Chapter 1.06 Two Things New

It was all fun and games until the claw came...

"No, no..." Rosie whimpered. Her eyes were wide, looking up at the scary claw that was about to attack her. Her mouth was open, waiting for the angry looking claw to grab her, or attack her...

It was mainly a mix of screams and giggles as Erin tickled Rosie "Never trust the claw." She said, laughing herself. After all the giggles, Erin took Rosie back into her room, putting her into her crib. Thomas fell asleep way too early, as usual, so he wouldn't be late for work even though he had the day off tomorrow.

After putting Rosie to bed, Erin went back into her own bedroom. She started to think about everything that had happened during being in Dragon Valley, and how she had to leave her old life behind. She knew that everything that had happened to her here was nuts, but she was glad it all had happened. Erin didn't want to face going back home. Home was just a distant bad dream to her now. Here was home, with Thomas, Rosie and her baby. 

She got pretty much no sleep that night, as she felt strong pain about an hour after going to sleep. She managed to wake up Thomas, who helped her get changed and helped her into a taxi so they could go to the hospital.

They stayed quiet in the cab ride to the hospital, mostly too tired to say anything of too much importance. She knew he'd be there for her, he said so himself. Erin looked over at him, and took his hand. She gave him a serious look and mumbled "You are not leaving me, at all."

He half smiled back at her, and murmured "I won't, I promise."

A few hours and a heated argument with the babysitter (who did nothing and expected to get payed) later, Erin brought home her baby boy, Connor. She made sure that the crib was okay, by double checking nothing was wrong with it She had a new found fear that something bad will happen, she knew nothing bad would happen though, that was a sure thing.

"Aren't you going to bed?" 

Erin was fairly startled by the voice, but was more relieved when she recognized it. Well, it would be kind of hard not to recognize...

"Maybe in a little while." She murmured, turning to face Thomas. "I'm going to stay in here for a few more minutes." She spoke quietly, in case Connor was sleeping.

He half smiled "He'll be fine on his own for a few hours you know, you don't have to hover over him." With that, he left the fairly small, blue room.

"I know." She mumbled, hearing the door close behind herself. She folded her arms in discomfort, knowing something bad was going to happen. The question of where, when, how, why or what was still a mystery to her. Erin closed her eyes for a few seconds, trying to dismiss the dark thoughts. After about a minute or two, the thoughts went away. Erin slowly walked out of the room, making sure Connor was okay before she went to bed.

Sleep came easy, but it wasn't all too pleasant, then again its not like it was a nightmare or anything. All she could dream about was a certain someone...

She was surprised to see who it was. Its been a while since she last saw him "What are you doing here?" She asked, fairly quietly.

"I think you know why, Erin." He frowned. "I wanted to talk to you..." The man gestured to himself  "So, here I am."

"I forgot you knew how to do that..." She murmured, looking at him. She moved his hand away from her face, frowning "Its been a while since we last spoke, a lot's changed about me." She murmured. 

"Not enough to make me stop loving you. Apart from, running away without at least one goodbye? We both know that's not the way to leave things." The mystery man pulled Erin down on the floor, and looked up. Erin followed his gaze.

"I never knew there were this many stars... I always thought there weren't any in the city." She said, looking up at the top of the dome.

He grinned "See? You're still the same star loving and innocent Erin I always knew."

She sighed "So, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

"What, so can't I just see you without being questioned? You look different when your not all in black by the way." He grinned.

She laughed a little "I know you too well, I know that you probably want to talk about something with me." She then half smiled at him "I've been trying something new, more natural colors rather than black and leather."

"I still prefer the leather." He grinned, then sighed "There actually is a reason I came to see you..."

 Erin tried her hardest to stay focused on the dream, she's never been too good at staying asleep, as weird as it sounds. She always used to wake up at the worst of times, so she tried to stay asleep. Whatever he wanted to say was probably important...

The next thing she knew, they were sat down on one of the nearby benches. 

"So, what did you want to talk about?" She looked at him, and he sighed before starting

"I just want to tell you to look out for anything strange."

"Anything in particular...?" She kept her gaze forwards, glancing at him out of the corners of her eyes, she started to doubt the emergency of this dream-talk.

