Chapter 2.13 Ice

Ashton and Melody has a special connection to Toby

Melody was more into petting him, unlike her brother who prefered to imitate what Toby does. He's learned how to woof, but not yet speak whereas she could only babble gibberish to Toby.

Luckily, Toby found it quite nice to be the center of attention. He's been pining since the loss of Boo, so it was nice for him to have small humans constantly obsessing over him, even if the small humans were a little odd sometimes.

Alyssa watched them both with Toby, not sure whether their obsession with him was just a 'toddlers being toddlers' thing or if it was to do with the fact they were werewolves. She found it rather interesting to see how fascinated they were by Toby, but couldn't help get at least a little bit sad when she remembered that Toby might not be around for much longer.
On the thought of not being around much longer, Alyssa remembered that she had a job to get to. She was going back earlier this time after these two, after figuring that Damon could look after the twins.

Alyssa was in one of the spare office rooms, looking after the dragonlings. She probably favoured the purple one because it hadn't tried to set her on fire (like the red one) and the green one liked to bite. She more prefered spending time with the dragons than Adrian. If anything, she's been ignoring him slightly because seeing him just reminded her of that dream.
Speaking of the devil. "Alyssa." She sighed hearing that voice.

"I wanted to talk to you," He glanced to the purple dragon on her shoulder. "Without the dragons, preferably."
Alyssa pouted, "But they're my little dragonlings." She smiled slightly, "Just because Violet tried to attack you, doesn't mean you should stop liking them." She stifled a laugh. It was the purple one that attacked him, and ripped up part of his shirt. The dragons certainly favoured her to Adrian.
"That's not funny." He huffed. "Anyway, can I talk to you in my office?"

She felt uncomfortable around him now, and uncomfortable being in this office too. She looked to the side as he started to talk.
"So, there's a conference over in Bridgeport," He started, and that straight away got her attention. Bridgeport? That was where her dream wedding dress was.
"In Bridgeport?" She asked, just to make sure. She's always wanted to go there, but between looking after Belle and then the twins and work, she's never had a chance. "Would it be weird if I went with you?" She asked, smiling sweetly.

"If you really want to come with me. It might not be all too interesting." He warned lightly, looking up at her. He was a little confused by why she'd want to go.
"Yeah, but I've always wanted to go to Bridgeport, and it's not like the conference would last all too long." She smiled, and not to mention that it would be nice to get a little time away from crying, dog obsessed, toddlers. "That, and there's a really nice dress shop I have to go to." She added.
He stood up and went over to her, "If you want to go shopping, we'd have to go on a flight on the Friday. It's a weekend long thing with a lot of speakers, and don't say I didn't try to warn you if you find it boring." He smirked.

She grinned, and hugged him tightly. "I don't care how boring the conference is!" She dismissed the idea of it, mostly because she was excited about going to the big city! "Where's the conference at?" She asked while grinning, pulling out of the hug.
"It's at the Bridgeport Palace Hotel. It's a really nice place." He grinned at her, and he had to admit that he was rather pleased that she wanted to come along too. Maybe it would make the conference a little less tedious with her next to him.

Damon however seemed less thrilled over the fact that she was going to Bridgeport with her boss, who he originally didn't trust. Alyssa knew going into it that he wouldn't be quite so happy about her doing this. "It's a professional trip to Bridgeport, why are you upset about it?" She asked.
"Because you're going with your boss, who honestly sounds like an ass." He pointed out what he thought was the obvious.
"He's not that much of an ass." She sighed, folding her arms. "We just got off on the wrong foot, he's not that bad of a guy."

"I'm just saying, I'm not comfortable with you going away for a weekend with a guy like that." He tried to get his point across, but she just rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure it would be fine though if you wanted to go away with Tawni and your ex-wife." She muttered under her breath, and he picked up on that.
"That's fully different and you know that, and I wouldn't go away with Tawni and Vicky because I want to be here with the twins." He shrugged, meaning it innocently but Alyssa got the wrong end of the straw.

She laughed a little, out of disbelief. "Are you implying that I don't care about them?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Let me guess, you probably think Vicky did a better job than I did!" She started to raise her voice, adding extra scorn on his ex-wife's name.
"That's not what I meant Alyssa. I'm just saying that I wouldn't do that." His hand went up to his face, frustrated.
"But you're not denying that you think Vicky did a better job with Tawni than what I'm doing with the twins." She pointed out.

"I never even said anything along those lines, stop twisting around my words!" He snapped, starting to get annoyed.
"And yet, you're still not denying it." She rolled her eyes, then glared at him. "It's because you really do think she's better than I am."
"I can't believe how immature you're being." He spat, returning the glare back to her.

"Oh, so now I'm being immature too?" She asked through a snarl. "Maybe Vicky is mature enough for you." She didn't care how immature she may have been being, she didn't like Vicky, or him spending time with her.
"For God's sake! Let it go. I have an ex, so what?!" He yelled. "It's not like you're completely ex free either, but you don't see me harping on that."
"That's because I don't see my ex boyfriends often. I don't purposely go and talk to Tyler or Belle's father, do I?" She didn't. Sure, she had a tendency to accidentally run into Tyler, but it was a small town! The size of the town isn't her fault.

