1-32: Four Letter Words

(I DON'T WANT THIS TO END, BUT IT HAS TO SO WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT GENERATION AND I KNOW THAT THIS IS GONNA BE A REALLY TERRIBLE WAY TO END GENERATION ONE, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW I LOVE ALL OF YOU AND I AM SO, SO, SO THANKFUL YOU'VE STAYED WITH ME THIS FAR ;-;

And a mini A/N, there is some sexual abuse stuff that could be triggering. So a warning in advance for that.

And without any more whining on my part, I have for you here the final chapter of Generation One.

Bittersweet ;-; )

When everything is wrong and nothing feels right
And everyone has left, no one said goodbye
The days seem so lonely and I've never been this scared
This four letter word is all I have left, it's all I have

-----------

"It's going to be okay, Eden. She's going to be okay, you are. Everything will turn out okay.

Your job, right now, is to stay there with Rain and take care of her while I'm with Storm. I know you're anxious about this, but you can come up here tomorrow. Your focus for the time being needs to be on our youngest, alright?

You know I'll do everything Storm needs. It's one night."

Eden sighed into her phone, closing her eyes against the light of the room. She could hear the sincerity and comfort dripping from Xavier's words, but it did close to nothing for the worry trying to make itself extremely apparent in her chest. Rain was laying on her stomach on the floor, quietly cooing, and Eden wanted to get down on the floor with her. But she couldn't seem to bring herself to.

Her oldest daughter just had surgery on her heart. How do you go about a normal routine with that playing out in the back of your mind?

She had enough going on tonight, anyway. Her parents were out of town for something to do with Aria's newest book, and she was not only alone with Rain, Bliss was sleeping upstairs too. Babysitting and parenting all in one. On a night like this.

She really just wanted to sleep everything away.

"Okay, Xav. But I'm going to be there first thing in the morning."

She said the words with an air of resignation. She hadn't even wanted to leave the hospital after the surgery was over, but Xavier insisted that she take Rain home. Insisted that she calm down, and try to get her mind off of everything.

Xavier usually did get his way in these serious situations... because he was the logical one.

She whispered 'I love you' in response to his, tapping the end button and tossing her phone somewhere in the vicinity of their couch. 

Two days before, they had received the news that Xavier's parents had recently gotten through building a house. They wanted Xavier, Eden, Storm and Rain to have it... With strings attached of course, but for a much lower price than they were originally selling it for.

It wasn't as big as the Simon manor, but it was definitely an upgrade. Having an entire house of their own, compared to an entire floor in Eden's childhood place. It was just the packing that Eden didn't want to do.

Or, you know, any of the actual moving parts.

Eden sighed, slipping off of the couch and onto the floor next to her youngest child, adjusting the blanket she was laying on.

"We're all going to be okay, right?"

She took the pacifier out of Rain's mouth and picked her up, tucking her to her chest. She cradled her head in her hand, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

What is it with me and talking to my children about my life problems when they can't understand me?

"We will be. We're going to be fine. You and your sister are going to grow up, and be perfect, and smart, and nothing like your mommy."

She got to her feet, rocking Rain in her arms for just a moment. Her eyes fluttered closed in seconds, the way they always seemed to. She didn't fuss, or cry, or protest. She had to be one of the easiest babies on the planet. Eden headed to the stairs, taking them slowly up to Rain's room. She nestled her in her crib and sighed, reveling in how easy and perfect Rain really was for an infant.

Eden had been blessed with her entire family.

In more ways than one.

And she wasn't sure how she had gotten so lucky, or how she deserved it, but she was going to make sure that it all worked out. That this family would be nothing like the dysfunctional one she grew up in. 

She'd make it work. She had to.
------------

At first, when the sound echoed through the house, Eden thought that she was imagining it. That it was part of her dream. There was no way that anyone could be pounding on her door. Not in the middle of the night. Not even when the police had shown up to inform her of the accident that took Lyric's life, did they make that much noise.

But the pounding didn't stop.

She opened one eye, glancing at the alarm clock that sat on the side of the bed where Xavier usually slept. It was 5:06 AM. Who the hell could it even be?