"Magic." He said, and that peaked her interest.

Erin clasped her hands between her knees "What about it?" She asked, frowning.

"I spoke to one of the oracles, and she said that bad things were going to happen in Dragon Valley, that's where you live, right?" He asked, and she nodded

"Yeah...What exactly is going to happen?" She asked, trying to hold back the slight worry in her voice. She didn't want to seem too scared, but she finally had a family in Dragon Valley, and she didn't want anything bad to happen.

"I'm not so sure... Something about young mages, not fully sure of their powers." He bit his lower lip. "That's all I know right now, I promise I'll tell you more when I can." 

She half smiled at him "You know I really miss you." He stood up, and she copied his action.

"One last kiss for the road?" He smiled slightly, and Erin moved forwards to kiss him softly. It still felt real, despite it being a dream.

When Erin woke up again, she ran over the dream in her head, just to check it was real. It almost certainly didn't feel real... She grumbled as she got out of her bed, feeling as if what she tried to leave behind was plaguing her.

"Make sure you don't set the house on fire." Erin commented, smirking. She knew how bad Thomas is at cooking, and her sarcastic comment was half met with actual concern.

"I won't. Don't worry. Besides, even if I do set this place on fire, that means we'll be able to get rid of these yellow walls." He half smiled, glancing at her.

"Forever optimistic, aren't you?" She grinned, "I'm going out today and I'm taking Connor." She said, going into her own room to get changed and then walked into the little blue room.

"Hey little baby..." She cooed, smiling softly "Did you sleep okay?" She rocked Connor for a little while, before speaking again "Me and you are going to go to the park today." She grinned, and got the stroller from the back of the room while managing to keep Connor from falling.

As always, it was sunny in Dragon Valley, the weather was often sunny, only occasionally would it ever be rainy... Erin strolled around the main park with Connor, there were other families there too. She got Connor out of his stroller, when a woman approached her.

There was a certain edge that Erin had to someone new... She was worried about who this suspicious person or people could be.If her old friend was right, shouldn't she have every right to be on edge?
"May I help you?" Erin asked, half smiling.
The older woman pursed her lips, looking at them both "I saw you struggling with your stroller back there, you and your husband should really learn how before there's an accident." She frowned

"My husband...?" Erin trailed off, confused. Her eyes then widened slightly, getting what she meant "Oh! No, I don't have a husband." She half smiled.
"Fiancé then?" The woman smiled uneasily, whereas Erin just shook her head.
"Nope, and no boyfriend." She sighed slightly. "I'm a single parent." She matched the uneasy smile.
"Oh.That's... Brave." Erin watched the woman smile, and walk away. She sighed, realizing how most people probably were towards people like her.

"We don't care about her, do we?" She said, half smiling. "We have Tommy and Rosie, and they're all the family we need." She spoke softly, wanting to go somewhere less judgey. She then grinned "How about Mommy shows you what she can do?"

She spotted the nearby abandoned cemetery, it was more of a memorial to those who died in The Great Dragon Attack. Sneaking behind the mausoleum, she whispered "If you somehow remember this, remember not to tell anyone." Erin closed her eyes, and thought about home

She smiled when she got back home, proud she managed to get there without accidentally landing in the middle of a wall. She went over to the crib, and placed Connor down in it. She grinned slyly as she thought about something she's always wanted. She bit her lower lip thinking about it, then nodded. She texted Thomas that Connor was at home and she wanted him to look after him. Even though he was somewhere in the house, she wasn't too bothered about finding out where exactly.

One step, two step... Things like this are certain moments that shouldn't be missed. Thomas heard his phone buzz, and looked at the text. He was almost certain that Erin was out with Connor, then again she probably dropped him off here and went back out.

Erin went to the salon, looking around a little, just to make sure no one saw. As much as she did love Connor, she hated taxis. They were always sticky, and she wasn't quite sure why... She went into the salon. looking for the tattoo artist.

After a very short discussion with the tattoo artist, who probably mainly practiced on himself, Erin had said which tattoo she wanted.

