Summer Special: As Children Grow, Part 2
Written by Rosey Collins
Additional material by Jake Collins
Additional material by Jake Collins
Ella opened the front door and stood to one side to let Kevin into her apartment.
'Hey, Ella,' he said, fixing her with a smile. 'Are you sure you've got time for this?'
'Plenty of time, Kev,' said Ella, smiling back at him. 'I don't have to be back at work for another half-hour. Come into the living room and tell me this fantastic news of yours.'
Ella led the way into the living room, where they both made themselves comfortable on the couch. Kevin took a few moments to prepare himself, then he looked up and met Ella's expectant gaze.
'Lucy's pregnant,' he said. 'One of the embryos implanted successfully.'
Ella smiled widely and wrapped her arms around Kevin.
'Oh, Kev, that really is the most wonderful news,' she said. 'I'm so happy for you and Oscar, and for Lucy too. I know how much you and she both wanted her to be the one to do it for you.'
'I wanted you to be one of the first to know, Ella,' said Kevin. 'I haven't forgotten that the whole thing was your idea in the first place, and me and Oscar will always be so grateful to you for offering to do it for us yourself, but we know how you and Mike have been trying for a while and it was definitely the right call when we all decided it wasn't the right time for you to have a baby for someone else.'
'It's okay, Kev,' said Ella. 'I didn't mean to imply that this was ever about you picking between the two of us as your favourite potential incubator.'
'I'm glad to hear it,' said Kevin. 'We're all in this together, really – the six of us, I mean – and I really hope you and Mike will join the rest of us for a celebratory meal one evening next week.'
'I'm sure nothing would give either of us greater pleasure,' said Ella, beaming at Kevin. 'It's, er... it's only the evening we're all going to spend together, huh? Not the night?'
Kevin laughed and said, 'I don't know about that. We're not seventeen anymore, Ella.'
'You can't help getting older, Kev, but you can help getting old.'
'Yeah, well I'm sure having a baby together will keep me and Oscar young for a while longer.'
Ella smiled wistfully and rose to her feet. She went over to a nearby desk and retrieved a sheet of paper from a drawer, then she returned to the couch and placed the paper in Kevin's hand.
'This came from the clinic yesterday,' said Ella. 'I'd really appreciate your thoughts on it, Kev.'
'Okay,' said Kevin, scanning the piece of paper. 'Um... well, this isn't really my area of expertise, but your results seem to be well within the parameters of what would be considered normal, Ella.'
'My results are, yeah,' said Ella. 'Now take a look at Mike's.'
Kevin's eyes travelled further down the paper, then they widened slightly.
'Oh,' said Kevin. 'Oh, I see.'
At that moment, the front door could be heard to open. Kevin and Ella both looked up as Michael appeared from the hallway, wearing a hard hat and a fluorescent jacket.
'We got the Staten Island contract!' Michael announced, grinning all over his face. 'That should keep the wolf from the door for another couple of years. Hey, what's going on in here?'
'That's wonderful news, Mikey,' said Ella. 'I know how hard you worked to secure that contract.'
'Ella, are you showing Kev my low sperm count?' said Michael, not sounding too happy about the idea.
'Well... yeah, I guess I am,' Ella was forced to admit. 'After all, he is a nurse, you know!'
Michael shrugged, sighed and collapsed into an armchair before fixing Kevin with a quizzical look.
'What do you reckon, Kev?' he asked. 'Should we immediately give up all hope of ever having a baby?'
'I wouldn't say that, Mike,' Kevin replied. 'This is a pretty high low sperm count... I think, although it's not really my area.'
'But kids are your area,' said Michael.
'Only after they've actually been born,' said Kevin.
'Maybe we should try the IVF after all,' said Michael. 'But it's pretty expensive, isn't it? That's why you're still living above your parents' garage, right, Kev?'
'Yes, partly,' said Kevin, 'although we've managed to save up enough for a deposit on our own place now... and we're just about to make use of it because Lucy's pregnant.'
'Oh wow, that's so great!' said Michael, giving Kevin a warm smile. 'Now I can see exactly how you two got onto the subject of my low sperm count.'
'There are other things we can try instead of IVF, aren't there?' said Ella. 'We really only scratched the surface when we started looking into adoption, and there's always the option of donor sperm.'
Michael frowned and did not reply. Kevin rose to his feet.
'You two have a lot to talk about, so I'm gonna leave you to make a start,' he said. 'Mike, you'll come out for a celebratory meal with the rest of us sometime next week, won't you?'
'I'd love to, Kev,' said Michael. 'The six of us don't get together nearly so often as we should nowadays.'
Ella led Kevin back into the hallway, and Michael followed behind. Ella gave Kevin another hug, then Michael gave him one as Ella opened the front door.
'Kev, you won't tell anyone about my low sperm count, will you?' Michael said quietly.
'Of course not, Mike,' said Kevin, patting him on the back reassuringly. 'I know the meaning of professional discretion.'
Kevin exchanged a final shoulder-clap and smile with Michael, then he received a kiss on the cheek from Ella, after which he found himself able to leave the apartment.
'We really do need to talk about those results, Mike,' Ella said as she closed the door. 'Not right now, of course, 'cause I need to get to work pretty soon, but maybe when I get home?'
'Okay, sure,' said Michael. 'You know, I guess using donor sperm might not be so bad. Maybe we could get one of our friends to give us some. Oscar, maybe.'
'Oh, Mike,' said Ella, giggling slightly, 'don't you think that would complicate things too much? Lucy's already having Kevin's baby for Kevin and Oscar, and now you want me to have Oscar's baby for you and me...'
'Hmm... yeah, I guess going the anonymous route might be better,' said Michael. 'I'll read those brochures again while you're at work... and I'll read the adoption ones as well.'
'Thanks, Mikey,' said Ella, snaking her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.
'We might decide to keep on trying a while longer before we do any of that stuff,' said Michael.
'Yes,' said Ella, 'we might decide to do that.'
'But... but if none of it works out for us,' said Michael, 'and it turns out it's going to be just the two of us forever... Ella, that wouldn't be so bad, would it?'
'No, Mike,' said Ella, squeezing him tightly, 'it wouldn't be so bad at all.'
'Hey, Ella,' he said, fixing her with a smile. 'Are you sure you've got time for this?'
'Plenty of time, Kev,' said Ella, smiling back at him. 'I don't have to be back at work for another half-hour. Come into the living room and tell me this fantastic news of yours.'
Ella led the way into the living room, where they both made themselves comfortable on the couch. Kevin took a few moments to prepare himself, then he looked up and met Ella's expectant gaze.
'Lucy's pregnant,' he said. 'One of the embryos implanted successfully.'
Ella smiled widely and wrapped her arms around Kevin.
'Oh, Kev, that really is the most wonderful news,' she said. 'I'm so happy for you and Oscar, and for Lucy too. I know how much you and she both wanted her to be the one to do it for you.'
'I wanted you to be one of the first to know, Ella,' said Kevin. 'I haven't forgotten that the whole thing was your idea in the first place, and me and Oscar will always be so grateful to you for offering to do it for us yourself, but we know how you and Mike have been trying for a while and it was definitely the right call when we all decided it wasn't the right time for you to have a baby for someone else.'
'It's okay, Kev,' said Ella. 'I didn't mean to imply that this was ever about you picking between the two of us as your favourite potential incubator.'
'I'm glad to hear it,' said Kevin. 'We're all in this together, really – the six of us, I mean – and I really hope you and Mike will join the rest of us for a celebratory meal one evening next week.'
'I'm sure nothing would give either of us greater pleasure,' said Ella, beaming at Kevin. 'It's, er... it's only the evening we're all going to spend together, huh? Not the night?'
Kevin laughed and said, 'I don't know about that. We're not seventeen anymore, Ella.'
'You can't help getting older, Kev, but you can help getting old.'
'Yeah, well I'm sure having a baby together will keep me and Oscar young for a while longer.'
Ella smiled wistfully and rose to her feet. She went over to a nearby desk and retrieved a sheet of paper from a drawer, then she returned to the couch and placed the paper in Kevin's hand.
'This came from the clinic yesterday,' said Ella. 'I'd really appreciate your thoughts on it, Kev.'
'Okay,' said Kevin, scanning the piece of paper. 'Um... well, this isn't really my area of expertise, but your results seem to be well within the parameters of what would be considered normal, Ella.'
'My results are, yeah,' said Ella. 'Now take a look at Mike's.'
Kevin's eyes travelled further down the paper, then they widened slightly.
'Oh,' said Kevin. 'Oh, I see.'
At that moment, the front door could be heard to open. Kevin and Ella both looked up as Michael appeared from the hallway, wearing a hard hat and a fluorescent jacket.
'We got the Staten Island contract!' Michael announced, grinning all over his face. 'That should keep the wolf from the door for another couple of years. Hey, what's going on in here?'
'That's wonderful news, Mikey,' said Ella. 'I know how hard you worked to secure that contract.'
'Ella, are you showing Kev my low sperm count?' said Michael, not sounding too happy about the idea.
'Well... yeah, I guess I am,' Ella was forced to admit. 'After all, he is a nurse, you know!'
Michael shrugged, sighed and collapsed into an armchair before fixing Kevin with a quizzical look.
'What do you reckon, Kev?' he asked. 'Should we immediately give up all hope of ever having a baby?'
'I wouldn't say that, Mike,' Kevin replied. 'This is a pretty high low sperm count... I think, although it's not really my area.'
'But kids are your area,' said Michael.
'Only after they've actually been born,' said Kevin.
'Maybe we should try the IVF after all,' said Michael. 'But it's pretty expensive, isn't it? That's why you're still living above your parents' garage, right, Kev?'
'Yes, partly,' said Kevin, 'although we've managed to save up enough for a deposit on our own place now... and we're just about to make use of it because Lucy's pregnant.'
'Oh wow, that's so great!' said Michael, giving Kevin a warm smile. 'Now I can see exactly how you two got onto the subject of my low sperm count.'
'There are other things we can try instead of IVF, aren't there?' said Ella. 'We really only scratched the surface when we started looking into adoption, and there's always the option of donor sperm.'
Michael frowned and did not reply. Kevin rose to his feet.
'You two have a lot to talk about, so I'm gonna leave you to make a start,' he said. 'Mike, you'll come out for a celebratory meal with the rest of us sometime next week, won't you?'
'I'd love to, Kev,' said Michael. 'The six of us don't get together nearly so often as we should nowadays.'
Ella led Kevin back into the hallway, and Michael followed behind. Ella gave Kevin another hug, then Michael gave him one as Ella opened the front door.
'Kev, you won't tell anyone about my low sperm count, will you?' Michael said quietly.
'Of course not, Mike,' said Kevin, patting him on the back reassuringly. 'I know the meaning of professional discretion.'
Kevin exchanged a final shoulder-clap and smile with Michael, then he received a kiss on the cheek from Ella, after which he found himself able to leave the apartment.
'We really do need to talk about those results, Mike,' Ella said as she closed the door. 'Not right now, of course, 'cause I need to get to work pretty soon, but maybe when I get home?'
'Okay, sure,' said Michael. 'You know, I guess using donor sperm might not be so bad. Maybe we could get one of our friends to give us some. Oscar, maybe.'
'Oh, Mike,' said Ella, giggling slightly, 'don't you think that would complicate things too much? Lucy's already having Kevin's baby for Kevin and Oscar, and now you want me to have Oscar's baby for you and me...'
'Hmm... yeah, I guess going the anonymous route might be better,' said Michael. 'I'll read those brochures again while you're at work... and I'll read the adoption ones as well.'
'Thanks, Mikey,' said Ella, snaking her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest.
'We might decide to keep on trying a while longer before we do any of that stuff,' said Michael.
'Yes,' said Ella, 'we might decide to do that.'
'But... but if none of it works out for us,' said Michael, 'and it turns out it's going to be just the two of us forever... Ella, that wouldn't be so bad, would it?'
'No, Mike,' said Ella, squeezing him tightly, 'it wouldn't be so bad at all.'
James and Conchita came home from school together, had some Go-Gurt and then sat down at the dining room table to do their homework. Carl hovered around in the doorway looking awkward until James saw him, smiled and said, 'Hi, Dad. What's with you – ants in your pants?'