She rolled out of the bed, rubbing her eyes with her fists. They were still blurry. They stayed that way all the way down the stairs to the front door. If you wake up my daughter, I swear to God... But even through the blurriness, she could see the man standing on the other side. And it threw her back in time in an instant.

Something told her not to open the door, but she did anyway. Mostly for the fact that she really wanted to yell at Kyle Lebronski, and secondly for the fact that she knew he worked at the hospital where Storm was having her surgery.

What if he had bad news? News he came personally to tell her so Xavier didn't have to call?

In what universe would Xavier ask Kyle to tell you something instead of calling himself? Not to mention that Kyle isn't a fucking nurse... He's just a security guard.

And still, she opened the door. She'd never been very good at listening to her own internal warnings though, had she?

When the door swung open, the smell of alcohol hit her in the face so hard, she took a step back. He smelled like he had been bathing in it. She crossed her arms over her chest, her stance guarded.

"Why are you here?"

Her words were biting, cold. The house was silent, which was a good sign. Her perfect baby and little sister had slept straight through all of the ruckus. Which, all in all, wasn't that much of a surprise.

Kyle neglected to answer, brushing past Eden and into her house. She made a quick sweep of the driveway with her gaze. The only cars there were her own and Kyle's parked lopsided at the end of it. No one was home, and her phone was upstairs... On her bedside table.

Shit.

"Kyle, why the fuck are you at my house? You can't be here. Xavier will be home any minute and he's definitely not going to be okay with you stopping by in the middle of the night..."

She didn't want to shut the door, but she also didn't want to leave it standing wide open. What she wanted was her husband home. And to know exactly what Kyle's angle was. She shut the door quietly, but left the dead bolt open. 

It was like Kyle hadn't even heard her. He took a turn to the left, into the sitting room that her family hadn't really used in years. She and Lyric used to have tea parties in it when they were kids, and after she died... It was almost too hard for Eden to even look in that room. She followed after him, anger prickling at the edges of her chest.

"I'm seriously only going to ask you one more time why you're here, Kyle. And then I'm going to call the police.

So, for God's sake. Why are you here?"

When she crossed the threshold into the room, he caught her completely off guard. Her grabbed her by the top of her arms and shoved her so hard against the wall, pain rocketed down her spine.

"You're not calling anyone."

Eden's eyes widened for a moment, and she winced, curling her hands into fists at her sides.

"Okay, you need to let me go. Before I hit you so fucking hard, you forget your own name."

He looked down at her, his eyes icy. He shook his head slowly, a small smile curling the corners of his lips. He tightened his grip on her arms, closing the space between them to where Eden couldn't breathe without inhaling the scent of alcohol on his breath.

"You're not going to touch me. And that line about Xavier coming home? I know that's a lie. He's at the hospital with your bratty little girl. Which must mean that your baby is here with you, right? You don't want to make much noise. Not when you can't get to her to comfort her when she cries.

So I suggest you just be quiet. Because this could come out far worse if you don't."

Something cold dropped into the pit of Eden's stomach and her mouth went dry. She tried to find words, and for a moment, she couldn't. Suspended in the moment without any idea how to respond to what he had just said. Every syllable he just strung together sounded like a threat. And she couldn't understand why. 

She'd never done anything to him. She'd never fucked him over like the countless other people she'd used and dropped in the years before she was who she was now.

"I don't understand what you want, Kyle."

She said the words quietly, the anxiety collecting in her chest with each passing second. All she could think about was Alec. Every single time someone trapped her without a means of escape, visions of that night flashed through her mind. Ate at her defenses. Debilitated her.

And now wasn't exactly a moment she could let the panic take over. But it was starting to anyway.

"Why do you think I'm here, Eden? I'm here to take what you owe me. What you've owed me for a long time."

He dropped his hand to the bottom of the pajama shorts that she wore, sliding his fingers up the side of them, his touch resting on her hip.

She shifted in his grip, trying to get the feeling of his skin off of hers.

"What the fuck are you doing?! Kyle get the hell off of me!"