The needle was certainly her least favourite part of getting the tattoo... She winced, but tried to keep her arm relaxed like what the man said.

"Thanks for my tattoo, I love it." She smiled, tilting her head a little.

"Hey, its no problem. If you ever want another, you know where to find me." The tattoo artist grinned, and Erin half smiled

"Maybe I will get another one in a little while..."

Chapter 1.05 Leisure Day                                                                                   

 Chapter 1.07 Exploring

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AN: Huh, a lot happened in this chapter... I kind of merged two chapters together because I was going to have the main two events separate in this, but then I realized both of them would be short so... Yay for merging! (Erin's tattoo is a dragon by the way)

I think I should be able to update somewhat soon-ish. It took me a while for this one. Ah well, I'm sure I'll have another chapter out by at least next year

Chapter 1.05 Leisure Day

Shocked didn't even begin to describe how Thomas felt. He felt betrayed. He felt annoyed. He felt upset, because he wasn't there for either Roxie or Rosie

Anger was the main emotion that showed through though.

He tried to stay calm. He wanted to stay calm. He wanted not to yell, but it just came out "You expect me to be fine with this?!" He turned to face her, glaring. "You just casually spring that on me, and expect me to be fine?" He snapped.

Roxie shook her head, "Don't you dare make this about you. You think this has been easy for me? I doubt you even wanted to talk to me over the past years. I bet you were happy I was gone!" She yelled.

"Stop acting like a five year old." He growled, keeping his voice low. He had to stop himself from hurting her. He had to remember that Roxie was someone he somewhat cared about.

She scoffed "Like you know what one acts like." Her glare softened ever so slightly "Just admit that you don't care anymore. I know you don't. If you did, you would have at least told your little friend who I was." 

Thomas stayed silent. He wasn't so sure what else to say. She was right. Up until today, he had never actually gave Roxie more than a month's worth of thought.

He sighed, looking at the girl he used to know. He wanted to imagine she was the same girl he used to know. As much as he longed to live in the past, he knew that wasn't an option anymore. The Roxie he used to know was a lot different to the one he now knows. 

It took him a while to process it, and for him to calm down again. Most of that time was spent just looking straight on eye contact, even though normal people would have diverted their gaze; they weren't normal people.

"So, you said you wanted me to take her?" He asked, fairly softly. He was somewhat sure he had calmed down by now.

For a split of a second, he saw regret cross over her face as if she was still deciding. This made him realise that this was no way near as easy as she previously made out.

"I want you to take her." She spoke quietly. "I can't have her travelling around with me. We do some pretty messed up stuff when travelling around, I can't let her see that." Thomas thought he could almost see the old Roxie for a second, but that quickly vanished as soon as a red lock of hair fell into her eyes.Just a reminder that his former flame and best friend was gone.

"Her name's Rosie, right?" He asked, mainly just to clarify. He could hardly believe that she still remembered the connection they had to that name... It was an inside thing. 

Roxie half smiled, but it wasn't a happy smile "Yeah, Rosie. Its not much of a surprise I chose that name though, is it?" She muttered. 

Thomas shook his head, smiling sadly "I'm surprised you even still remember that." He mumbled, and that was the end of their conversation. 

He picked up Rosie, and he took the toddler, his daughter, back to his house.

He noticed that Rosie was almost falling asleep against him as they walked up to the house from the taxi. All of the lights were off, which made him realise that Erin was probably asleep too.

Shit.

How the hell was he going to explain all of this to her? Money was already a problem with them, and they couldn't exactly afford too much. It had took ages and hard work to just get one room sorted out, now they needed to get another one fixed up too.

He sighed, and went through to the only bedroom that actually had a crib in it. He would just have to try and explain it all to Erin tomorrow.

Rosie made whimpering noises, and tried to hold on to Thomas. The small girl seemed to have woken up slightly, maybe from the fear of being in a completely new place with completely new people. 

"You'll be fine, I promise." He whispered, and he thought that she may have understood him as she laid down. 

Thomas watched as his daughter fell asleep. He wondered if what he said to her would end up being a lie. What if they weren't fine? What if they weren't okay?

He knew that they were questions he would just have to push back though. 