Carl gave a non-committal shrug and said, 'No Isabel today?'
'She had to go straight home,' said James, 'but we're going out later. Just me and her, I mean.'
'Oh,' said Carl. 'Well, that's great... isn't it?'
'Of course,' James grinned. 'Why wouldn't it be?'
'I don't know.'
'Dad, what's going on? Why are you being weird?'
'I guess because I'm feeling weird,' said Carl. 'It's my last day on the force tomorrow. That's a sobering thought, son.'
James smiled broadly, got up from the table and went to give his father a hug. Carl's face melted into a rather wobbly smile, and he patted his son on the back.
'That okay?' he asked. 'No mice in there?'
'Not right now, Dad,' said James. 'Hey, wanna know what I'm doing? It's a paper on the psychological profiling of serial killers.'
'Well, that's great,' said Carl, beaming. Then he looked at Conchita. 'How about you, honey? Same thing?'
'No,' said Conchita. 'Mine's about Stockholm syndrome. I'm debating whether the recent changes to the theory are just an attempt to make ideas about victims fit in better with popular thinking, or there's actually something in it.'
James made a face at Carl and said, 'She always was smarter than me. I'm just writing up the basics about victim selection and body disposal and stuff.'
'I'm sure it's great, son,' said Carl.
'I'd better get on with it,' said James, going back to the dining table. 'I want to be ready for my date later.'
'So it's an actual date, huh?' said Carl.
'Yep,' said James.
'I'll leave you to it, then,' said Carl, and mooched out of the room.
A few minutes after he had gone, Conchita said, 'I'm going to the bathroom, Jim.' Then she left the table and went upstairs, where Carl was just coming out of the bathroom himself.
'Hi, Chita,' he said, surprised. 'You okay?'
'Yes,' said Conchita. 'Are you? Jim was right – you were acting really weird in there.'
'Well,' said Carl, 'I'm not the only one. I... wanted to ask you about it, actually. By yourself.'
'Yeah?' said Conchita. 'Who else is acting weird?'
'Isabel yesterday,' said Carl, 'and your dad this morning. And when I thought about it, I realised you and Beth were acting kind of weird yesterday, and it always seems to start when the conversation turns to Isabel.'
Conchita raised an eyebrow. 'You talked to Isabel about Isabel? What on earth did you say?'
'Nothing much,' said Carl. 'She just mentioned something about when Jamie was a little kid, and I said something about them exchanging life stories, and then she went really weird.'
'Oh, I see,' said Conchita. 'Well, maybe she realised something.'
'She did!' said Carl, astonished. 'That's exactly what she said: that she “realised something”! How did you know that?'
'Because I realised the same thing myself yesterday,' said Conchita. 'Probably so did Beth, and probably so did my dad. You don't know, do you? This significant thing about Isabel? Well... what we all think you'd call significant, I mean.'
'I don't guess I do,' said Carl. 'I wish someone would tell me.'
'I think we're all scared to,' said Conchita. 'I don't have any first-hand evidence of this, Uncle Carl, but I got the impression Beth didn't think you'd react very well, and I wasn't there when you talked to Dad but I can imagine he feels the same way.'
'Okay, Chita, you're scaring me now,' said Carl. 'Please just tell me.'
'All right, I will,' said Conchita. 'See, the thing is, Isabel's trans.'
'Trans?' said Carl, his brow furrowing in confusion.
'Yes,' said Conchita. 'She's transgender.'
'So,' said Carl, 'you mean... you mean... she's a boy?'
Conchita frowned slightly. 'No. I mean she was born male, but she identifies as female.'
'So,' said Carl, 'I... he... she... I mean...'
'It bothers you, doesn't it?' Conchita said resignedly.
'Yes, no, I mean... I didn't think bisexuals went for that kind of thing... person, I mean!'
'They don't,' said Conchita. 'James isn't bisexual.'
Carl stared at her. 'What do you mean James isn't bisexual?'
'He's pansexual.'
Carl's stare became even more baffled. 'Pan? Sexual?'
'It means he's attracted to people of all genders.'
'All genders?'
'Look,' Conchita said, with a barely concealed sigh, 'I really need to get back to my assignment. Will you be okay?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Carl. 'Pan... sexual. This is all new to me.'
'What about transgender?'
'Well... no, not really. People have been getting sex changes for a long time – just not when they were kids. Surely kids are too young to know.'
'Nobody knows anything about it except the individual person,' said Conchita.
'Yes, well,' said Carl, 'I think I kind of get it. It's because he grew up liking ponies and mermaids instead of guns and mice, isn't it?'
'Well... I don't think it's as simple as that. And you have to call Isabel “she” and “her”, Uncle Carl, otherwise it's transphobic bullying.'
'Oh, I see. But, um... she hasn't had the surgery yet, right?'
'You're really not supposed to ask about that kind of thing,' said Conchita. 'And y'know, she might not ever want to have surgery. But whether she does or she doesn't is her business, Uncle Carl.'
'But,' Carl boggled, 'but if he... but if she...'
'Not everybody wants to have surgery.'
Carl just stood there, lost for words.
'Look, Uncle Carl,' Conchita went on, 'I don't think I'm really the best person to explain it because I don't understand everything myself. I can get you some information, though – there are some really good educational websites about it. I don't want to do it here because... well, I don't think James should know. But I can print something for you at school tomorrow.'
'At school?' said Carl, frowning. 'I thought all that kind of thing was blocked at school.'
'What kind of thing?' asked Conchita.
'Well... you know...' He blushed furiously and whispered, 'Sex... and stuff.'
Conchita laughed. 'Well they block actual porn, Uncle Carl, but this stuff is educational. It even helps some people to stop feeling suicidal.'
'Well,' said Carl, 'I wouldn't want Isabel feeling suicidal.'
'I'm glad to hear it,' said Conchita, just as the front door clicked opened downstairs. When she heard it, she seemed to forget the entire conversation, saying eagerly, 'Ooh, Daddy's back!'
On hearing this, Rose appeared from inside the spare room and both girls went scurrying down the stairs.
'You've been hours,' said Rose, meeting Eduardo in the hallway and taking no notice at all of Egon coming in behind him. 'What's been going on?'
'Did you think we'd be quicker?' asked Eduardo. 'I'm sorry, bebita. Are you okay?'
'Yeah, I'm fine,' said Rose. 'I guess I don't know how long I thought you'd be. Hi, Egon.'
'Hello, Rose,' said Egon, then he nodded to her sister behind her. 'Conchita. Rose, how are you feeling?'
Rose shrugged. 'I'unno.'
'I see,' said Egon. 'Well, the good news is, we figured out what it was that the team trapped in your house yesterday. Or perhaps that's not exactly good news, if it doesn't make a difference to you.'
'I won't know if it does or it doesn't unless you tell me,' said Rose.
'What an excellent point,' said Egon. 'We found and trapped a further two entities in your home, almost identical to the first one but in different stages of development. None of them is the entity that took control of your body on at least two occasions, but it is closely related – quite literally, in fact, as the original entity is their progenitor.'
Rose looked at Eduardo. 'You speak Egonics – what's he saying?'
'He's saying that whatever was possessing you last night is having babies,' said Eduardo. 'We found two more in the house today. They were octopus-looking things, like the last one, but they were smaller. One was only a little smaller, and one was a lot smaller.'
'Yeah?' said Rose. 'So, when did they show up? Today?' she added hopefully. 'Maybe getting me out of the house really worked.'
'It's possible,' said Egon, 'but then where is the parent entity?'
Rose's face fell. Conchita took a step forward and put her arm around her sister, saying, 'But you're gonna find it, right?'
'We're going to try, Chita,' said Egon.
'And if we fail, I guess that'll mean it's not bothering us anymore,' Eduardo added.
'Well,' said Egon, 'that's one way of looking at it. We thought you two girls had better spend the night here as planned. Your father will spend the night in your house with Josh and Freya and me.'
'Kinky,' said Rose.
'We'll be monitoring the house for paranormal activity,' Egon went on. 'I understand you two are sharing a room, so you can monitor yourselves and each other.'
'You mean,' said Conchita, 'if Rose starts glowing again I call Dad?'
'Essentially, yes,' said Egon. 'Come to think of it, we could issue Kevin with some equipment and have him on alert, if it would make you feel better.'
'I don't know if it would,' said Rose. 'He hasn't done any ghostbusting since I was a baby.'
'He was good at it, though,' said Eduardo, 'and he can be here much sooner than the rest of us.'
'So what's he gonna do – blast me with a proton beam? That didn't work when Chita did it.'
'That's a fair point,' said Egon. 'At this stage, the most useful thing would be for us to get a good look at you, and a PKE reading, when the entity is at the height of its activity. It's possible that it has become very deep-rooted within you, and your body is protecting it from our weapons. There may even be a chance that it has attached itself to you symbiotically.'
'Symbiotically?' said Rose, frowning. 'That means if you take it out, I'll die.'
'If we attempt to remove it without knowing exactly what we're dealing with, possibly,' said Egon. 'But we would never do that.'
'Egon,' said Eduardo, 'I don't like this conversation. I don't think Rose does either.'
'That's just a worst case scenario,' said Egon, 'and even if it does turn out to be what we're facing, we'll find a way to deal with it – don't you worry. After all, if the worst really comes to the worst...'
'What?' Rose asked sharply.
'He means we could try an experimental treatment,' said Eduardo, with a frown. 'Look, Egon, I don't think anyone really wants their kid to be the first human subject for something like that.'
'What is it?' Rose demanded. 'This is my problem – I should be the one to decide what happens!'
'You're a minor,' said Eduardo. 'I wouldn't test it on anyone's kid.'
'Why, because you're afraid of a federal lawsuit if something happens to me?'
'No, Rosy, that's not why I'm afraid of something happening to you.'
'Now, hold on, both of you,' said Egon. 'We don't even know if you still have a problem, Rose, and if you have, we might not have too much trouble dealing with it. Let's wait and see what happens tonight, shall we?'
'Fine,' said Rose. 'Will you take a PKE reading from me right now? I want to know if anything's changed since this morning.'
'All right,' said Egon, taking out his PKE meter.
'I'll call Kylie and tell her what we know,' said Eduardo. 'I'll see if I can get through to Kevin as well – I'd feel better if he was on standby, anyway.'
'I'll get back to my research paper,' said Conchita, 'if nobody minds.'
'Of course not, Chita,' said Egon, as Eduardo mooched out of the front door dialling his cell phone. 'I'm sure it's very good, if it's anything like your mother's work used to be.'
'It's at least a school year behind what she used to give you,' said Conchita, 'but hopefully it's okay.'
'I'm sure Mrs Hughes has her smiley face stamp poised and at the ready even now, Chita,' said Rose. 'Now go get on with it – I want my PKE reading done in private.'
'You do?' said Conchita. 'Why?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Rose.
Conchita gave her a hurt and worried look, and then mooched off.
'I do know why,' Rose said confidentially to Egon, when she judged her sister to be out of earshot. 'It's because I find it unnerving, the way they fuss around me.'
'People often feel that way,' said Egon, as he took his reading. 'Well, you're still giving off a signal.'
'A strong one or a weak one?'
'Somewhere in the middle.'
'So what does that mean?'
'It means that I expect you'll continue to need our help for the time being,' said Egon. 'But please try not to worry. It would be foolish for us to abandon our surveillance on your own home, but I wonder, would you like one or two of the current Ghostbusters here with you tonight?'
'No thanks, Egon,' said Rose. 'I'd rather go to sleep not feeling like a victim.'
Carl gave a non-committal shrug and said, 'No Isabel today?'
'She had to go straight home,' said James, 'but we're going out later. Just me and her, I mean.'
'Oh,' said Carl. 'Well, that's great... isn't it?'
'Of course,' James grinned. 'Why wouldn't it be?'
'I don't know.'
'Dad, what's going on? Why are you being weird?'
'I guess because I'm feeling weird,' said Carl. 'It's my last day on the force tomorrow. That's a sobering thought, son.'