Kyle pulled her off of the wall a few inches and shoved her against it again, sending waves of pain from her shoulders to her hips.

"I told you to shut up. Why can't you listen to anything? Why do you always have something to say? With no regard for what it does to anyone else?"

Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes as she glared at him. His grip was so hard on her arms, she was pretty sure she would have bruises. But the way he was acting, right now, had her partially convinced he planned on leaving her in much worse condition than that.

Eden had never been helpless. She used to be strong and full of willpower and a brick fucking wall. But it was like Alec had taken so much of that away from her. He had made her paralyzed by the simplest things. She should be able to kick and scream and fight her way out of this. She'd had practice fighting with her brothers growing up.

She should not feel frozen. She should not feel weak and pathetic and helpless.

But she did anyway.

"I don't know what you want from me."

Her voice when she repeated the words was soft, and the tears slipped down her face. She knew he was in control of this situation, she knew he was stronger than her. 

She knew she wasn't that brick hearted, willful girl that she used to be.

"Just... Let me go. Kyle, I haven't done anything to you."

He looked taken aback by her tears. Like that was the last thing that he had expected from her. He knew the Eden back before everything. The one who used to play boys like a game of poker. The one who used Russian Roulette to make life decisions.

He didn't know the girl she was now, and it showed on his features.

"Are you actually crying?"

His tone was disgusted, and he brushed a finger over her cheek roughly, leaving a red mark behind.

"Since when does the town slut cry?"

Eden bit down on her lip and shook her head quickly.

"I'm fucking married now. I'm not a slut."

Kyle moved closer to her, dipping his head down to her level.

"A leopard doesn't change its spots."

He pinned her shoulder to the wall with one hand, pushing the other one under her shirt, his nails scraping against her skin.

"So tell me... How much is it gonna take to get you to sleep with me. Right now. Can't take much. It never used to. All a guy would have to fucking do is smile at you and he had you in his bed."

Eden struggled slightly, pushing against his chest. But it was like her force was a shadow of what it used to be. She was weak with her fear. Hampered by her memories. She barely even moved him.

"I'm not fucking going to do anything with you, Kyle."

He laughed, the noise a sharp knife in her stomach. He slid his hand from her stomach to her back, pulling her roughly against him, his lips at her throat.

"The hell you're not. No one's here to save you.

And no one's gonna be.

And when I'm done with you, you'll wonder why you ever looked at Xavier twice in the first place."

At those words, the fear in Eden's chest took a turn. The anxiety started slowly ebbing into anger. It bubbled up into her throat and her cheeks grew hot from the intensity of it. She balled her hands into fists again, his words mixing in with every other one that had ever cracked her into pieces before.

Made her feel guilty for things that were outside of her control.

"Well, if you had kept your legs closed in the first fucking place, this never would have happened."

Made her feel like she was less than a human being.


"Everyone knows that they wouldn't have to drug you to sleep with you. You're the easiest one in that school."



Made her think that she should hurt, that she should be punished for the mistakes she'd made.

"You do deserve this. You deserve worse than this. This is giving it to you easy."


Convinced her that she could never be enough.


"Keep fucking drinking. It's not like anything can ever save you anyway."


So many people had made her see herself as someone who didn't deserve to love.  Someone who belonged by herself. Someone who could never be who anyone needed her to be.

Made her believe that no one could ever love her. That it was impossible for her.

She'd long ago convinced herself that they were all right. That she was destined to be a self fulfilled prophecy.


"Someday, something bad is going to happen to you."


Well. Not this fucking time.

And the words she finally said, she knew with every fiber of her being were true. 

"I might have changed. A lot, but it was for the better.

And you're right. No one is here to save me.

But the only person who I've ever fucking needed to save me, is myself."

She put both of her hands flat against his chest and shoved as hard as she could. Every word that she'd ever been given, every doubt, catalyzing in the amount of force she used.

Pain seared through her stomach in that moment, and it was all a blur. She was aware that he fell away from her, but she wasn't sure where any of the blood came from. The last thing she heard was the shattering of glass, and then... everything went black.
--------------

Eden could hear beeping, but she couldn't seem to decipher exactly what kind of beeping it was. It wasn't the sound of her normal alarm.

