Chapter 8 -- Cake and Fruit

Lukas starts spending more and more time with Peaches, his doll. He always sings her a lullaby before he takes a nap since his crib is too small for her to join him.

While all of the tots are taking a nap, S heads over to City Hall where she accepts an award for reaching the top of her career. They've engraved a golden key with her name on it and placed her picture on their Wall of Heroes.

S decides to be narcissistic for once and places it on their kitchen table for the whole family to admire.

That night the family celebrates two birthdays.

Lukas goes first, even blowing out his candles on his own.

He grows into a honest looking young boy.

S is next. Instead of making a wish, she thanks the Watcher for being alive, well, and for her amazing family.

Time however doesn't heal all wounds. Well, at least the Watcher doesn't.

What the Watcher does is help with making some renovations. The family has enough to build a second story and furnish a daycare room with toys galore for Tim's charges.

She also furnishes a bedroom fit for a miniature evil emperor for Lukas now that he's a child.

His room is furnished with a lot of orange, his favorite color, and with objects a young boy might be interested in.

Lukas throws a temper at how dirty his surroundings are. He could drown in this puddle!

When Peaches is around though he is calm and relaxed.

He often spills his sorrows to her, about how his mom is distant to him, about the constant worrying he has to endure, about his evil thoughts... he is afraid of everything except for her and wants to know why.

S heads to work, sharing an elevator with a ghost. Nothing like elevator music mixed with a ghostly haunt!

Tim stopped by city hall to sue the paparazzi for falsely accusing him of being arrested. After impossibly losing the case he decides it would be a good time to have his birthday.

Ladies and gentlemen, please, hold your applause.

He ages up with a new uniform and a smirk.

On the other end of town, S is at her last stop of the night.

So used to her job and the obnoxious people who freak out when she comes by, she doesn't even look at who she's helping out.

"Look in the basement," her client says calmly, "Surely they are down there."

The basement is unfinished and dark, but S knows that the perfect place for ghosts to haunt. After finding 3, she banishes them and heads home for the night, not even giving a thought to the weirdly calm encounter.

After leaving, the Vampress breaks down in sobs, suddenly too softhearted to complete her plan now that she has a daughter of her own. She knows that will change however, her daughter is the heir to her throne and will need to be taught in the ancient ways.

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Notes: Woo! I have been waiting for S to have a job at Maddie's house. All of the ghosts were really in the creepy unfinished basement, and Maddie didn't freak out at all. She kept crying because one of her (many) old lovers had recently passed. She is currently married to Rory McGreggor (human) and they have a daughter together named Cindy (vamp).

Peaches really doesn't fit in that infirmary bed... it floats so I just kept her in S' inventory until Lukas was about to age up.

In case you haven't read the Rolls page, Lukas is the heir (evil, neurotic, insane = traits) and he will need to be  in the criminal career track, 5 kids, runs in the family, deadbeat parent.