James smiled broadly, got up from the table and went to give his father a hug. Carl's face melted into a rather wobbly smile, and he patted his son on the back.
'That okay?' he asked. 'No mice in there?'
'Not right now, Dad,' said James. 'Hey, wanna know what I'm doing? It's a paper on the psychological profiling of serial killers.'
'Well, that's great,' said Carl, beaming. Then he looked at Conchita. 'How about you, honey? Same thing?'
'No,' said Conchita. 'Mine's about Stockholm syndrome. I'm debating whether the recent changes to the theory are just an attempt to make ideas about victims fit in better with popular thinking, or there's actually something in it.'
James made a face at Carl and said, 'She always was smarter than me. I'm just writing up the basics about victim selection and body disposal and stuff.'
'I'm sure it's great, son,' said Carl.
'I'd better get on with it,' said James, going back to the dining table. 'I want to be ready for my date later.'
'So it's an actual date, huh?' said Carl.
'Yep,' said James.
'I'll leave you to it, then,' said Carl, and mooched out of the room.
A few minutes after he had gone, Conchita said, 'I'm going to the bathroom, Jim.' Then she left the table and went upstairs, where Carl was just coming out of the bathroom himself.
'Hi, Chita,' he said, surprised. 'You okay?'
'Yes,' said Conchita. 'Are you? Jim was right – you were acting really weird in there.'
'Well,' said Carl, 'I'm not the only one. I... wanted to ask you about it, actually. By yourself.'
'Yeah?' said Conchita. 'Who else is acting weird?'
'Isabel yesterday,' said Carl, 'and your dad this morning. And when I thought about it, I realised you and Beth were acting kind of weird yesterday, and it always seems to start when the conversation turns to Isabel.'
Conchita raised an eyebrow. 'You talked to Isabel about Isabel? What on earth did you say?'
'Nothing much,' said Carl. 'She just mentioned something about when Jamie was a little kid, and I said something about them exchanging life stories, and then she went really weird.'
'Oh, I see,' said Conchita. 'Well, maybe she realised something.'
'She did!' said Carl, astonished. 'That's exactly what she said: that she “realised something”! How did you know that?'
'Because I realised the same thing myself yesterday,' said Conchita. 'Probably so did Beth, and probably so did my dad. You don't know, do you? This significant thing about Isabel? Well... what we all think you'd call significant, I mean.'
'I don't guess I do,' said Carl. 'I wish someone would tell me.'
'I think we're all scared to,' said Conchita. 'I don't have any first-hand evidence of this, Uncle Carl, but I got the impression Beth didn't think you'd react very well, and I wasn't there when you talked to Dad but I can imagine he feels the same way.'
'Okay, Chita, you're scaring me now,' said Carl. 'Please just tell me.'
'All right, I will,' said Conchita. 'See, the thing is, Isabel's trans.'
'Trans?' said Carl, his brow furrowing in confusion.
'Yes,' said Conchita. 'She's transgender.'
'So,' said Carl, 'you mean... you mean... she's a boy?'
Conchita frowned slightly. 'No. I mean she was born male, but she identifies as female.'
'So,' said Carl, 'I... he... she... I mean...'
'It bothers you, doesn't it?' Conchita said resignedly.
'Yes, no, I mean... I didn't think bisexuals went for that kind of thing... person, I mean!'
'They don't,' said Conchita. 'James isn't bisexual.'
Carl stared at her. 'What do you mean James isn't bisexual?'
'He's pansexual.'
Carl's stare became even more baffled. 'Pan? Sexual?'
'It means he's attracted to people of all genders.'
'All genders?'
'Look,' Conchita said, with a barely concealed sigh, 'I really need to get back to my assignment. Will you be okay?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Carl. 'Pan... sexual. This is all new to me.'
'What about transgender?'
'Well... no, not really. People have been getting sex changes for a long time – just not when they were kids. Surely kids are too young to know.'
'Nobody knows anything about it except the individual person,' said Conchita.
'Yes, well,' said Carl, 'I think I kind of get it. It's because he grew up liking ponies and mermaids instead of guns and mice, isn't it?'
'Well... I don't think it's as simple as that. And you have to call Isabel “she” and “her”, Uncle Carl, otherwise it's transphobic bullying.'
'Oh, I see. But, um... she hasn't had the surgery yet, right?'
'You're really not supposed to ask about that kind of thing,' said Conchita. 'And y'know, she might not ever want to have surgery. But whether she does or she doesn't is her business, Uncle Carl.'
'But,' Carl boggled, 'but if he... but if she...'
'Not everybody wants to have surgery.'
Carl just stood there, lost for words.
'Look, Uncle Carl,' Conchita went on, 'I don't think I'm really the best person to explain it because I don't understand everything myself. I can get you some information, though – there are some really good educational websites about it. I don't want to do it here because... well, I don't think James should know. But I can print something for you at school tomorrow.'
'At school?' said Carl, frowning. 'I thought all that kind of thing was blocked at school.'
'What kind of thing?' asked Conchita.
'Well... you know...' He blushed furiously and whispered, 'Sex... and stuff.'
Conchita laughed. 'Well they block actual porn, Uncle Carl, but this stuff is educational. It even helps some people to stop feeling suicidal.'
'Well,' said Carl, 'I wouldn't want Isabel feeling suicidal.'
'I'm glad to hear it,' said Conchita, just as the front door clicked opened downstairs. When she heard it, she seemed to forget the entire conversation, saying eagerly, 'Ooh, Daddy's back!'
On hearing this, Rose appeared from inside the spare room and both girls went scurrying down the stairs.
'You've been hours,' said Rose, meeting Eduardo in the hallway and taking no notice at all of Egon coming in behind him. 'What's been going on?'
'Did you think we'd be quicker?' asked Eduardo. 'I'm sorry, bebita. Are you okay?'
'Yeah, I'm fine,' said Rose. 'I guess I don't know how long I thought you'd be. Hi, Egon.'
'Hello, Rose,' said Egon, then he nodded to her sister behind her. 'Conchita. Rose, how are you feeling?'
Rose shrugged. 'I'unno.'
'I see,' said Egon. 'Well, the good news is, we figured out what it was that the team trapped in your house yesterday. Or perhaps that's not exactly good news, if it doesn't make a difference to you.'
'I won't know if it does or it doesn't unless you tell me,' said Rose.
'What an excellent point,' said Egon. 'We found and trapped a further two entities in your home, almost identical to the first one but in different stages of development. None of them is the entity that took control of your body on at least two occasions, but it is closely related – quite literally, in fact, as the original entity is their progenitor.'
Rose looked at Eduardo. 'You speak Egonics – what's he saying?'
'He's saying that whatever was possessing you last night is having babies,' said Eduardo. 'We found two more in the house today. They were octopus-looking things, like the last one, but they were smaller. One was only a little smaller, and one was a lot smaller.'
'Yeah?' said Rose. 'So, when did they show up? Today?' she added hopefully. 'Maybe getting me out of the house really worked.'
'It's possible,' said Egon, 'but then where is the parent entity?'
Rose's face fell. Conchita took a step forward and put her arm around her sister, saying, 'But you're gonna find it, right?'
'We're going to try, Chita,' said Egon.
'And if we fail, I guess that'll mean it's not bothering us anymore,' Eduardo added.
'Well,' said Egon, 'that's one way of looking at it. We thought you two girls had better spend the night here as planned. Your father will spend the night in your house with Josh and Freya and me.'
'Kinky,' said Rose.
'We'll be monitoring the house for paranormal activity,' Egon went on. 'I understand you two are sharing a room, so you can monitor yourselves and each other.'
'You mean,' said Conchita, 'if Rose starts glowing again I call Dad?'
'Essentially, yes,' said Egon. 'Come to think of it, we could issue Kevin with some equipment and have him on alert, if it would make you feel better.'
'I don't know if it would,' said Rose. 'He hasn't done any ghostbusting since I was a baby.'
'He was good at it, though,' said Eduardo, 'and he can be here much sooner than the rest of us.'
'So what's he gonna do – blast me with a proton beam? That didn't work when Chita did it.'
'That's a fair point,' said Egon. 'At this stage, the most useful thing would be for us to get a good look at you, and a PKE reading, when the entity is at the height of its activity. It's possible that it has become very deep-rooted within you, and your body is protecting it from our weapons. There may even be a chance that it has attached itself to you symbiotically.'
'Symbiotically?' said Rose, frowning. 'That means if you take it out, I'll die.'
'If we attempt to remove it without knowing exactly what we're dealing with, possibly,' said Egon. 'But we would never do that.'
'Egon,' said Eduardo, 'I don't like this conversation. I don't think Rose does either.'
'That's just a worst case scenario,' said Egon, 'and even if it does turn out to be what we're facing, we'll find a way to deal with it – don't you worry. After all, if the worst really comes to the worst...'
'What?' Rose asked sharply.
'He means we could try an experimental treatment,' said Eduardo, with a frown. 'Look, Egon, I don't think anyone really wants their kid to be the first human subject for something like that.'
'What is it?' Rose demanded. 'This is my problem – I should be the one to decide what happens!'
'You're a minor,' said Eduardo. 'I wouldn't test it on anyone's kid.'
'Why, because you're afraid of a federal lawsuit if something happens to me?'
'No, Rosy, that's not why I'm afraid of something happening to you.'
'Now, hold on, both of you,' said Egon. 'We don't even know if you still have a problem, Rose, and if you have, we might not have too much trouble dealing with it. Let's wait and see what happens tonight, shall we?'
'Fine,' said Rose. 'Will you take a PKE reading from me right now? I want to know if anything's changed since this morning.'
'All right,' said Egon, taking out his PKE meter.
'I'll call Kylie and tell her what we know,' said Eduardo. 'I'll see if I can get through to Kevin as well – I'd feel better if he was on standby, anyway.'
'I'll get back to my research paper,' said Conchita, 'if nobody minds.'
'Of course not, Chita,' said Egon, as Eduardo mooched out of the front door dialling his cell phone. 'I'm sure it's very good, if it's anything like your mother's work used to be.'
'It's at least a school year behind what she used to give you,' said Conchita, 'but hopefully it's okay.'
'I'm sure Mrs Hughes has her smiley face stamp poised and at the ready even now, Chita,' said Rose. 'Now go get on with it – I want my PKE reading done in private.'
'You do?' said Conchita. 'Why?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Rose.
Conchita gave her a hurt and worried look, and then mooched off.
'I do know why,' Rose said confidentially to Egon, when she judged her sister to be out of earshot. 'It's because I find it unnerving, the way they fuss around me.'
'People often feel that way,' said Egon, as he took his reading. 'Well, you're still giving off a signal.'
'A strong one or a weak one?'
'Somewhere in the middle.'
'So what does that mean?'
'It means that I expect you'll continue to need our help for the time being,' said Egon. 'But please try not to worry. It would be foolish for us to abandon our surveillance on your own home, but I wonder, would you like one or two of the current Ghostbusters here with you tonight?'
'No thanks, Egon,' said Rose. 'I'd rather go to sleep not feeling like a victim.'
Late that evening, James let himself into the house as the sky was getting dark, went through to the kitchen and began poking around in the fridge. Meanwhile, in the living room, Beth was placing pillows and blankets on the sofa with Kylie hovering nearby.
'You don't have to go to so much trouble, Beth,' Kylie said. 'I can plump up the pillows myself, at least.'
'Oh, don't be silly,' said Beth. 'You're a guest in my house. I'm just sorry we don't have another bed for you. All those rooms upstairs, full of boxes and cobwebs – I feel terrible about letting them get like that. Some people are homeless!'
At this point James wandered in, sucking up a Go-Gurt through a huge grin, so Kylie smiled at him and said, 'Hey, Jim. Good date?'
'A gentleman never tells,' said James.
'I think you'll find they do, hon,' said Beth. 'It's ladies that never tell.'
'Mom!' said James, rolling his eyes. 'You shouldn't make generalisations like that.'
'Oh, really?' said Beth. 'Well, you shouldn't be staying out past nine thirty on a school night.'
'Sorry, Mom.' He flashed her a winning smile. 'I guess I was just caught up in the moment.'