Ugh, what the fuck?

She also couldn't figure out why her stomach hurt so much... or why her head was pounding. She couldn't be hungover. She didn't drink when the kids were home and she had been responsible for Bliss and Rain.

"I think she's awake."

That... was Kiara's voice. And she sounded worried. Why?

Eden opened one eye, expecting to see Kiara sitting at the foot of her bed, in her house. But that's not what she saw. At the exact moment of realizing she was in a hospital bed, the smell of antiseptic seeped into her nose and she sat up. The movement was quick, and it caused more pain to rip through her midsection. 

She brought her hand to her stomach and when she pulled it away, red colored her fingers.

"What the fuck?"

Bringing voice to her thoughts didn't make anything clearer though. 

"Careful, sweetheart. You'll rip your stitches. Lay back down, okay."

Kiara walked over to her, nudging Eden's shoulder gently back against the pillow behind her.

"Why am I-"

And then she remembered.

Kyle.

"Holy shit. Is he why I'm here?"

Xavier's voice cut through Kiara's response as he came into the room, his face etched with worry. Worry and very apparent anger.

That was new.

"Yeah, the fucker stabbed you. Not deep, but deep enough. They said you fainted from shock."

What she didn't remember, was a knife of any kind...

"He what?"

She glanced down at the blood on her hand. She didn't remember anything but shoving him away from her. And... the pain. She did remember the pain.

"Well... where the fuck is he?"

Xavier and Kiara exchanged a glance before looking back at her. Kiara sat down on the bed next to her, brushing Eden's hair out of her face.

"Eden... He's dead."

Eden's eyes widened and she looked up at Xavier, who shrugged one shoulder. There wasn't an ounce of sympathy on his face.

"He fell on the glass table in the sitting room. A piece of it went through his chest. He bled out before Carter even got there."

It took Eden a second to register what he said, pushing her eyes up to the ceiling.

"I killed him?"

The words were flat, emotionless.

The lack of answer in the room told her all she needed to know.

Kiara cleared her throat after a few moments, her words directed at Xavier.

"Should I tell her? Or do you want to?"

Eden groaned, the action causing her head to pound and her stomach to hurt even worse than it already did. She looked at the two of them blankly, trying to imagine what it could possibly be.

"There's more?"

Xavier took a seat next to Kiara, a small smile on his lips.

"There is... But this is good news. At least to me."

Eden looked at him, and then at her best friend.

"....What is it?"

Kiara grinned before she responded, and it was like a disease with the way it spread across Xavier's face too.

"They gave you a blood test when you got here.

Looks like you're pregnant."

Well... Shit.

------------

1-31: Drive

Whatever tomorrow brings

I'll be there with open arms and open eyes

Whatever tomorrow brings

I'll be there, I'll be there 

-----------

"You're not succeeding in doing anything but stressing me out, Xavier."

Eden shifted in her chair, throwing another dirty look at her husband. Which was somehow what he was now. They'd decided to skip any chances of anything else possibly going wrong and get married at the court house a week before their second baby was due. 

Little did they know, two days later, she came anyway.

Rain Olivia Nile. Their Valentine's day baby. Of all things.

At least Eden had a new appreciation for the holiday that she basically saw as a complete joke.

"Alright, Eden. Breathe. I'm just trying to help you. You're acting like you're going to pull your hair out."

Xavier took a step back from Eden and the two little girls in her arms.

"I don't know why I would do that. Struggling with a whiny toddler and a newborn, that's a piece of cake after all."

The sarcasm leaked from her words, but she was too stubborn to let him help her when she knew damn well she could do it herself. She shifted Storm in her arms and finally conceded, sitting her promptly on her feet in front of her father.

"Daddy!"

Storm instantly quit crying, her fake whines fading into giggles as Xavier picked her up.


"Hey there, princess. Let's go watch cartoons and give mommy a break."

Eden scowled, finally getting a bottle out of the baby bag. Rain latched onto it quickly, her eyes drifting closed in seconds. 