"Unlike Belle's father, I want to be there for my daughter, no matter what. If that means seeing Vicky, then that's what I have to do." He shrugged, and only after he said it, did he realize just how harsh his words actually were, especially about Belle's father.
"That's a low blow, and you know it." She growled, then sighed, wanting to reason with him (and stop him from seeing his ex wife as much) "But why so often? Can't you just go over a little less?"

"Are you really asking me to stop seeing Tawni, just because you're jealous?" He scoffed, hardly believing what he was hearing. Was she really suggesting that? She couldn't be, surely.
"No, I don't mean that. I just don't want you seeing your ex wife that often." She sighed, wanting a way where they could both be happy. Or, perhaps mostly so she wouldn't have to worry about him spending an time with his ex wife.

"Well, if you and Tawni got along better, she could stay here for awhile and get to know Ashton and Melody better." He tried, knowing that Alyssa and Tawni could get along if both girls just tried a little bit more to get along with the other.
"But she hates me." Alyssa soon dismissed the initial thought of the idea. "She's got some bizarre vendetta against me just because I'm with you, and that you're not with Vicky." She spat his ex wifes name, hating the sound of it, and that they were even fighting about her.
Neither of them had noticed that Belle had snuck out of her room.

"Can you stop saying her name that way?" He asked, and sighed. "It's not my fault she doesn't like you. In her defense though, you shouldn't have yelled at her." He managed to keep his voice level as he explained that to her, but he couldn't help a little anger creeping into his tone.
"I was worried about where Belle was. I can't help being worried about my own daughter." Alyssa was just about to raise her voice again, but was soon interrupted before another fight could break out.
"Can you please stop already?" Belle whispered, sniffling. "I don't like it, and I want to sleep."

Before all the arguing, Belle had been happily painting away in her bedroom before bed. Her easel in her room was awesome! But she heard her mom and Damon arguing out in the hallway. She didn't know why, but she almost felt guilty about them shouting at each other, she couldn't help but wonder about whether or not it was her fault.

It was horrible to listen to, but it's not like she could really go anywhere to get away from it. Each time she heard her name, she felt her heart sink and her stomach drop that little bit more. When her dad was mentioned, she wasn't so sure what to think about someone who had never been there. Was there anything to think?

When she did start to get upset over it, she tried to stay quiet. She felt bad about eavesdropping, but she couldn't escape it. She just felt as if she couldn't escape. She decided to put a stop to their arguing, seeing as though neither of the adults would. She managed to stop her tears, and left her room to where her mom and Damon were.

"Come on, I'll tuck you back in and read you a story." Alyssa felt terrible about making Belle upset. She had to remember not to argue with Damon upstairs, or even when they were in the house for that matter.
"Okay." Belle murmured, able to feel the tension between her mom and Damon. But she couldn't help but wonder about something Damon had mentioned before about her dad. Did she even have one?

Her mom had never met him, so she assumed she was just different and that she never even had a dad. Her mom never mentioned her dad, at all. Belle wondered why, and why he wasn't there either. Maybe he had to go away on a super secret mission? Yeah, that had to be it. That was it. That had to be it.

Belle got into bed, propped up on her elbow and her head in her hand as her mom sat down on her bed and started to read. "There was once a Princess called Bella." She started. Belle lazily followed the text, her tired eyes managed to pick up on a word that was similar to her name.
"Did you name me after the princess?" She smiled tiredly. Her mom usually calls her a princess, and she even has a princess bed! Obviously, that was the reason why she has her name.
Alyssa shook her head though. "Nope, not after a Princess."

"If I wasn't names after a princess, what was I named after?" She frowned, wishing she was named after a princess. "Was I named Belle because you like bells?" She asked, crinkling her nose. Who likes bells? Maybe her mom did...
"I called you Belle because, uh..." She hesitated, not so sure if she should mention Belle's dad. It never really crossed her mind to mention him to Belle. She sighed, and continued. "I called you Belle because when I met your dad, he used to call me 'Mon Belle' which means my beautiful." At least, that's what she thought it meant. Alyssa never really payed attention in French. "And I called you Belle, because of that exact reason." She smiled softly at her daughter.

"Do you ever talk to my dad?" Belle asked, looking up at her mom. "Could I talk to him? I'd like to meet him." She smiled.
"I don't really talk to him, Princess." Alyssa sighed, feeling awful as she saw her daughter's face fall. "But, the next time he does call, I promise I'll let you talk to him." She hated lying, but it was a little white lie. She just didn't want to see her daughter upset, and who did it harm to let her believe that everyone was genuinely nice for just a little longer?

Soon enough Belle had fallen asleep, and Alyssa smiled as she watched her. She couldn't help but think about Belle's father Matteo. He had never called her back, after all those messages she left him. She had just convinced herself that she was enough for Belle, and could somehow be all the parent her princess needed.
Maybe she really did need someone with her, and she knew that Damon would always be there for her. Even with their fight earlier, she still did love him.

Right?

Chapter 2.12 The 'S' Word

  Chapter 2.14 Something Special

________________________________________

AN: Ah, not so sure how to feel about the ending. Its bittersweet I'd say.
Belle is my favourite so far out of the kids, but I've not experimented much with the twins. However, she's just so easy to write for. I did previously roll for an heir, and rolled for Belle to be heir, whether or not to do and heir vote or just stick to the roll, that is the question. I keep going back and forth between the two.
This chapter is probably going to be a tribute to Toby, as about two game hours after his bit, this happened...

Oh, and Happy Yorkshire Day!