There came the sound of someone clattering down the stairs, then Conchita appeared in the doorway, brushing her hair and wearing a leggy nightshirt.
'How did it go?' she asked eagerly.
'Ah,' said James, 'a gentleman never tells.'
'Some of them do,' said Conchita. 'You shouldn't make generalisations like that.'
'Smart-ass,' said James, as they began walking from the room together.
'I'll find out anyway,' Conchita went on. 'I'll ask Isabel.'
'She won't tell you either,' said James, his voice fading as they ascended the stairs. 'It's private.'
'What you might not know about my friendship with Isabel...' Conchita said, and this was the last thing their mothers heard.
Kylie turned to Beth, wrinkled her nose and said, 'Things have changed, haven't they?'
Beth laughed. 'What's that face for? I thought you were a live-and-let-live kind of person, Kylie.'
'I am,' said Kylie. 'I'm just saying, things have changed. And the face is for the passage of time, that's all. Those two are almost eighteen, you know.'
'Yes, I know,' Beth sighed wistfully, as she gave the blanket one last smooth with her hands. 'There! Is there anything else you need?'
'Just this,' said Kylie, picking up a proton pistol from the coffee table and clipping it to her waist.
Beth stared at it. 'You're going to sleep in that?'
'I've done it before.'
'Aren't you afraid you'll move in the night or something and set it off?'
'No,' Kylie grinned at her. 'It's not my house.'
'You don't have to go to so much trouble, Beth,' Kylie said. 'I can plump up the pillows myself, at least.'
'Oh, don't be silly,' said Beth. 'You're a guest in my house. I'm just sorry we don't have another bed for you. All those rooms upstairs, full of boxes and cobwebs – I feel terrible about letting them get like that. Some people are homeless!'
At this point James wandered in, sucking up a Go-Gurt through a huge grin, so Kylie smiled at him and said, 'Hey, Jim. Good date?'
'A gentleman never tells,' said James.
'I think you'll find they do, hon,' said Beth. 'It's ladies that never tell.'
'Mom!' said James, rolling his eyes. 'You shouldn't make generalisations like that.'
'Oh, really?' said Beth. 'Well, you shouldn't be staying out past nine thirty on a school night.'
'Sorry, Mom.' He flashed her a winning smile. 'I guess I was just caught up in the moment.'
There came the sound of someone clattering down the stairs, then Conchita appeared in the doorway, brushing her hair and wearing a leggy nightshirt.
'How did it go?' she asked eagerly.
'Ah,' said James, 'a gentleman never tells.'
'Some of them do,' said Conchita. 'You shouldn't make generalisations like that.'
'Smart-ass,' said James, as they began walking from the room together.
'I'll find out anyway,' Conchita went on. 'I'll ask Isabel.'
'She won't tell you either,' said James, his voice fading as they ascended the stairs. 'It's private.'
'What you might not know about my friendship with Isabel...' Conchita said, and this was the last thing their mothers heard.
Kylie turned to Beth, wrinkled her nose and said, 'Things have changed, haven't they?'
Beth laughed. 'What's that face for? I thought you were a live-and-let-live kind of person, Kylie.'
'I am,' said Kylie. 'I'm just saying, things have changed. And the face is for the passage of time, that's all. Those two are almost eighteen, you know.'
'Yes, I know,' Beth sighed wistfully, as she gave the blanket one last smooth with her hands. 'There! Is there anything else you need?'
'Just this,' said Kylie, picking up a proton pistol from the coffee table and clipping it to her waist.
Beth stared at it. 'You're going to sleep in that?'
'I've done it before.'
'Aren't you afraid you'll move in the night or something and set it off?'
'No,' Kylie grinned at her. 'It's not my house.'
Up in the apartment, Merida had finally come out of her cat carrier and was sleeping curled up next to a proton pack, ghost trap and PKE meter that had been stowed under the table. Oscar turned from the computer as Kevin came out of the bathroom wearing no shirt and sweatpants.
'I just emailed Emilia to let her know that one of her eggs has been successfully utilised,' said Oscar.
'Emailed, huh?' Kevin said with a grin. 'How old-fashioned of you!'
'That's two great contributions Emi has made to my life,' said Oscar. 'The first one being when she told me that schoolyard rhyme about falling in a lake and swallowing a snake.'
Kevin laughed and came over to ruffle Oscar's hair.
'So I guess that's everyone in the know who needs to be in the know for now,' said Kevin. 'Except for my parents and Jimmy, of course.'
'Did you decide how you want to handle that?'
'I want to tell my mom, then she can tell my dad.'
'You really wouldn't feel comfortable talking to him about it, huh?' said Oscar.
'I don't know,' said Kevin, shrugging. 'I just feel like I want to tell my mom by herself, that's all. Plus I also want to talk to her about the house-moving situation, and I'd rather do that without my dad around.'
'I guess they'll just have to advertise for a new tenant again, after fifteen years of not having to advertise for a new tenant.'
'Yeah... yeah, I guess so.'
'We need to move out of here sooner rather than later, don't we?' Oscar said, somewhat wistfully.
'We sure do,' said Kevin.
'You know, when I first saw this place – the same day I met you – I was kinda rude about it to Eduardo,' said Oscar. 'I said you couldn't have more than one person living here; little did I realise that it could be an absolutely wonderful home for two people, if they were two people who... well, you know.'
'Yeah, I do know,' said Kevin. 'But much as I love this place – and I love it a whole lot, for so many reasons – it really is too small for three people, even if one of them is a baby.'
'And babies don't stay babies for long anyway,' said Oscar.
'That's certainly true,' said Kevin. 'It seems like just yesterday that my mom was telling me she was pregnant with Jimmy, and now... wow, did you just get a twinge of apprehension about this whole thing? I sure did.'
'Maybe a little one,' Oscar said with a smile, 'but I know it's all going to be fantastic! I'm sure gonna miss this place, though. I mean, it's really been our place, hasn't it?'
'Yeah, it has,' said Kevin. 'But then, if you stop and think about it, our place is wherever we are.'
Oscar smiled, rose to his feet and gathered Kevin into a close embrace. They stood holding each other for a few moments.
'I'll talk to my mom tomorrow,' Kevin said at length. 'Like you said, we need to get the wheels turning on this move.'
'What about James?' said Oscar. 'Are you gonna tell him about the baby yourself, or will you get your mom to do it?'
'I really want to tell James myself,' said Kevin, 'but I guess it might spare my dad's feelings a little if I ask my mom to pass the news on to both of them, instead of just him. It might spare Jimmy's feelings too, come to think of it – if I sat him down and had that conversation with him, it'd be bound to come out that I wasn't planning on having a similar conversation with Dad, and Jimmy would certainly wonder why not. I don't want to risk opening that can of worms and...'
'Shattering Jimmy's illusions?' Oscar suggested.
'Imposing my own feelings on his unique world view,' said Kevin.
Oscar nodded, then he tightened his grip on Kevin's body. Kevin tightened his own grip in response, and let his head drop onto Oscar's shoulder.
'It'll really make your mom's day when you tell her about the baby,' said Oscar. 'And James's, when she tells him.'
'Yeah,' said Kevin. 'It'll make their days, for sure...'
'I just emailed Emilia to let her know that one of her eggs has been successfully utilised,' said Oscar.
'Emailed, huh?' Kevin said with a grin. 'How old-fashioned of you!'
'That's two great contributions Emi has made to my life,' said Oscar. 'The first one being when she told me that schoolyard rhyme about falling in a lake and swallowing a snake.'
Kevin laughed and came over to ruffle Oscar's hair.
'So I guess that's everyone in the know who needs to be in the know for now,' said Kevin. 'Except for my parents and Jimmy, of course.'
'Did you decide how you want to handle that?'
'I want to tell my mom, then she can tell my dad.'
'You really wouldn't feel comfortable talking to him about it, huh?' said Oscar.
'I don't know,' said Kevin, shrugging. 'I just feel like I want to tell my mom by herself, that's all. Plus I also want to talk to her about the house-moving situation, and I'd rather do that without my dad around.'
'I guess they'll just have to advertise for a new tenant again, after fifteen years of not having to advertise for a new tenant.'
'Yeah... yeah, I guess so.'
'We need to move out of here sooner rather than later, don't we?' Oscar said, somewhat wistfully.
'We sure do,' said Kevin.
'You know, when I first saw this place – the same day I met you – I was kinda rude about it to Eduardo,' said Oscar. 'I said you couldn't have more than one person living here; little did I realise that it could be an absolutely wonderful home for two people, if they were two people who... well, you know.'
'Yeah, I do know,' said Kevin. 'But much as I love this place – and I love it a whole lot, for so many reasons – it really is too small for three people, even if one of them is a baby.'
'And babies don't stay babies for long anyway,' said Oscar.
'That's certainly true,' said Kevin. 'It seems like just yesterday that my mom was telling me she was pregnant with Jimmy, and now... wow, did you just get a twinge of apprehension about this whole thing? I sure did.'
'Maybe a little one,' Oscar said with a smile, 'but I know it's all going to be fantastic! I'm sure gonna miss this place, though. I mean, it's really been our place, hasn't it?'
'Yeah, it has,' said Kevin. 'But then, if you stop and think about it, our place is wherever we are.'
Oscar smiled, rose to his feet and gathered Kevin into a close embrace. They stood holding each other for a few moments.
'I'll talk to my mom tomorrow,' Kevin said at length. 'Like you said, we need to get the wheels turning on this move.'
'What about James?' said Oscar. 'Are you gonna tell him about the baby yourself, or will you get your mom to do it?'
'I really want to tell James myself,' said Kevin, 'but I guess it might spare my dad's feelings a little if I ask my mom to pass the news on to both of them, instead of just him. It might spare Jimmy's feelings too, come to think of it – if I sat him down and had that conversation with him, it'd be bound to come out that I wasn't planning on having a similar conversation with Dad, and Jimmy would certainly wonder why not. I don't want to risk opening that can of worms and...'
'Shattering Jimmy's illusions?' Oscar suggested.
'Imposing my own feelings on his unique world view,' said Kevin.
Oscar nodded, then he tightened his grip on Kevin's body. Kevin tightened his own grip in response, and let his head drop onto Oscar's shoulder.
'It'll really make your mom's day when you tell her about the baby,' said Oscar. 'And James's, when she tells him.'
'Yeah,' said Kevin. 'It'll make their days, for sure...'
Around two o'clock in the morning, Conchita was woken from a fitful sleep by a light in her eyes and a generally unnerving atmosphere. She sat up in bed and looked down at where her sister was sleeping beside her. Rose had not woken up, but was emitting a faint glow all over her body. Conchita then looked up and saw a small floating light with tendrils, just like the one that had been trapped in her own home the day before.
'Oh no,' she said, climbing over Rose and out of bed. Then she went to the stairs and called, 'Mom, it's happening again!'
When Conchita went back to the bedroom, Rose was waking and looking down at herself with fear in her eyes.
'It's okay,' said Conchita, climbing over her again and finding her cell phone. 'I'm texting Kevin and calling Dad.'
'Looks like it had another baby,' said Rose, her eyes following the floating octopus of light, just as Kylie burst into the bedroom with her proton gun cocked. 'Mom – quick, catch it, catch it!'
Kylie ducked as the thing flew over her and through the door, then turned and caught it in a proton stream. While she was holding it, Carl, Beth and James all appeared on the landing, barely awake, and held their hands up against the brilliant light that assaulted their eyes. Moments later, Kevin came running into the house with a proton pack and a trap.
'Ooh, Kevin, open the trap for me!' Kylie shouted over the noise. Kevin did so, and the entity was soon incarcerated.
'Hey, bro, great timing!' said James, going over to his brother and high-fiving him.
'Is this all it's doing?' asked Rose, appearing in the open doorway of the spare bedroom. 'Having babies?'
'I don't know, sweetie,' said Kylie. 'That's just one of my many questions. I'm also wondering how long that one has been here. When your dad and the others were at home earlier, they found two more, didn't they? But you weren't there. Maybe they'd been cooking for a while, and so's this one been, and the one that we all saw trapped. By all indication, the demon creates them quietly at some stage without anyone really noticing.'
'Does that make a difference to anything?' asked Rose.