It wasn't much of a surprise that sleep came uneasily to him.

Erin woke up at the same time as she usually does, about half six in the morning. She never needed an alarm clock, she was her own personal one. Even on holidays like today, which was Leisure day, she still managed to wake up early. She was about to go into the bathroom and shower, when she heard a noise coming from the baby's room.

She hesitated before turning. She figured it may have just been her imagination, but what if it wasn't... She figured it was probably just her imagination, but she had to check. She opened the door slowly.

"What the f-" She muttered, cutting herself off before she swore. She didn't want to swear in front of the unknown toddler, for obvious reasons.

She really wondered why it was there though, and how it got there. Erin sighed slightly, knowing that she shouldn't refer to someones child as an 'it' but what else should she call the small girl? She didn't know her name, so that was out of the window. 

That's when she noticed something, the hair colour. Erin had seen that hair colour before. She sees it everyday. It was Thomas's hair colour...

She soon remembered that the toddler, which was somehow related to Thomas, was crying. She picked the little girl up, and placed her softly on the floor.

"Stay." She said, her mind was frazzled right now. Usually she wasn't this bad around children, but this time was different. "I-I mean, don't move. Don't go." Erin tried again. A few coos and gurgles were the only reply from the grinning toddler, and Erin took that as an answer, or at least as close to one as she would get. Erin stood up, and backed out of the room. She did this to make sure everything stayed the same as she left it.

A large part of her wondered how Thomas managed to wake up so early, when on days off he wouldn't leave his bedroom until about ten. Usually, if situations like this weren't happening she would be fine with him sleeping in.

"Oi, Sleeping Beauty, wake up." She said, her arms folded. He made a few mumbling noises, then turned in his bed. She sighed, and went to the side of the bed. She shoved him, and smiled slightly when he woke up. "We need to talk." She said, looking down at him, which was when he was getting out of bed.

He simply raised an eyebrow, maybe trying to make Erin feel bad about waking him. "About what?" He mumbled, sounding as if he was half dead.

"Oh, I don't know." She started in a mocking tone "Maybe about the weather, or maybe the fact that there's a toddler in the baby's room." She folded her arms, noticing as he seemed to wake up.

"Huh? You found Rosie?" He mumbled, but was more awake.

"Kind of hard not to when I heard her crying." She mumbled. "Care to explain?" She asked.

"She's my daughter. That Roxie girl you met yesterday, remember her? That's her mother." Erin's eyes widened at what he said, but she didn't interrupt. "Roxie travels around the world, with people who buy more drugs than rooms in hotels and gas for their cars. She didn't want Rosie growing up with them, so she's going to stay with us for a while." Thomas managed to finish, honestly amazed that Erin didn't but in at least once. 

While the two of them were talking, Rosie had managed to escape her room. and was currently fascinated by the silver and black things with a yellow middle that were on the ceiling. She stretched her little arms up, trying her hardest to reach, but alas, her arms were too short.

Even though she couldn't reach and touch the star like objects, she still giggled. She thought it was something amazing, perhaps a new discovery no one had yet noticed. 

Its quite a shame that they were only the kitchen lights though...

"What about money though, we have next to nothing as it is." She frowned. 

He sighed "I promise we'll work something out. I'll try working harder and hopefully getting another promotion or something. If that works then we'll be fine. With me working and you busking, we should be able to pull enough money together." He managed to half smile.

"Yeah, I guess we'd be able to afford it." She smiled back at him. "So, are you going to spend the day with Rosie or something?" She asked.

Thomas drew a blank, he was honestly hoping they could just hire a sitter. He nodded, even though he had no clue what he would be doing "Uh, yeah. Yeah I am." He became more confident as his lie progressed. "I was thinking about taking her to that park for little kids. The one with all the rides and the sand pit." He half smiled, actually thinking it might be an alright thing to do with Rosie.

Erin nods, "I'll be at the Summer Fair, just in case you need me." She was about to walk out, but added "Please don't need me."

Erin noticed Rosie had managed to escape her room, and how the small girl was concentrating on the wall in front of her. She figured that Thomas would probably work out that Rosie's not in her bedroom anymore as soon as he sees the young girl in the kitchen.

