblings joined him in clapping. Vallari didn't know what to do, she had never had to face them all at once, and not one of them was on her side. She glanced around the room for Windy, for some support but Windy was already retreating and backing out of the room. Vallari whirled around and left saying "You haven't heard the last of me. I'll have my revenge I promise you that."