'Probably not right now,' said Kylie, 'but it's something to bear in mind. We might also need to figure out why the demon becomes so active at times, if it's not having the babies when it does.'
'Egon said he wanted to take a PKE reading when the demon was being active,' said Rose, 'but maybe it's too late now. Oh, I should have told him I wanted a couple of Ghostbusters here...'
As she became more agitated, Kevin became aware that the PKE meter attached to his clothing was beginning to buzz excitedly. He took a cautious step towards Rose.
'Why didn't Egon insist on sleeping here?' she went on. 'I bet he knew I still had something in me!'
'It'll be okay, sweetie,' said Kylie. 'Calm down. Kevin's taking a PKE reading right now.'
'Kevin hasn't done this job in years!' said Rose, and as she reached the end of her sentence her voice became a roar, while a brilliant white light emanated from her eyes and open mouth.
Carl, Beth and James, who were still hovering around, stared in blank amazement. Kevin took his PKE meter in his hand and went a step closer. Conchita put her hand on Rose's shoulder and said, 'It's okay, Rosy. We're all here to help you.'
As she spoke, Rose's light began to dim. Kevin and Kylie exchanged looks.
'Was that emotional support weakening it?' asked Kevin.
'Looked like it,' said Kylie, 'but I guess it's not conclusive – that whole thing barely lasted a minute.'
'But she got better the first time when you and Dad were giving her tea and cuddles,' said Conchita. 'Maybe this really is the answer!'
'So, what,' said Rose, 'you're going to cuddle me until the demon goes away?'
'Maybe I am,' Conchita said stoutly.
At this Rose smiled, and reached behind her to squeeze her sister's hand. Just then the front door opened and into the hallway came Eduardo, Egon, Josh and Freya. Kevin went to the top of the stairs and called down, 'We're all up here, guys.'
'Wow, this sure is a lot of people,' said Carl, as the four new arrivals trooped up the stairs.
'What can we do?' asked Josh.
'Know what I think you guys need to do?' said Kylie. 'I think you need to look for more of those babies. Meanwhile, Kevin and I can talk to Egon and Eduardo about what we think we know.'
'Oh, wait,' said Conchita, 'let's introduce everybody first – they don't all know each other. You guys,' turning to the two young Ghostbusters, 'you already met Beth... kind of... and this is my uncle Carl, and my cousins Kevin and James. Everyone, this is Freya and Josh.'
'Hello again,' Beth smiled warmly.
'Hi!' said James, grinning boyishly at the sight of two fit young people standing on his landing.
'Hi,' said Freya. 'So, more babies, is it? Where should we look?'
'In here, I guess,' said Rose, stepping to one side and indicating the spare room. 'I was sleeping in there just now, and I spent most of the day in there too, reading The Hunger Games.'
'Good choice,' said Freya, giving her a reassuring smile as she made her way into the room.
'Let's go down to the living room to talk,' said Kevin, leading the way towards the stairs, followed by Kylie, Eduardo, Egon and Rose.
Beth seemed unsure of whether to follow them. Sensing this, Rose turned on the second step down and said, 'You come too, Aunty Beth.'
Beth smiled, nodded and followed.
Meanwhile James, Conchita and Josh had all gravitated towards one another. Josh was boggling at Conchita in her night attire, while she was saying in giggles to James, 'Jim, this is Josh. His name's Josh.'
'Yeah, you already told us,' said James, smiling at her in amusement.
Carl had also been left on the landing, and for some seconds he watched this scene with growing disapproval. Then suddenly he strode towards Josh, bulldozing him away from Conchita with his mere presence and saying, 'Don't you have a job to do?'
'Er, yeah, I guess I do,' Josh said timidly.
'Then get to it!' said Carl. 'I didn't let you come into my house just so you could ogle my niece!'
Conchita frowned and was about to object, when suddenly Eduardo appeared at the top of the stairs, saying, 'Carlos, please don't get like that now.'
'This joker is your employee, Eddie,' said Carl, almost in a growl, still glaring at Josh. 'Why don't you tell him to do his God-damn job, huh?'
'I will,' said Eduardo. 'Josh, do your God-damn job, please.'
'Okay,' said Josh, and slunk into the spare room.
'Carl,' said Eduardo, 'would you mind not intimidating my employees, please?'
'If he's going to behave like that in my house...' Carl mumbled.
'I'm going downstairs now,' said Eduardo. 'Why don't you three go back to bed? You've got work and school in the morning. Querida, maybe you could bunk with Jim so you won't have to wait for Josh and Freya to finish.'
'Sounds like fun, Chita,' James grinned at her.
'What about Rosy?' asked Conchita.
'Your mom could go in with her,' said Eduardo.
'Oh yeah,' said Conchita. 'That's a good idea,' and she went into James's room with him. Eduardo stood looking at Carl until he went into his own room, then made his way back downstairs.
When Eduardo arrived in the living room, Rose was sitting on the sofa between Kylie and Beth; Kevin was standing a respectful distance away, and all of them were listening to Egon.
'We have evidence that the entity's activity has some link to your emotional state,' he was saying to Rose. 'This, coupled with the other information I have, leads me to believe that it's a parasitic demon displaying some similar behaviours to a poltergeist, specifically disturbing households and attaching itself to a teenage girl, the one discernible difference being that it displays reproductive behaviour.'
'Like Achira, right?' Kylie suggested. Then she looked at Rose. 'Remember, sweetie, when I told you about our first case?'
'Yes, I remember,' said Rose. 'Egon, how come these things look like the wisps in Brave?'
'Wisps?' said Egon, and looked accusingly at Eduardo. 'You didn't tell me they looked like wisps!'
'I didn't think of it,' said Eduardo. 'Brave isn't on our TV as often as it used to be.'
'There are countless legends all over the world about will-o'-the-wisps,' said Egon. 'Perhaps your demon is related, Rose. Almost all folklore treats wisps as malevolent, and there have even been some comparisons to poltergeist behaviour. I wonder... could this be their way of reproducing?'
'So what are you saying, Egon?' Rose asked wearily. 'This thing, whether it's a wisp or not, has decided to move into my body and it has a baby whenever I feel bad?'
'More or less,' said Egon, 'although, as your mother was saying, we can't really know when the process of reproduction is taking place.'
'But I don't feel bad,' said Rose. 'I've been feeling fine. I mean, I was until this thing got into me.'
'If that's true...' Egon began.
'It is,' Rose said sharply.
'I'm sorry, Rose,' said Egon. 'I didn't mean to doubt your word. I'm just trying to say that if you really do feel happy and secure in yourself, you might be able to free yourself of the demon. But let's be aware, something did allow it to connect with you in the first place.'
'Well I don't know what that was!' Rose snapped. 'Listen, Egon, I want to know about this experimental cure you were talking about earlier.'
'Experimental?' said Kylie. 'Oh, I don't like the sound of that!'
'What is it?' Rose persisted.
'It's a serum, queridita,' said Eduardo. 'John and Sarah have been developing it. The idea is that when an entity is deep-rooted inside somebody, we – well, John or Sarah – will inject this stuff into the blood stream and it drives that entity out, just like a proton beam would do if it could get there. Now, you know how much we all trust John and Sarah, but so far they've only experimented on lab mice. Don't tell your sister,' he added, and they exchanged a small smile.
'Are the mice all right?' asked Rose.
'Yes,' said Eduardo, 'but that's no guarantee it'll work on humans. For one thing, this demon that's with you has some kind of emotional basis – we're pretty sure about that, right?' He looked at Egon, who nodded. 'That wasn't the case with the mice... I assume.'
'But they didn't suffer any ill-effects, right?' said Rose. 'So even if it didn't get rid of the demon, I'd be no worse off than I am now.'
'Maybe you would,' said Eduardo. 'We don't know.'
'I don't want to risk it, baby,' Kylie added.
'Well what, then?' said Rose, flaring up suddenly. 'I can't use the talking cure because I don't know why it chose me in the first place! I've been feeling perfectly all right!'
'It doesn't have to be a big thing, Rose,' Egon said gently. 'You are going through some changes, or you're about to. Your sister going to college, for instance – I'm sure a lot of younger siblings find that unsettling. I daresay everyone who's growing up has some negative emotion of the kind this demon could latch onto, even if they're not consciously aware of it.'
'Growing up?' said Rose, and turned a scowling face onto her father. 'You told him I started my period, didn't you!'
'You did?' said Beth, and suddenly her eyes filled with tears. 'Oh, my beautiful niece!'
'Actually,' said Egon, 'I didn't know that.'
'Oh,' said Rose, and she stared sulkily into her lap.
'But I'm glad you mentioned it,' Egon went on. 'It very well might be a factor, either physiologically or emotionally or both. I hear it's a stressful time in a young woman's life.'
'It is,' Kylie and Beth said together.
'Well then, point proven,' said Egon. 'Maybe you can fight the demon, Rose, now that you have some idea what you're up against.'
'All right, I'll try,' said Rose. 'But I don't want to be cuddled to death by my sister, or anything like that. I'll try other things, like... I want to go to school tomorrow.'
'You want to go to school?' said Kylie. 'Oh my God – it's taken over her mind!'
'No it hasn't,' Rose said irritably. 'It's just that I spent all day yesterday moping around here, and it sounds like it'd be more productive to try getting on with things.'
'I think that's exactly the attitude you need,' said Egon, noticing that Josh and Freya were now hovering tentatively in the doorway. 'Hello, you two. Did you find anything?'
'Yes,' said Josh. 'The tiniest little baby demons were nesting in the bed. Three of them.'
'We just held the trap open over it, and in they all went,' said Freya, holding up a full ghost trap to prove it. 'What even is the point of them, anyway?'
'We can only assume they grow up to become what their parent is now,' said Egon, 'in which case, it's a very good thing that we're trapping them before they reach full maturity. I don't know whether they pose much of a threat as they are, but it's possible, and they'd certainly grow if left unchecked.'
'How many more are there going to be, anyway?' Rose demanded.
'Goodness knows,' said Egon. 'We have a few empty traps in the car which we'll leave here.'
'I'll get them,' said Freya.
'I'll help,' said Josh, and they went.
'I'd probably better get back to bed,' said Rose, 'as I'm getting up for school tomorrow.'
'Chita went in with Jim while Josh and Freya were in the spare room,' Eduardo told her. 'Maybe your mom could take her place.'
'That's not necessary,' said Rose.
'Oh, baby, I'd like to,' said Kylie. 'It'd make me feel better.'
'Then I could sleep on the couch,' Eduardo added. 'That'd be better than going home to an empty house.'
'You go in the spare with Mom, then,' said Rose, 'and I'll sleep on the couch.'
Eduardo and Kylie exchanged a look, then Kylie said, 'If you're absolutely sure that's what you want, I guess we'd better let you.'
'Gee, thanks,' Rose said dryly, crawling under the blanket on the couch as Kylie and Beth vacated it.
Eduardo went to the front door and met Josh and Freya carrying three ghost traps between them. He took two of them, and Kevin appeared in the living room doorway saying, 'Let's leave that other one down here with Rose. She can use it, can't she?'
'Of course she can!' Rose's voice came peevishly from behind him.
'That's settled, then,' said Kevin, taking the final trap from Josh and carrying it through to the living room. He returned seconds later, closing the door behind him.
After that, there were some moments of people trying to get around each other in the hallway until eventually Egon, Josh and Freya managed to leave, while Kylie and Beth made their way upstairs. Kevin had one foot in the front doorway when Eduardo said, 'Thanks for your help, Kev.'
'I didn't do much,' said Kevin. 'I didn't even join in the talk in there – I just didn't know what to say.'
'But you were there, and you agreed to be on call all night. You could've just stayed asleep up in your place if you'd wanted.'
'Like I'd do that!'
'Well, I'm grateful anyway. How's Merida? Gotten out of her carrier yet?'
'Yeah, she actually seems pretty happy. Oh,' as Carl suddenly appeared on the stairs. 'Hi, Dad.'
'Hi, son,' said Carl.
'So,' said Kevin, 'it's your last day on the force tomorrow, huh? That must feel pretty weird.'