Erin gets ready, and heads off with her guitar. The main bright side about Leisure Day is that almost everyone will be at the fair. Which means almost everyone should be able to tip...

She started playing in the park, hoping quite a lot of people would be extra generous today. Maybe if she had a good day today, they could get another room sorted out. Hours straight of playing will almost certainly be a good thing, right? 

It must be. Even though her music wasn't the absolute best, she usually got at least a few sympathy points if anyone ever came to make idle conversation while tipping. Everyone here was a lot nicer than where she was from.

About an hour after Erin started busking, Thomas took Rosie to the park.

He watched as Rosie squealed and giggled with delight. The grin came naturally as he watched her having fun. Rosie closed her eyes and held on tight as the mechanical bull gently swayed and puffed out steam from its nose. Thomas honestly wondered how she found this so entertaining... 

One the ride stopped, he picked her back up.

She was still giggling and squirming when he picked her up. She grinned at him, kicking her legs in the air. She whined while trying to struggle out of his grip, looking down then back up at Thomas.

"You wanna go again?" He grinned, finding Rosie adorable.

They spent a long time on that particular bull, and then on the rocket and pirate ship as well. Apart from the shaped and effects, there wasn't any actual difference in any of them.

She made another whining noise as they left the rides. He sighed "You've already been on them all." He mumbled, placing her down on the sand pit. Soon enough, Rosie forgot about the rides, as she looked around and fascinated by the sand. Thomas stood up again, and sat at one of the picnic benches.

By now, he assumed that the thought had sunk in, the thought that he was a dad, and the small girl filling her shoe with sand was his.

That thought scared him, it was a weird thing to think of. Yesterday, he had no clue Rosie even existed and hadn't even thought about Roxie since she left... He knew that was probably the last time he was ever going to see her, and that bothered him more than he would have hoped. He's been heartbroken over her once, he didn't need to go through that again.

When it went dark, Thomas took a very sandy Rosie back home. He managed to brush off most of the sand before they got into the taxi. Even though it was far from what he had originally planned he wouldn't have swapped it for anything. It was nice having a family for once, even if his family was only small that didn't mean it wasn't perfect.

He put Rosie to bed once they got home. He figured she was probably tired, as she was being incredibly fussy and whiny on the ride home. As soon as he put her in the crib, she was asleep. 

He spent a while watching her again, usually he would have been bored but he seemed to be content with watching over his daughter.

He was snapped out of it when he heard Erin walk back into the house "Guess how much I earned." She sand as she walked in.

He walked into the living room to meet her.

"I earned so much today." She grinned, seemingly proud of herself. "There were tons of people there, and everyone there gave me tons of money, it was great!" 

He smiled back at her, not as happy as she seemed "Yeah, that is great." He was happy about it, but he knew that he's had a better day that what she had.

"But anyway, how's your day been?" She smiled at him, obviously really happy still and she had every right to be. She made a little over what Thomas would do if he was at work.

"Its been good." He smiled, fairly widely. He looked down as he spoke, knowing Erin will just make him feel embarrassed about it, kind of like the big sister he could never get away from.

"She wanted to go on this bull ride thing a lot. I think she went on it about twelve times." He chuckled a little.

Erin furrowed her eyebrows "How does that explain the trail of sand in here?" She mumbled, and Thomas just noticed it.

"That's uh... That's because she probably thought it would be fun to fill up her own shoes with sand, and put some in mine too while I wasn't looking." He mumbled, feeling like and idiot now.

Erin half smiled "I'll believe that was Rosie for now..." She said, then walked off into her bedroom. 

Soon afterwards, he went into his own room and went to sleep. He had really enjoyed the day with Rosie.

Chapter 1.04 Something Wicked This Way Comes                                

Chapter 1.06 Two Things New

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AN: Yay! I finally got this wrote. 

I don't know why, but Rosie is really glitchy, I should probably work on her a little... 

On another note, there's flowers everywhere in the house. You can probably see or at least remember some from before, in my defence though, I wanted to make the house pretty for free, and they were really bugging me by staying in Erin's intenvory