This is ridiculous. I was not made for two children. How the hell did my mother have so many?

Rain and Storm couldn't be more different, however. Rain's disposition was basically exactly like her father. Even in her tiny size and age, she barely cried. And when she did, they were soft and quiet. It was like nothing upset her, even at a month old.

Maybe that would continue into her entire life. 

Eden wasn't sure if she should be happy or concerned. That's the kind of personality type that could get easily taken advantage of.

(yes I know she looks older than a month but hey you can only do so much in the sims >_>)

And then there was Storm. Three years old and sassier than her mother could have ever been prepared for. If there was one thing that Eden was sure of, it was that she was definitely done having kids. Two was more than enough.

One mini her, and one mini Xav. What more could she really ask for?

------------

"We need to get this surgery done sooner rather than later, Mrs. Nile.

I know that you're worried that something will happen, but the longer we wait, the more complications could arise."

Eden tore her eyes off the ceiling and ran a hand through her hair, sighing.

"I know, I know. She's just so little. Don't you think we could wait until she was older? She's only three, Doc."

The doctor looked half annoyed, half sympathetic, as he searched for words to give her. Before he could respond, however, Xavier cut him off. His words were harsh, but his face was reflecting something else. Something close to concern.

"Quite frankly, no. She's been sick multiple times already. You're afraid to close the ASD and have something go wrong in surgery, but not afraid that she could die from all of the complications that the defect itself is already causing her?

You need to think logically, Eden."

It wasn't like Xavier and Eden never fought. They did, and they did a lot. But it was never over something serious like this. She was surprised he had felt this way and not said something to her already. She turned her face toward him, eyebrow raised. 

"I'm sorry, but, isn't this something you should have told me a long time ago? We've known she was sick for almost a year and you sat by and let me have my way. If you felt differently, why didn't you just say something?"

Xavier's face was blank, but his eyes were disbelieving.

"Are you serious?"

The doctor cleared his throat, raising both hands up. Eden scoffed, slumping back into her chair.

"This is not the time for you two to disagree about this. I just need to know if you're ready for Storm to have her surgery... or not.

We can schedule something now, if you two are ready for it.

But, I have to say, it is definitely in your best interest to go forward with this as soon as possible."

Eden crossed her arms over her chest, glancing over at Rain sleeping peacefully in her car seat.

"Whatever he wants. I'm leaving."

She stood, grabbing the car seat and walking out.

She was almost to the front doors, to the exit, when she heard her name behind her. She turned around to face the voice, pulling Rain's car seat closer to her body.

"Kyle?"

He smiled at her once, surveying her stance, his eyes finally resting on the car seat in her hand.

"Hey. Yeah. I work here. I heard about your daughter and your sister. All those years ago... I'm sorry I wasn't a good friend... I'm sorry I split and wasn't around for you. You have my deepest condolences. Are you holding up alright?"

Eden raised an eyebrow, watching him closely as he walked closer to her.

"You... Okay. Thanks. I appreciate that."

They were never actually friends? She slept with him once. He was best friends with her little brother. She wouldn't quite call that a reason why he would ever need to personally be there for her. Even in the face of loss like that.

She shifted her weight as he got close to her, something crawling up her spine in alarm.

"No problem. You and I should hang out sometime. You used to be a lot of fun."

He smiled at her, but it wasn't a warm smile. In fact, something in it sent shivers through her. And not the good kind. 

She nodded in ascent though, wanting more than anything to just get away from him.

"Yeah... Maybe. I'll call you or something."

She had absolutely no plan to do anything of the sort. She just wanted to escape.

He seemed placated enough by her response though, because he put enough space between them for her to breathe again. She took in enough deep breaths to clear her head, turning for the door.

God, she hated it when people got too close.

"See you soon, Eden."

She glanced over her shoulder as she exited, nodding. The look on Kyle's face made her nauseous. He made her nauseous.

Not if I have anything to say about it. Creep.

------------

"We shouldn't be fighting over this."

Xavier was so calm and collected, Eden wanted to hit him in the face. Not that that's not how it always went down when they had any sort of disagreement. He kept his cool while she unfolded into hostility in front of him.