'It shouldn't,' said Carl. 'Those kids with psych degrees keep telling me that captains are supposed to retire when they're much younger than I am now.'
'What time are you leaving?' Kevin asked eagerly.
'Um... around eight thirty, I guess,' said Carl, frowning slightly. 'Why do you want to know that?'
'Well,' said Kevin, 'because... I could wave you off, couldn't I?'
'Really?' said Carl, his face brightening. 'You want to wave me off because it's my last day on the force? That's... that's really nice, Kevin.'
'Er, yeah,' Kevin said awkwardly. 'So I'll see you tomorrow, then. G'night, Dad... Uncle Eduardo.'
''Night, Kev,' said Eduardo, watching Kevin until he closed the front door behind him. Then he turned and saw that Carl was still on the stairs. 'You okay there, Carl?'
'I don't know,' said Carl. 'Conchita told me...' He stopped, looked cautiously over his shoulder and then finished in a low voice, 'She told me about Isabel.'
'Oh, she did, huh?' said Eduardo. 'Well, that's a relief. Y'know, we all thought you knew.'
'How was I supposed to know? He... she's very convincing.'
'Er, yeah, I guess. So... are you okay with it?'
'Of course I am!' Carl said defensively.
'Well,' said Eduardo, looking longingly at the staircase behind Carl's massive bulk. 'Good.'
'So listen,' Carl went on, 'that blonde you brought here with you tonight... she's a real girl, right?'
'Are you asking me if Freya's cisgender?'
'No, I'm asking you if she's normal.'
Eduardo opened his mouth to reply, held it for a second, then said carefully, 'Well, she's normal in the way that you mean, so... yeah.'
'I thought Jamie seemed kind of taken with her,' said Carl. 'What did you think?'
'I wasn't really paying attention,' said Eduardo. 'I guess, maybe, but I'm sure he's not planning on doing anything about it – he's no whore. Or maybe it was Josh he was taken with.'
'Josh!' Carl spat, his expression suddenly darkening. 'He's out of my house now, right?'
'No, actually, he decided to camp out in the bathtub,' said Eduardo.
Carl frowned at him. 'This is no joking matter.'
'What isn't?' Eduardo said wearily. 'Carl, I'd really like to go to sleep now – maybe stop by the bathroom on my way...'
'That can wait. We're talking about your daughter here!'
'We... we are?'
'Of course we are! Didn't it bother you, the way he was looking at her?'
'The same way you wish Freya was looking at James, you mean?'
Carl's frown deepened. He said nothing.
'Okay, okay,' said Eduardo, 'I guess it bothers me a little. I don't know if I trust him, but I trust her not to rush into anything.'
'She's just a kid,' said Carl. 'She has no idea. You should warn him off. Tell him I'll beat him up if he tries anything.'
Eduardo smiled wryly. 'Well, that'd sure stop him. Chita wouldn't like it, though. In fact it'd probably make her hate the both of us. Anyway, Josh might be okay for her – you don't know.'
'You know what else you should do?' Carl persisted. 'Explain to her why she has to put on pants when she's in a situation like that.'
'I can't,' said Eduardo.
'Why the hell not?'
'Because she doesn't have to. Things are different now.'
At this, Carl sighed deeply and said, 'You can say that again.'
'Oh no,' she said, climbing over Rose and out of bed. Then she went to the stairs and called, 'Mom, it's happening again!'
When Conchita went back to the bedroom, Rose was waking and looking down at herself with fear in her eyes.
'It's okay,' said Conchita, climbing over her again and finding her cell phone. 'I'm texting Kevin and calling Dad.'
'Looks like it had another baby,' said Rose, her eyes following the floating octopus of light, just as Kylie burst into the bedroom with her proton gun cocked. 'Mom – quick, catch it, catch it!'
Kylie ducked as the thing flew over her and through the door, then turned and caught it in a proton stream. While she was holding it, Carl, Beth and James all appeared on the landing, barely awake, and held their hands up against the brilliant light that assaulted their eyes. Moments later, Kevin came running into the house with a proton pack and a trap.
'Ooh, Kevin, open the trap for me!' Kylie shouted over the noise. Kevin did so, and the entity was soon incarcerated.
'Hey, bro, great timing!' said James, going over to his brother and high-fiving him.
'Is this all it's doing?' asked Rose, appearing in the open doorway of the spare bedroom. 'Having babies?'
'I don't know, sweetie,' said Kylie. 'That's just one of my many questions. I'm also wondering how long that one has been here. When your dad and the others were at home earlier, they found two more, didn't they? But you weren't there. Maybe they'd been cooking for a while, and so's this one been, and the one that we all saw trapped. By all indication, the demon creates them quietly at some stage without anyone really noticing.'
'Does that make a difference to anything?' asked Rose.
'Probably not right now,' said Kylie, 'but it's something to bear in mind. We might also need to figure out why the demon becomes so active at times, if it's not having the babies when it does.'
'Egon said he wanted to take a PKE reading when the demon was being active,' said Rose, 'but maybe it's too late now. Oh, I should have told him I wanted a couple of Ghostbusters here...'
As she became more agitated, Kevin became aware that the PKE meter attached to his clothing was beginning to buzz excitedly. He took a cautious step towards Rose.
'Why didn't Egon insist on sleeping here?' she went on. 'I bet he knew I still had something in me!'
'It'll be okay, sweetie,' said Kylie. 'Calm down. Kevin's taking a PKE reading right now.'
'Kevin hasn't done this job in years!' said Rose, and as she reached the end of her sentence her voice became a roar, while a brilliant white light emanated from her eyes and open mouth.
Carl, Beth and James, who were still hovering around, stared in blank amazement. Kevin took his PKE meter in his hand and went a step closer. Conchita put her hand on Rose's shoulder and said, 'It's okay, Rosy. We're all here to help you.'
As she spoke, Rose's light began to dim. Kevin and Kylie exchanged looks.
'Was that emotional support weakening it?' asked Kevin.
'Looked like it,' said Kylie, 'but I guess it's not conclusive – that whole thing barely lasted a minute.'
'But she got better the first time when you and Dad were giving her tea and cuddles,' said Conchita. 'Maybe this really is the answer!'
'So, what,' said Rose, 'you're going to cuddle me until the demon goes away?'
'Maybe I am,' Conchita said stoutly.
At this Rose smiled, and reached behind her to squeeze her sister's hand. Just then the front door opened and into the hallway came Eduardo, Egon, Josh and Freya. Kevin went to the top of the stairs and called down, 'We're all up here, guys.'
'Wow, this sure is a lot of people,' said Carl, as the four new arrivals trooped up the stairs.
'What can we do?' asked Josh.
'Know what I think you guys need to do?' said Kylie. 'I think you need to look for more of those babies. Meanwhile, Kevin and I can talk to Egon and Eduardo about what we think we know.'
'Oh, wait,' said Conchita, 'let's introduce everybody first – they don't all know each other. You guys,' turning to the two young Ghostbusters, 'you already met Beth... kind of... and this is my uncle Carl, and my cousins Kevin and James. Everyone, this is Freya and Josh.'
'Hello again,' Beth smiled warmly.
'Hi!' said James, grinning boyishly at the sight of two fit young people standing on his landing.
'Hi,' said Freya. 'So, more babies, is it? Where should we look?'
'In here, I guess,' said Rose, stepping to one side and indicating the spare room. 'I was sleeping in there just now, and I spent most of the day in there too, reading The Hunger Games.'
'Good choice,' said Freya, giving her a reassuring smile as she made her way into the room.
'Let's go down to the living room to talk,' said Kevin, leading the way towards the stairs, followed by Kylie, Eduardo, Egon and Rose.
Beth seemed unsure of whether to follow them. Sensing this, Rose turned on the second step down and said, 'You come too, Aunty Beth.'
Beth smiled, nodded and followed.
Meanwhile James, Conchita and Josh had all gravitated towards one another. Josh was boggling at Conchita in her night attire, while she was saying in giggles to James, 'Jim, this is Josh. His name's Josh.'
'Yeah, you already told us,' said James, smiling at her in amusement.
Carl had also been left on the landing, and for some seconds he watched this scene with growing disapproval. Then suddenly he strode towards Josh, bulldozing him away from Conchita with his mere presence and saying, 'Don't you have a job to do?'
'Er, yeah, I guess I do,' Josh said timidly.
'Then get to it!' said Carl. 'I didn't let you come into my house just so you could ogle my niece!'
Conchita frowned and was about to object, when suddenly Eduardo appeared at the top of the stairs, saying, 'Carlos, please don't get like that now.'
'This joker is your employee, Eddie,' said Carl, almost in a growl, still glaring at Josh. 'Why don't you tell him to do his God-damn job, huh?'
'I will,' said Eduardo. 'Josh, do your God-damn job, please.'
'Okay,' said Josh, and slunk into the spare room.
'Carl,' said Eduardo, 'would you mind not intimidating my employees, please?'
'If he's going to behave like that in my house...' Carl mumbled.
'I'm going downstairs now,' said Eduardo. 'Why don't you three go back to bed? You've got work and school in the morning. Querida, maybe you could bunk with Jim so you won't have to wait for Josh and Freya to finish.'
'Sounds like fun, Chita,' James grinned at her.
'What about Rosy?' asked Conchita.
'Your mom could go in with her,' said Eduardo.
'Oh yeah,' said Conchita. 'That's a good idea,' and she went into James's room with him. Eduardo stood looking at Carl until he went into his own room, then made his way back downstairs.
When Eduardo arrived in the living room, Rose was sitting on the sofa between Kylie and Beth; Kevin was standing a respectful distance away, and all of them were listening to Egon.
'We have evidence that the entity's activity has some link to your emotional state,' he was saying to Rose. 'This, coupled with the other information I have, leads me to believe that it's a parasitic demon displaying some similar behaviours to a poltergeist, specifically disturbing households and attaching itself to a teenage girl, the one discernible difference being that it displays reproductive behaviour.'
'Like Achira, right?' Kylie suggested. Then she looked at Rose. 'Remember, sweetie, when I told you about our first case?'
'Yes, I remember,' said Rose. 'Egon, how come these things look like the wisps in Brave?'
'Wisps?' said Egon, and looked accusingly at Eduardo. 'You didn't tell me they looked like wisps!'
'I didn't think of it,' said Eduardo. 'Brave isn't on our TV as often as it used to be.'
'There are countless legends all over the world about will-o'-the-wisps,' said Egon. 'Perhaps your demon is related, Rose. Almost all folklore treats wisps as malevolent, and there have even been some comparisons to poltergeist behaviour. I wonder... could this be their way of reproducing?'
'So what are you saying, Egon?' Rose asked wearily. 'This thing, whether it's a wisp or not, has decided to move into my body and it has a baby whenever I feel bad?'
'More or less,' said Egon, 'although, as your mother was saying, we can't really know when the process of reproduction is taking place.'
'But I don't feel bad,' said Rose. 'I've been feeling fine. I mean, I was until this thing got into me.'
'If that's true...' Egon began.
'It is,' Rose said sharply.
'I'm sorry, Rose,' said Egon. 'I didn't mean to doubt your word. I'm just trying to say that if you really do feel happy and secure in yourself, you might be able to free yourself of the demon. But let's be aware, something did allow it to connect with you in the first place.'
'Well I don't know what that was!' Rose snapped. 'Listen, Egon, I want to know about this experimental cure you were talking about earlier.'
'Experimental?' said Kylie. 'Oh, I don't like the sound of that!'
'What is it?' Rose persisted.
'It's a serum, queridita,' said Eduardo. 'John and Sarah have been developing it. The idea is that when an entity is deep-rooted inside somebody, we – well, John or Sarah – will inject this stuff into the blood stream and it drives that entity out, just like a proton beam would do if it could get there. Now, you know how much we all trust John and Sarah, but so far they've only experimented on lab mice. Don't tell your sister,' he added, and they exchanged a small smile.
'Are the mice all right?' asked Rose.
'Yes,' said Eduardo, 'but that's no guarantee it'll work on humans. For one thing, this demon that's with you has some kind of emotional basis – we're pretty sure about that, right?' He looked at Egon, who nodded. 'That wasn't the case with the mice... I assume.'
