4.14 Gremlins, Elves, Goblins And Trolls

Shaena had a son, Joshua, who slept the whole way home and didn't stir when she laid him in the old crib at half past four in the morning. He was a cute little thing, but she couldn't see much of herself or Alex in him yet. She hoped Alex wouldn't have doubts about his parentage when he met him for the first time.

Kaity had a son as well, and was extremely happy that she just had the one this time. She wanted to rush in wake the twins so they could meet him, but decided against it when she realised she'd need all the sleep she could get.

She couldn't tear herself away, and stood at the crib for a while, watching his eyes as he took in his surroundings. He was surrounded by a cloud of dust, as all fairy babies are, but this dust was different. This wasn't fairy dust, it was too dark. At first she assumed black magic, but then realised she'd be able to sense the evil within him if that was the case. She couldn't for the life of her remember what Winter had said he was.  
Gremlin? No, that wasn't it... Elf? No, it definately began with a 'G'...
She'd have to do some research, see if she could find him online. Why this thought hadn't occured to her during her pregnancy, she had no idea, but she decided she'd look him up soon. If she couldn't find his personal details, maybe it would at least say what lifestate he was.

_____

"Hello! Did you have a nice sleep? Did you? Did you baby boy? I think you did!" Kaity cooed in her best baby voice as Shaena joined her in the nursary.
"Morning-" Shaena started. "...Ish..." she finished. It was nearly midday, so although it was technically morning, it didn't seem right to be greeting people with a 'good morning'.
"Hey, chick, you sleep ok?" Kaity asked, still playing with the newborn in her arms.

"Yeah, I slept alright but I couldn't stop getting up and just staring at him." Shaena smiled, pulling out a bottle of formula and feeling baby Josh. "How about you? Have you named him yet?"

"I'm working on it." Kaity sighed as the baby in her arms started to cry again. "I don't think he's a fairy, Shae. Winter was a goblin or something, I think he's one of those."
"Aren't goblins green?" Shaena asked.
"I dunno, maybe it was a troll or something, I dunno. Whatever he was, he is. So that means Winter is the father."
"I didn't know you had any doubts...?" Shaena half asked, looking at her friend.
"You know me, Shae. There was always going to be doubt."

Kaity pulled out a bottle of formula for her own son, and Shaena told her she was going to soak in the bath as she left the room.
"Don't prune up!" Kaity shouted after her.
"I know how to have a bath, Kait." Shaena retorted, all jokingly, of course.
Kaity went back to trying to remember the name of the tribe Winter had mentioned.

"Autumn." She whispered, as she pulled her son close. "That's your name. You know that marking you have? The spidery one? That's an ancient cave system. There was once a tribe; the Autumn tribe, they lived there but the whole cave system is frozen now, your daddy told me. I hope you meet your daddy soon."

_____

"Uh-oh..." Jaydean breathed. She'd only wanted to help out, and she'd broken the sink while doing the washing up. Her mother and Shaena had been so tired these past few weeks, she and her sister would be starting school soon, and they'd tried to help out with the housework as much as they could before then.

"Jay, you should call a repairman." Her sister said in passing. It was a great idea. Sophie had all the great ideas. She called a repairwoman, she liked the idea of a female fixing the sink. She'd never had much male influence, but she remembered the story of her own father. He'd come round to repair the pipes. As much as Jaydean loved her mother, she didn't trust her to control herself, and one little brother was enough for now.

While she waited for the repairwoman, she emptied all the bins and took the rubbish out to the bin. Sophie was still in the shower. Either that or she was cleaning the bathroom. She wasn't sure if either her mother or Shaena were up yet, and wondered what she should do with her day. Turning back towards the house, she stopped in her tracks.

There was a man walking up to the doorway, and he stopped when he saw her. He didn't look too scary, but Jaydean knew she shouldn't talk to strangers, especially the ones that walked onto the property. A lot of paparazzi's tried to ask herself and Sophie questions, and Kaity had told them to never tell them anything. She'd gone to court about it when the twins were still only a few months old, and the press had been ordered to never publish pictures or quotes from her children.
Swallowing her nerves, she approached the man, against her body's instincts.

"Can I help you?" She demanded, her voice surprising her at how confident it came out.

"I came to see your Mummy, Kaity Mattell?" The man asked, checking he was at the right house. He hadn't expected her children to be so... big! It hadn't even been ten months yet, and he was sure she'd said they were two years old... (lol)

Jaydean sighed before shaking her head and waving her arms around in a negative gesture.
"No. Nope, sorry. She hasn't got time for interviews, and you shouldn't be talking to me. You know what trouble you could get in if I called my Granny." she threatened. The man just looked confused.

 "An interview?" He asked. "I don't want an interview-"
"Oh. An autograph, right?" Jaydean scratched her head. He didn't look like a crazy fan, but he didn't look much like a reporter, either.
"No, I-"
"Then why are you here?" Jaydean hadn't quite got the idea that if she let people finish their sentances, she wouldn't have to ask as many questions.

"I came to tell her I love her." Jaydean's mouth dropped, and she stared at the man. She couldn't work out if he was messing around, his face looked pretty serious, but she'd never seen him before.
"...What?" She squeaked.

"Are you Autumn's daddy?" Jaydeans voice carried on the light breeze as Kaity stepped out of the house to throw some diapers in the bin. She assumed her twins were playing a game until she heard his voice.
"Who's Autumn?" She'd recognise that voice anywhere. Silky smooth, a gentle city accent, and the ability to turn her spine to jelly.  

He came.





Autumns traits: Grumpy and Clumsy.
I didn't get to choose. Apparently Kaity didn't have a happy pregnancy. 
Also, writing this chapter made me lol. It was Kaity not even having the decency to remember what lifestate Winter was. One-track-mind for sure.