"Yeah? Because you not telling me that you think that I'm being an idiot about decisions with our child isn't a reason to fight?"

Xavier sighed, staring down into his coffee cup in front of him.

"It's not. I don't think that you're being an idiot. I think that you're just afraid. And that's okay, Eden. It's okay to be afraid. I just want you to see the logic instead of the emotion in this situation."

Eden neglected to respond to his statement, pushing her own cup back and forth between her hands.

"Did you schedule it?"

Her words were technically non-confrontational, but her tone said enough to Xavier, that he let out one more sigh. He got to his feet and walked over to Eden, bending down so his eyes were at her level. He reached out, tilting her chin up so that her emerald green gaze met his own.

"You have a month to prepare for this, Eden. It's going to be okay, and she is. You'll survive this. I know you, and I know even if you won't say it, you're terrified. But everything is going to be okay.

You're not going to lose her. You have a family now, and you have a life. None of that is going anywhere. 

I love you."

Eden took in a sharp breath right before his lips touched hers. 

And that feeling was still there, the one since the very first time he kissed her. That safety, the comfort that she'd only ever seemed to find in Xavier Nile. It was probably the reason that she ended up with him.

Not that she believed in fate, or 'meant to be'.

But if there was such a thing, she was pretty dead set that hers was Xav. That it probably always had been. 

It had taken her a long time to see it, but she had in the end.

And for that, she would always be thankful.

And she was never letting it go.

-------------
But lately, I'm beginning to find that when I drive myself
My light is found

1-30: The Scientist

Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Take me back to the start

------------

"Stop pulling at it. Eden. Quit!"

Kiara smacked Eden's hand away from the top of her dress and procured a scowl from Eden in the process.

"It's so... tight. And I can't figure out why. This is lame. This thing fit me six weeks ago when I ordered it."

Eden scowled again, turning to examine her white dress in the mirror. Kiara raised an eyebrow, examining Eden's figure as she turned. She placed a hand on Eden's stomach and let out a breath. 

"Well... It kind of looks like you've grown a little bit. Your boobs and your stomach.

And I say that in the nicest way possible. Have you like... had your period and stuff?"

Eden narrowed her eyes, turning away from the mirror to look at her best friend. 

"I'm not pregnant. I mean, I'm a few days late, but I kind of figured it was just stress."

Kiara rolled her eyes, trying to flatten some of the kinks in her hair that being out in the rain had caused.

"How many days are we talking here?"

Eden bit down on her lip and shook her head slowly.

"Thirty."

She said it quietly, but Kiara definitely caught it. It was obvious in her groan.

"You are so pregnant. Eden Royale! Why didn't you say something?"

Eden shook her head again, more intensely. 

"Because my wedding is in three days and I didn't want to come to terms with the fact that I was going to be too fat to fit into my dress."

She pulled at the top of her dress again, groaning loudly. 

"Which is obviously the case. This is a mess."

Kiara sighed.

"You'll be fine. 

But can I say that I never pictured you as a mom of seven kids and owner of a mini van?"

Eden sat down on the chair in the dressing room and put her head in her hands.

"I'm not having seven kids. If I'm actually pregnant again, this is going to be the last one. And it better be a boy, because Storm and I have enough estrogen for the entire county. 

I have a two year old, I'm not ready for another baby. I was never planning on having another baby."

Kiara pulled the zipper on her own dress down, looking at her phone as she did so.

"Well, I can't say that I feel the same. With Lilith, and Jett, I still want another baby."

"Yeah, but, you aren't me. You and Atticus are great with kids. That's why my parents gave you custody of Jett in the first place. Mine stresses me out more than I ever thought possible.

And they just get older and more difficult. I can't imagine what it's going to be like having a teenager. 

If my kids are anything like me, I'm unbelievably screwed."

Kiara laughed, pulling her jeans back on and zipping the bag covering her bridesmaid's dress closed.

"Well, I guess you can just hope that they turn out like their dad. At least he's sane and had a normal childhood."

