Chapter 3.7 - A Long-Awaited Event

“Are you sure you’re still alright?”

Madeline smiled at her husband of a year. “I’m just as fine as I was five minutes ago, the last time you asked me. I have done this before, you know.”

“I know you have, but I haven’t. It’s only natural that I worry about you, you know. Do you need me to do anything for you?”

She laughed. “How about we go for a little walk?” When he looked doubtful, she took his hand. “The baby isn’t here yet. We can still enjoy the fresh air for a little longer before we’re cooped up with a newborn.”

He finally acquiesced, and they walked down the quiet road outside their house, enjoying each other’s company. Jonah was at kindergarten, so they didn’t have to worry about anyone but themselves.

Madeline finally broke the silence. “How’s your campaign going?” She had quit her job as his assistant after their quiet little wedding. He could support them all, so why bother working?

“It’s coming along pretty well. At this rate, I’m poised to win the primary in a couple of weeks, and it should be a breeze after that.”

She nodded contentedly, enjoying the feeling of the wind on her face, and Alaric’s hand in hers, and… oh. Well, that wasn’t a pleasant sensation.

“Alaric?”

“Yes, Madeline?”

“The baby’s coming.”

After that, everything was a frantic rush. When they finally had their baby home, though, Madeline smiled at Alaric. “How does it feel to be a father?”

He smiled back. “Not much different than it felt to be a stepfather.”

Still, when they had the baby settled in her crib, Alaric couldn’t deny the warm feeling in his chest. “Amanda Doe. Yes… I think I could get used to being a father.”

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Alaric felt a lot less warm inside when he was called into Tori’s office a week later. When he arrived, she was hidden behind the newspaper she was reading.

“You called me in?”

“Yes.” She slapped the paper down on her desk, and he saw that she was angry. “Did you think you could keep this a secret?”

He looked down at the headline. “Mayor Alaric Doe Steals Brother’s Wife!” It proclaimed in bold typeface. The picture beneath it was of him and Madeline on their walk the day Amanda was born.

He looked back up at Tori. “To be perfectly honest, yes.”

She looked incredulous. “You know, you’re a lot of things, but I never thought you were stupid. She’s pregnant!”

“Actually, our daughter was born the day that picture was taken. I have a couple of pictures, if you want to see.”

Tori just shook her head. “I warned you, Doe. I told you that if you stepped out of line, you’d be gone. This… you didn’t just step, you took a great flying leap out of line, and you’re not even trying to deny it. I’m sorry, but you are no longer welcome in this building.”

Alaric stared at her. “I can’t even come to City Hall?”

She winced. “Honestly… I would suggest finding another place to live. I don’t think you’ll be very welcome in Sunset Valley any longer.”

Alaric looked back down at the article that had ruined his life, and frowned. What was he supposed to do now?

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Even as Alaric pondered that article, he never stopped to consider that there might have been someone behind it. He had never been particularly paranoid, but it might have served him better if he was. Because someone was behind the article, and that very same someone had a plan for what Alaric should do next…

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Alaric was still in a bad mood when he picked the mail out of the mailbox that afternoon on his way back to the house. When he got inside, Madeline was in the living room, trying to hush Amanda back to sleep.

“Shhh. Shhh. I don’t know what you want from me, baby. Shhh. You’re home early, Alaric.”

“We’re moving.”

“That’s good. We could use some more space. I think a couple of the houses on Sunnyside Boulevard are for sale…”

“No. We’re moving to…” He paused as one of the flyers in the mail caught his eye. Explore a landscape where all you're really required to be is yourself! He made a split-second decision. “Midnight Hollow.”

Author's Note: The event referred to in the title could be the birth of Amanda, the end of this plot line, or the move to Midnight Hollow. Take your pick. Also, it's time to officially introduce you to our first two heir candidates:

Jonah Doe came into the house an absent-minded genius, and is now neurotic.

Amanda Doe is definitely a loner, and I'm about 85% sure that she is also a light sleeper. I will confirm the next time I open the save. She is also blond. It was a mutant color, but Madeline's father was Geoffrey Landgraab, so I did my best to give Amanda his hair color. I think I did alright.

For the record, I rolled for five children this generation. I plan to do the heir poll while they are all teens, and since Jonah is already a good bit older than Amanda, the other three children will be coming at you very quickly, since they all have to have a fully developed personality and plot by the heir poll. The previous two generations both had two fewer children than this one, and they were all born by this point in the generation, but there was this pesky thing called plot that I had to work through this time. The kids should all be born before chapter 11 (they're all born in my game), but there will be a lot of them very close together, and I won't blame you if you have to come up with some sort of mnemonic device to keep them all straight. Next chapter: we move to Midnight Hollow!