'But they didn't suffer any ill-effects, right?' said Rose. 'So even if it didn't get rid of the demon, I'd be no worse off than I am now.'
'Maybe you would,' said Eduardo. 'We don't know.'
'I don't want to risk it, baby,' Kylie added.
'Well what, then?' said Rose, flaring up suddenly. 'I can't use the talking cure because I don't know why it chose me in the first place! I've been feeling perfectly all right!'
'It doesn't have to be a big thing, Rose,' Egon said gently. 'You are going through some changes, or you're about to. Your sister going to college, for instance – I'm sure a lot of younger siblings find that unsettling. I daresay everyone who's growing up has some negative emotion of the kind this demon could latch onto, even if they're not consciously aware of it.'
'Growing up?' said Rose, and turned a scowling face onto her father. 'You told him I started my period, didn't you!'
'You did?' said Beth, and suddenly her eyes filled with tears. 'Oh, my beautiful niece!'
'Actually,' said Egon, 'I didn't know that.'
'Oh,' said Rose, and she stared sulkily into her lap.
'But I'm glad you mentioned it,' Egon went on. 'It very well might be a factor, either physiologically or emotionally or both. I hear it's a stressful time in a young woman's life.'
'It is,' Kylie and Beth said together.
'Well then, point proven,' said Egon. 'Maybe you can fight the demon, Rose, now that you have some idea what you're up against.'
'All right, I'll try,' said Rose. 'But I don't want to be cuddled to death by my sister, or anything like that. I'll try other things, like... I want to go to school tomorrow.'
'You want to go to school?' said Kylie. 'Oh my God – it's taken over her mind!'
'No it hasn't,' Rose said irritably. 'It's just that I spent all day yesterday moping around here, and it sounds like it'd be more productive to try getting on with things.'
'I think that's exactly the attitude you need,' said Egon, noticing that Josh and Freya were now hovering tentatively in the doorway. 'Hello, you two. Did you find anything?'
'Yes,' said Josh. 'The tiniest little baby demons were nesting in the bed. Three of them.'
'We just held the trap open over it, and in they all went,' said Freya, holding up a full ghost trap to prove it. 'What even is the point of them, anyway?'
'We can only assume they grow up to become what their parent is now,' said Egon, 'in which case, it's a very good thing that we're trapping them before they reach full maturity. I don't know whether they pose much of a threat as they are, but it's possible, and they'd certainly grow if left unchecked.'
'How many more are there going to be, anyway?' Rose demanded.
'Goodness knows,' said Egon. 'We have a few empty traps in the car which we'll leave here.'
'I'll get them,' said Freya.
'I'll help,' said Josh, and they went.
'I'd probably better get back to bed,' said Rose, 'as I'm getting up for school tomorrow.'
'Chita went in with Jim while Josh and Freya were in the spare room,' Eduardo told her. 'Maybe your mom could take her place.'
'That's not necessary,' said Rose.
'Oh, baby, I'd like to,' said Kylie. 'It'd make me feel better.'
'Then I could sleep on the couch,' Eduardo added. 'That'd be better than going home to an empty house.'
'You go in the spare with Mom, then,' said Rose, 'and I'll sleep on the couch.'
Eduardo and Kylie exchanged a look, then Kylie said, 'If you're absolutely sure that's what you want, I guess we'd better let you.'
'Gee, thanks,' Rose said dryly, crawling under the blanket on the couch as Kylie and Beth vacated it.
Eduardo went to the front door and met Josh and Freya carrying three ghost traps between them. He took two of them, and Kevin appeared in the living room doorway saying, 'Let's leave that other one down here with Rose. She can use it, can't she?'
'Of course she can!' Rose's voice came peevishly from behind him.
'That's settled, then,' said Kevin, taking the final trap from Josh and carrying it through to the living room. He returned seconds later, closing the door behind him.
After that, there were some moments of people trying to get around each other in the hallway until eventually Egon, Josh and Freya managed to leave, while Kylie and Beth made their way upstairs. Kevin had one foot in the front doorway when Eduardo said, 'Thanks for your help, Kev.'
'I didn't do much,' said Kevin. 'I didn't even join in the talk in there – I just didn't know what to say.'
'But you were there, and you agreed to be on call all night. You could've just stayed asleep up in your place if you'd wanted.'
'Like I'd do that!'
'Well, I'm grateful anyway. How's Merida? Gotten out of her carrier yet?'
'Yeah, she actually seems pretty happy. Oh,' as Carl suddenly appeared on the stairs. 'Hi, Dad.'
'Hi, son,' said Carl.
'So,' said Kevin, 'it's your last day on the force tomorrow, huh? That must feel pretty weird.'
'It shouldn't,' said Carl. 'Those kids with psych degrees keep telling me that captains are supposed to retire when they're much younger than I am now.'
'What time are you leaving?' Kevin asked eagerly.
'Um... around eight thirty, I guess,' said Carl, frowning slightly. 'Why do you want to know that?'
'Well,' said Kevin, 'because... I could wave you off, couldn't I?'
'Really?' said Carl, his face brightening. 'You want to wave me off because it's my last day on the force? That's... that's really nice, Kevin.'
'Er, yeah,' Kevin said awkwardly. 'So I'll see you tomorrow, then. G'night, Dad... Uncle Eduardo.'
''Night, Kev,' said Eduardo, watching Kevin until he closed the front door behind him. Then he turned and saw that Carl was still on the stairs. 'You okay there, Carl?'
'I don't know,' said Carl. 'Conchita told me...' He stopped, looked cautiously over his shoulder and then finished in a low voice, 'She told me about Isabel.'
'Oh, she did, huh?' said Eduardo. 'Well, that's a relief. Y'know, we all thought you knew.'
'How was I supposed to know? He... she's very convincing.'
'Er, yeah, I guess. So... are you okay with it?'
'Of course I am!' Carl said defensively.
'Well,' said Eduardo, looking longingly at the staircase behind Carl's massive bulk. 'Good.'
'So listen,' Carl went on, 'that blonde you brought here with you tonight... she's a real girl, right?'
'Are you asking me if Freya's cisgender?'
'No, I'm asking you if she's normal.'
Eduardo opened his mouth to reply, held it for a second, then said carefully, 'Well, she's normal in the way that you mean, so... yeah.'
'I thought Jamie seemed kind of taken with her,' said Carl. 'What did you think?'
'I wasn't really paying attention,' said Eduardo. 'I guess, maybe, but I'm sure he's not planning on doing anything about it – he's no whore. Or maybe it was Josh he was taken with.'
'Josh!' Carl spat, his expression suddenly darkening. 'He's out of my house now, right?'
'No, actually, he decided to camp out in the bathtub,' said Eduardo.
Carl frowned at him. 'This is no joking matter.'
'What isn't?' Eduardo said wearily. 'Carl, I'd really like to go to sleep now – maybe stop by the bathroom on my way...'
'That can wait. We're talking about your daughter here!'
'We... we are?'
'Of course we are! Didn't it bother you, the way he was looking at her?'
'The same way you wish Freya was looking at James, you mean?'
Carl's frown deepened. He said nothing.
'Okay, okay,' said Eduardo, 'I guess it bothers me a little. I don't know if I trust him, but I trust her not to rush into anything.'
'She's just a kid,' said Carl. 'She has no idea. You should warn him off. Tell him I'll beat him up if he tries anything.'
Eduardo smiled wryly. 'Well, that'd sure stop him. Chita wouldn't like it, though. In fact it'd probably make her hate the both of us. Anyway, Josh might be okay for her – you don't know.'
'You know what else you should do?' Carl persisted. 'Explain to her why she has to put on pants when she's in a situation like that.'
'I can't,' said Eduardo.
'Why the hell not?'
'Because she doesn't have to. Things are different now.'
At this, Carl sighed deeply and said, 'You can say that again.'
In the living room the next morning, Kevin eyed his mother with a certain amount of apprehension as she dabbed her damp eyes with a very crumpled tissue.
'Oh, Kevin, this is such wonderful news,' Beth said at last. 'I'm going to be a grandma... and think how happy your father will be to find out he's going to be a grandpa!'
'Yeah,' said Kevin, 'I guess he will be.'
'I'm so happy for you and Oscar,' Beth beamed.
'Yeah... yeah, thanks,' said Kevin. 'Look, Mom, you know we're going to have to move out of the apartment, don't you? Real soon, I mean.'
'Oh yes, of course you are,' said Beth. 'But you don't need to worry about that, darling – we'll soon find a new tenant.'
'Yes, you could do that,' said Kevin, 'but I was wondering... well, what if you didn't find a new tenant? What if you sold the place instead?'
'Sold it?'
'Yes... and the garage, and the rest of the house along with it. It seems pretty likely that James will move into some kind of student accommodation in September, and with Dad retiring and not needing to be near the precinct anymore... well, it seems like this might be the perfect time to downsize, doesn't it? I mean, you could move literally anywhere you wanted, couldn't you?'
'Yes, I suppose we could,' said Beth. 'It's an interesting idea, Kevin, and it makes a lot of sense – it's certainly worth giving some serious thought to. But here's an idea that I think is also worth giving some serious thought to. How would it be if we did find a new tenant for the apartment, and we kept the house, and you moved in here with Oscar and the baby?'
'Wow,' said Kevin. 'Mom, that's... that's definitely something to think about. I don't think I'd want to move back into my old room, though – it'd be kinda weird after all this time. Plus it's Jimmy's room now; he'll want to come back and use it from time to time.'
'I was thinking maybe you could take over the top storey,' said Beth. 'We'll get the whole thing redecorated and kitted out. You and Oscar can have one of the bedrooms for yourselves, and we'll turn the other one into a nursery. We'll rip out that defective old shower and put in a corner bathtub with a hand-shower; you'll need that for the baby. Maybe we can even get a kitchenette installed in the big storage closet. It'd be like a home within a home for you all.'
'It's a very attractive idea, Mom,' said Kevin. 'Practically, financially, emotionally... it makes perfect sense on every level. But so does me and Oscar buying our own place. We'll have to discuss this at great length, and you and Dad will have to do the same thing.'
'Yes, we will,' Beth agreed. 'He's mentioned the possibility of downsizing before, actually, but I bet he'd gladly abandon the idea if it meant that you, Oscar and the baby were coming to live with us.'
'You think he would, huh?'
'I really do, yes.'
'We'd better take these ideas to our partners and see what we all think about everything, then,' said Kevin. 'Thanks, Mom.'
'For what?' Beth said with a smile.
'Oh, you know,' said Kevin, grabbing a tissue from the box and dabbing his own eyes. 'Just... just everything.'
Kevin stood up, and Beth came to give him a hug.
'Oh, Kevin, this is such wonderful news,' Beth said at last. 'I'm going to be a grandma... and think how happy your father will be to find out he's going to be a grandpa!'
'Yeah,' said Kevin, 'I guess he will be.'
'I'm so happy for you and Oscar,' Beth beamed.
'Yeah... yeah, thanks,' said Kevin. 'Look, Mom, you know we're going to have to move out of the apartment, don't you? Real soon, I mean.'
'Oh yes, of course you are,' said Beth. 'But you don't need to worry about that, darling – we'll soon find a new tenant.'
'Yes, you could do that,' said Kevin, 'but I was wondering... well, what if you didn't find a new tenant? What if you sold the place instead?'
'Sold it?'
'Yes... and the garage, and the rest of the house along with it. It seems pretty likely that James will move into some kind of student accommodation in September, and with Dad retiring and not needing to be near the precinct anymore... well, it seems like this might be the perfect time to downsize, doesn't it? I mean, you could move literally anywhere you wanted, couldn't you?'
'Yes, I suppose we could,' said Beth. 'It's an interesting idea, Kevin, and it makes a lot of sense – it's certainly worth giving some serious thought to. But here's an idea that I think is also worth giving some serious thought to. How would it be if we did find a new tenant for the apartment, and we kept the house, and you moved in here with Oscar and the baby?'
'Wow,' said Kevin. 'Mom, that's... that's definitely something to think about. I don't think I'd want to move back into my old room, though – it'd be kinda weird after all this time. Plus it's Jimmy's room now; he'll want to come back and use it from time to time.'