Eden sighed and turned so Kiara could unlace the back of her dress, her mind stuck on how exactly she was going to tell Xavier that she was expecting another baby. She didn't think he'd be unhappy... Just shocked. Things still weren't calm enough with his schooling for a new baby to be anywhere near a good idea. 

But it was too late now. 

As Eden was slipping on her shoes, her phone started buzzing in her pocket. She attempted to ignore it, a plan still trying to form in her mind, but it went off again. 

And again.

She pulled it out, annoyed, and slid the lock to the answer side.

"What do you want, Atticus? We're kind of busy here. I know you have three kids there with you, but I promise it won't kill you."

Atticus' sigh was loud and he followed it by clearing his throat.

"Well, I thought you might want to know that Storm is acting like she might be sick. She's running a low grade fever and she says that her tummy hurts. I gave her some Tylenol and took her up to her room. I tried to read her a story, and give her cookies, but I think she just really wants her mom."

Eden released a long, slow breath as Atticus finished talking and instantly regretted snapping at him the way that she had. Her nerves were so on edge, and Storm being sick was not going to help that.

But so goes being a mom.

"Alright. Just go back downstairs with your kids. We'll be there soon."

--------------

Storm didn't look completely worse for wear when Eden entered her room. She sat up in her bed and smiled at Eden, holding her arms up so she could be picked up. Eden let out a sigh and walked over to her, cuddling her to her chest.

"Hey there, princess. Are you okay?"

Storm shook her head and placed a hand on her chest, her big emerald green eyes piercing into Eden's. 

"It hurts, mommy."

Eden pressed a kiss to her forehead and brushed Storm's hair out of her eyes, nodding. Her skin felt hot, but not too hot. Hopefully this was something that Storm could just sleep off and feel better the next morning.

"That's what uncle Atty said. But you're going to be okay, aren't you big girl?"

Storm nodded intently, her smile wide on her lips. 

"I be okay."

Eden sat Storm on her feet on the floor and sat crossed legged in front of her, holding out her arms. Storm immediately went into them and snuggled her face in her mother's chest.

"Do you wanna know a secret?"

Eden whispered the words into Storm's hair, stroking the back of her curls. She felt her daughter nod into her shoulder and took a deep breath, like she was telling Xavier and not her two and a half year old daughter.

"You're gonna be a big sister. Mommy has a baby in her tummy."

Eden wasn't sure exactly what she expected, seeing as she was pretty sure that her daughter would have absolutely no idea what she was talking about. But she had expected a response of some kind.

Instead, Storm's chest rose and fell slowly, meaning she had fallen asleep before she had probably heard a word Eden had responded with.

"Okay. I told you. Now I just have to tell your daddy. Same thing, right?"

Not exactly.

Eden got to her feet, still clutching Storm to her chest and leaned over, laying her softly among the blankets and stuffed animals in her crib.

"Sleep tight, princess. Mommy loves you so much."

When Eden's eyes began to sting, she was ninety percent certain it was time to do something to distract herself. Hormones or not, she absolutely detested crying. She'd tell Xavier eventually... She just wasn't sure she was ready to do it before the wedding. 

They had enough to worry about.

-------------

"You look beautiful, Eden. Would you stop worrying? You're going to make yourself sick, and then throw up, and no one wants to clean that up. Least of all me."

Eden rolled her eyes, twisting a lock of hair around her finger and groaning.

"It's not even the kind of curls I wanted. What is this shit? I look like I got caught in the rain and left my hair the way it was."

Eden was brought out of her complaints by a soft sob leaving Storm's throat. She was still sick, and it almost seemed like it had gotten even worse, but Eden was trying to be convinced that she was going to be okay. She didn't want to worry too much about something that was probably just another common cold. Xavier had been so busy, but when he had seen Storm, he was convinced Eden was worrying for nothing.

Kiara rocked Storm on her hip and brushed her hair out of her eyes, but she still kept crying. Eden walked over to her, leaning and pressing her lips to her cheek. She was hot to the touch, even with Tylenol in her system. She took her in her arms and as Storm leaned back, a frown clear across her face, the heat in her body seemed to grow more apparent. 