'I was thinking maybe you could take over the top storey,' said Beth. 'We'll get the whole thing redecorated and kitted out. You and Oscar can have one of the bedrooms for yourselves, and we'll turn the other one into a nursery. We'll rip out that defective old shower and put in a corner bathtub with a hand-shower; you'll need that for the baby. Maybe we can even get a kitchenette installed in the big storage closet. It'd be like a home within a home for you all.'
'It's a very attractive idea, Mom,' said Kevin. 'Practically, financially, emotionally... it makes perfect sense on every level. But so does me and Oscar buying our own place. We'll have to discuss this at great length, and you and Dad will have to do the same thing.'
'Yes, we will,' Beth agreed. 'He's mentioned the possibility of downsizing before, actually, but I bet he'd gladly abandon the idea if it meant that you, Oscar and the baby were coming to live with us.'
'You think he would, huh?'
'I really do, yes.'
'We'd better take these ideas to our partners and see what we all think about everything, then,' said Kevin. 'Thanks, Mom.'
'For what?' Beth said with a smile.
'Oh, you know,' said Kevin, grabbing a tissue from the box and dabbing his own eyes. 'Just... just everything.'
Kevin stood up, and Beth came to give him a hug.
In the school lunch hour, Conchita found herself carrying an armful of books from her high school building to the junior high across the road. She gave these to the librarian with a smile and a few words of explanation, almost left, then thought better of it. Instead she went to the computer suite, sat down at a computer and typed 16riverac into the username field, followed by her password.
After a minute or two of searching, Conchita found what she wanted and manoeuvred the cursor over the print icon. Then she stopped, leaned back in her chair and looked doubtfully at the printer situated at the end of the librarian's desk. She stayed in indecision for some moments, then Rose walked into the computer suite and Conchita's face lit up.
'Ooh, Rose!' she said. 'Grab what I'm about to print from the printer before Dr Day sees it!'
Rose walked up to her and gave her an odd look. 'Why didn't you bring one of your friends if you wanted to do that? Come to that, why are you in our library in the first place?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Conchita. 'Just do it, Rosy-Posy – please!'
Rose shrugged and made her way over to the printer on the librarian's desk, while Conchita clicked the print icon. Rose then began to collect the pages that were spewed out, her eyes becoming ever wider as she looked at the reams of information on gender and sexual orientation. Eventually she returned, sniggering, to her sister and handed her the sheaf of papers, saying, 'Now I understand: you didn't want James or Isabel to see this and wonder why you wanted it. Why do you want it?'
'That's private.'
'You aren't planning on jilling off to it, are you?'
'Rose!' said Conchita, looking around at the other library-users in alarm. 'Do you even really know what that means?'
'Don't be stupid,' said Rose, as she went over to the bank of computers on the opposite wall and sat down at one. She then typed in 19riverar, then her password, and got down to some work.
After a minute or two of searching, Conchita found what she wanted and manoeuvred the cursor over the print icon. Then she stopped, leaned back in her chair and looked doubtfully at the printer situated at the end of the librarian's desk. She stayed in indecision for some moments, then Rose walked into the computer suite and Conchita's face lit up.
'Ooh, Rose!' she said. 'Grab what I'm about to print from the printer before Dr Day sees it!'
Rose walked up to her and gave her an odd look. 'Why didn't you bring one of your friends if you wanted to do that? Come to that, why are you in our library in the first place?'
'Oh, I don't know,' said Conchita. 'Just do it, Rosy-Posy – please!'
Rose shrugged and made her way over to the printer on the librarian's desk, while Conchita clicked the print icon. Rose then began to collect the pages that were spewed out, her eyes becoming ever wider as she looked at the reams of information on gender and sexual orientation. Eventually she returned, sniggering, to her sister and handed her the sheaf of papers, saying, 'Now I understand: you didn't want James or Isabel to see this and wonder why you wanted it. Why do you want it?'
'That's private.'
'You aren't planning on jilling off to it, are you?'
'Rose!' said Conchita, looking around at the other library-users in alarm. 'Do you even really know what that means?'
'Don't be stupid,' said Rose, as she went over to the bank of computers on the opposite wall and sat down at one. She then typed in 19riverar, then her password, and got down to some work.
Meanwhile, Eduardo and Kylie were back in their own home. Kylie was working at her laptop, but Eduardo was doing no work at all; instead he was hovering around and looking uncertain.
'Eduardo,' Kylie said at length, looking at him over her shoulder. 'What the hell is with you?'
'Me?' said Eduardo. 'Well, I... I'm just wondering whether to tell you something.'
'Well, either do or don't.'
'It's about Rose.'
'What?' said Kylie, instantly on the alert. 'It is? Something that could help, you mean?'
'I don't know,' said Eduardo. 'It's something that Freya and I have been keeping a secret since we found that first baby octopus wisp thing in Rose's closet. Thank God Josh didn't see it – that would just be so... argh!'
'See what?' said Kylie. 'Something that was in Rose's closet?'
'Yeah. God knows, I didn't mean to see it. It just kind of... flew out.'
'Well, are you going to tell me what it is?'
'Okay,' said Eduardo. 'It was a magazine. As in, the kind of magazine I used to hide in my closet when I was a kid.'
'Oh... oh!' said Kylie. 'You mean... one with girls in it? Only girls?'
'Well, I didn't sit down and look through it,' said Eduardo, 'but from what I saw... yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm not worrying about her having it or anything stupid like that. I was just mortified that I saw it – she'd be so embarrassed if she found out! I wondered whether to tell you about it, since I knew, but obviously I wasn't supposed to know, so in the end I decided I'd better not say anything, but now after what Egon was saying last night about insecurities and growing up and stuff, I can't help wondering if it's a factor in this whole demon thing. Maybe she's confused or something.'
'Maybe,' said Kylie. 'But we can't exactly go waving her magazine at Egon and demanding to know if it's a factor, can we? Anyway, I think we both know what we do have to do: just show her that we're supportive and nobody's judging her, whatever she finds out about herself, and whatever she decides to tell us.'
'Okay,' said Eduardo, 'so... what? I'll go up to her and I'll say, “Rose, querida, it's okay to be gay”, and she'll say, “Daddy, you bastard, you've been going through my closet”.'
Kylie gave him a look. 'Now you're just being silly. Anyway, she knows it's okay to be gay. If it weren't for Conchita, she might wonder if it was okay to be straight.'
'So then what did you mean?' Eduardo asked.
'Well,' said Kylie, 'I guess I only meant we have to do what we'd have done anyway. You know: leave her alone unless she wants us, and avoid saying stupid things like... like, “Have you found a nice boy to take you to the prom yet?” or something.'
'You're right: neither of us would ever say that,' said Eduardo. Then he frowned. 'Other people might, though.'
'Hmm... maybe. Y'know, I think Roland's still cherishing hopes of a fairytale romance between Rosy and Adam. Of course, this magazine is no guarantee it can't happen, but... well, I don't guess he'd really try to push a heteronormative agenda with her anyway.'
'I think you're right about that. Carl might be full of boys taking her to the prom and stuff, though. Oh my God – maybe Carlos says stuff like that, and that's why the demon got to her!'
'Sweetie,' said Kylie, 'I don't think it's a good idea to start blaming your brother for this. Remember how you felt when he blamed you for Kevin running off when he was trying to catch that troll?'
'Yeah, I do remember,' said Eduardo. 'Madre de Dios – how long ago was that?'
'I don't even want to think about it,' said Kylie.
'Okay,' said Eduardo, 'so I won't blame Carl, and I won't say anything stupid to Rose if I can help it. So... what can I do? Y'know, it really kills me that we haven't been able to help her much yet.'
'Me too, babe,' said Kylie, reaching for his hand, which he gave to her. 'But I think between us we've all helped her a little now, haven't we? At any rate, she's gone to school.'
Eduardo laughed dryly and said, 'Maybe you were right about it taking over her mind. She knows school is stupid, just like I always did. I wouldn't have gone.'
'No?' said Kylie. 'Not even if you thought it'd help you?'
'Oh, you know me, Ky,' said Eduardo. 'I'd have probably just shut down and made everything worse. Do you think going to school really will help her?'
'I don't know, sweetie,' Kylie said with a sigh. 'I just don't know.'
'Eduardo,' Kylie said at length, looking at him over her shoulder. 'What the hell is with you?'
'Me?' said Eduardo. 'Well, I... I'm just wondering whether to tell you something.'
'Well, either do or don't.'
'It's about Rose.'
'What?' said Kylie, instantly on the alert. 'It is? Something that could help, you mean?'
'I don't know,' said Eduardo. 'It's something that Freya and I have been keeping a secret since we found that first baby octopus wisp thing in Rose's closet. Thank God Josh didn't see it – that would just be so... argh!'
'See what?' said Kylie. 'Something that was in Rose's closet?'
'Yeah. God knows, I didn't mean to see it. It just kind of... flew out.'
'Well, are you going to tell me what it is?'
'Okay,' said Eduardo. 'It was a magazine. As in, the kind of magazine I used to hide in my closet when I was a kid.'
'Oh... oh!' said Kylie. 'You mean... one with girls in it? Only girls?'
'Well, I didn't sit down and look through it,' said Eduardo, 'but from what I saw... yeah, I think so. I mean, I'm not worrying about her having it or anything stupid like that. I was just mortified that I saw it – she'd be so embarrassed if she found out! I wondered whether to tell you about it, since I knew, but obviously I wasn't supposed to know, so in the end I decided I'd better not say anything, but now after what Egon was saying last night about insecurities and growing up and stuff, I can't help wondering if it's a factor in this whole demon thing. Maybe she's confused or something.'
'Maybe,' said Kylie. 'But we can't exactly go waving her magazine at Egon and demanding to know if it's a factor, can we? Anyway, I think we both know what we do have to do: just show her that we're supportive and nobody's judging her, whatever she finds out about herself, and whatever she decides to tell us.'
'Okay,' said Eduardo, 'so... what? I'll go up to her and I'll say, “Rose, querida, it's okay to be gay”, and she'll say, “Daddy, you bastard, you've been going through my closet”.'
Kylie gave him a look. 'Now you're just being silly. Anyway, she knows it's okay to be gay. If it weren't for Conchita, she might wonder if it was okay to be straight.'
'So then what did you mean?' Eduardo asked.
'Well,' said Kylie, 'I guess I only meant we have to do what we'd have done anyway. You know: leave her alone unless she wants us, and avoid saying stupid things like... like, “Have you found a nice boy to take you to the prom yet?” or something.'
'You're right: neither of us would ever say that,' said Eduardo. Then he frowned. 'Other people might, though.'
'Hmm... maybe. Y'know, I think Roland's still cherishing hopes of a fairytale romance between Rosy and Adam. Of course, this magazine is no guarantee it can't happen, but... well, I don't guess he'd really try to push a heteronormative agenda with her anyway.'
'I think you're right about that. Carl might be full of boys taking her to the prom and stuff, though. Oh my God – maybe Carlos says stuff like that, and that's why the demon got to her!'
'Sweetie,' said Kylie, 'I don't think it's a good idea to start blaming your brother for this. Remember how you felt when he blamed you for Kevin running off when he was trying to catch that troll?'
'Yeah, I do remember,' said Eduardo. 'Madre de Dios – how long ago was that?'
'I don't even want to think about it,' said Kylie.
'Okay,' said Eduardo, 'so I won't blame Carl, and I won't say anything stupid to Rose if I can help it. So... what can I do? Y'know, it really kills me that we haven't been able to help her much yet.'
'Me too, babe,' said Kylie, reaching for his hand, which he gave to her. 'But I think between us we've all helped her a little now, haven't we? At any rate, she's gone to school.'
Eduardo laughed dryly and said, 'Maybe you were right about it taking over her mind. She knows school is stupid, just like I always did. I wouldn't have gone.'
'No?' said Kylie. 'Not even if you thought it'd help you?'
'Oh, you know me, Ky,' said Eduardo. 'I'd have probably just shut down and made everything worse. Do you think going to school really will help her?'
'I don't know, sweetie,' Kylie said with a sigh. 'I just don't know.'