This didn't seem like a common cold. This didn't seem like she was going to be fine. What if Xavier was wrong?

"Maybe we should call the wedding off. Take her to the emergency room."

Eden bit down on her lip and ran her finger across Storm's cheek, brushing the tears away.

Kiara tilted her head, concern in her eyes.

"We could ask Atticus to take her now. We can meet him there right after."

Kiara's voice didn't actually sound like she wanted to leave Storm at all, but she also sounded like she just didn't want something to ruin Eden's wedding day.

"But what if she's really sick and I'm not there? She keeps coughing and she shivers and Tylenol isn't helping."

Eden handed Storm back to her and Kiara nodded sympathetically, tucking Storm's head into her chest as she fell asleep. Her chest was still hitching with cries and Eden's stomach felt tight.

"Alright, get my phone, You can call Atticus right now."

Eden crossed the room to Kiara's jacket, searching through the pockets for her cell phone. When she finally found it, she punched in the lock code she had memorized a long time ago.

"Eden, wait. Something's wrong."

Eden instantly rushed to Kiara's side, and the look in her eyes was something that seemed very much like panic. Storm's face was pale, and her lips looked tinged with blue.

Something being wrong was an understatement.

"I can't get her to wake up."

Kiara lifted Storm's tiny arm, searching for a pulse point. Eden felt anxiety creep into her veins, her mouth going dry.

"Eden her pulse is weak and she's barely breathing. We have to go to the hospital. Now."

-------------

"Atrial Septal Defect."

Eden pulled at a string on the seat she was in, trying to understand the doctor's words but barely registering them. She glanced up at the man, her face blank, mascara down her face. They'd been in the hospital all night, Eden's wedding dress crumpled and forgotten in a chair after Xavier had brought her other clothes to wear. 

The nurse had told her that her daughter had pneumonia, but that it seemed more complicated than that. Test results were strange, and that a doctor would be there in the morning who specialized in the field.

Eden hadn't slept, no one had. Tension was high, and all she had wanted were answers. That she didn't get. Until now it seemed.

"Atrial... That's the heart isn't it?"

Her stomach contracted and she felt sick, she could barely even feel Xavier's grip as he squeezed her hand.

"It is, yes. Your daughter has a hole in her heart, for lack of better terminology.

In most cases, it's minor and doesn't do much. It can be treated with little to no complications. But in this case, it seems as if your daughter's is a little more serious than normal. 

Your daughter's growth is also well below average, and she seems to have developed pneumonia. Both of those can be attributed to an ASD.

I don't know how her doctor's have never noticed this, at her age, they should have by now.

But the good news is, we can help her. With surgery."

Eden felt tears slip down her cheeks and she took a shaky breath, her words cracking as she spoke.

"Surgery? Like heart surgery?"

The doctor nodded, a forced smile gracing his lips.

"Yes.

I will refer you to a pediatric cardiologist and you two can figure it out from there. 

But, Ms. Simon, this is treatable. Storm is going to be just fine.

We're going to give her treatment for her pneumonia, and then you can take her home."

The doctor issued them one more fake smile and left the room, the silence he left behind echoing in the room.

Xavier sighed, releasing Eden's hand and crossing his arms over his chest.

"We really do have some really terrible luck, Eden. Ever noticed?"

Eden blinked, bringing her eyes to Xav's face.

"Not at all."

Xavier reached a hand out, tracing a finger over Eden's lips. 

"Nah, me either. I have you so I guess there's gotta be some good luck in my life."

Eden rolled her eyes, shaking her head. She took a deep breath, keeping her eyes on the desk in front of her.

"That was so lame. Cheesy as fuck, Nile.

But..... speaking of luck. Yours apparently sucks more than you think.

Because I'm having another baby."

Xavier's eyes widened and he leaned back into his chair, dropping his head into his hands. It took him a while to respond, but he did eventually. His words shaky, but honest.

"I don't necessarily think that that's bad luck... Just horrible timing.

But we'll make it work.

We always do."

---------------
I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling your puzzles apart
Questions of science; science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart