Who Are You?- Baby 58: Part One

Erik aged up into a very charming young man, who decided to move in with Theresa. Still very imaginative, he wants to become a famous artist someday. For now, he works in his garage, painting whatever comes to mind and selling it at the consignment store. He's also made a deal with Skye to "donate to her challenge," since he still thinks she's a very cute girl, and she thinks the same about him (minus the girl part).

Louise's obsession with death never faded as she grew older. Her love of black also didn't disappear, but I must say, she can pull off the gothic look quite well. Jeremy slimmed down, and to my utter amazement, became one of the most gorgeous boys I think I've ever seen. Louise noticed it, too, and made her move, quickly becoming his girlfriend. They're still as insane as ever, but I think they complement each other quite well.

Chloe and Lincoln age up, still best friends. As she got older, Chloe learned to play the piano, and eventually become one of the best that I know. She spends most of her time at school, practicing and at recitals. Lincoln was still a hectic little boy, but I loved that about him. He always found a way to surprise me, whether it was a whoopie cushion, dye in the showerhead or the spraying sink (most of those I don't appreciate).

Molly and Simon are adorable little tots with my dad's red hair and my green eyes. Aside from being a completely different gender, they look exactly the same. In fact, their personalities are quite similar, too. They refuse to be apart from each other, and make a scene when they are until they're reunited. They're handfuls, but it is good that they love each other so much. That isn't always the case with twins. 

*~Louise's Point of View~*

"Lou-Lou?" Chloe squeaked, leading Molly by the hand up to me as I sat at the kitchen table.

"Yeah?" I asked, biting down on a spoonful of cereal. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to go to the park with us. Mommy says we can't go without someone who is at least old enough to drive, and she's busy right now."

I sighed. I loved my little sisters, but I didn't really want to work to spend time with them. I'm a lazy bum, basically. I pretty much sit around all day with Jeremy on the couches, watching horror movies. He still doesn't like them, but he puts up with them for me. "I guess."

"Yay!" she cheered, jumping up and down with joy. "Did you hear that Molly?" She turned to our little sister and smiled widely. "We're going to the park with Lou-Lou! It's going to be so much fun! We can play on the spring riders, and in the sandbox..." Her voice trailed off as she led Molly back to her room to get ready.

"What are we supposed to do while you're away?" I jumped at the sudden addition of voices.

"Lincoln? What the-- What do you mean? Just... do what you normally do."

"But I don't do anything without Chloe, and Simon doesn't do anything without Molly. We're hopeless without each other," he whined, stomping his tiny foot.

"Well you gotta grow outta that, kid, because clearly Chloe can survive spending the day away from her precious little twin. I've never gotten that "other half" crap. You're two separate people with two separate personalities! Start acting like it!" At the sight of his offended expression, I said, "I'm sorry, Linc, I'm just stressed."

"What about?" His pained expression turned to one of concern.

"Well, school is really making me tired, leaving me barely any time to do homework, or ghost watch, for that matter," I said thoughtfully.

"How about to repay me for taking away my twin today, you bring me to see a ghost some other time?"

I nodded. "Sounds good, twerp." I ruffled his dark hair and walked upstairs to where Chloe was putting small amounts of makeup on Molly's face. "What're you doing?"

"Molly wanted to be like big sister Lou-Lou, so I stole some of your makeup. I think it looks cute on her."

"Stop that," I snapped, grabbing the brush out of her small hand. "You're going to make her a prostitute. She's a baby! She can have makeup when she's older, now let's go." I scooped up Molly and grabbed Chloe's wrist, walking them to the car. "Stay quiet while you're in here. I don't want to crash the car from being distracted and have Mom all over me for it."

"I wanna make a "that's what she said" joke but I feel that's inappropriate," she said as she climbed into the back seat.

"You're right, that is, now shut up until we get there, then you can be as Chloe as you'd like to be." Getting older didn't help my personality problems, such as being a jerk to everyone, including my siblings. But I am their older sister, it comes with the territory. I feel it is my duty to keep them in line with my snarky remarks. Of course, it does get me in trouble with the Baby Police (AKA Mom) but it's worth it in the end. I feel I help them grow as people. Okay, that's bull crap. I'm just a jerk.

When we got there, Chloe leaped out of the car, leaving me to unstrap Molly and bring her to the spring riders. "Now hurry this up, Binky Breath, I don't want to be seen by the metal horsies. That's just plain embarrassing." She bounced up and down on the horse for five minutes, until I decided that she needed to be done and brought her to the sandbox. "Sit there and eat sand or whatever it is you do." I walked over to the swings and sat down, swinging slightly in the wind.

Chloe walked over a moment later and sat on the swing next to me. "Hey sis," she said quietly.

"Hey. Why aren't you over there playing with your friends?" I pointed to where she had been while I was with Molly, her friends laughing across the park.

She shrugged. "I didn't want to leave you here all alone. It's not fun to not have anyone to talk to."

"What would you know about that? You have Lincoln at all times."

"No, he has me at all times. He really gets on my nerves, but he needs me. He's weaker without me around, I think. His self confidence goes down a lot when I leave, and he always gets bullied at school. I just don't like to leave him alone."

I sighed. "You know, you don't need to constantly be looking out for Linc. He's never gonna learn to be without you if don't teach him to be. It's like what Mom does with us. She separates herself from us as we get older and can fend for ourselves, so we can start learning to live like adults, preparing us for when we move out into the world."

"Yeah, but we're only twelve."

I nodded. "I know, but it's the same concept. He's going to be overly-attached to you for the rest of his life if you don't make him spend time without you. He's gotta learn that even though you don't spend every waking moment with him, you still love him and will always be there to protect him."

"I guess... But I don't want him to hate me."

"He might at first, I'll admit," I said, running a finger through my orange locks, "but that's a chance you're going to have to take. Lincoln will eventually come around and realize that it can be fun to spend some time alone in your room. Although, he better not start having too much fun, because then it just crosses a line--"

"What do you mean?"

"Meh, you'll understand when you get to sex ed in high school," I said, and we swung gently in silence for a while, until Molly started crying and I had to change her diaper and give her a bottle full of chocolate milk.

Soon my phone started vibrating, and I realized that our home line was calling. "Hello?" I said, putting the brick-phone up to my ear.

"Hey Lou-Lou!" Lincoln sounded. "Can I talk to Chloe?"

"Why?"

"I wanted to check up on her!"

"No," I said sternly. "There's no way I'm letting you do that. We've been gone for an hour, Lincoln. She can tell you all about her day when she gets back."

"But she could be drowning in a pit of hot lava--"

"I can assure you that's not happening," I sighed, rubbing my neck in frustration. "I don't think Sunset Valley actually has any hot lava. At least, not in public. And if they do I think they'd be breaking some serious laws."

He groaned. "Just let me talk to her! You could be smothering her with a pillow as we speak! I want confirmation that she's alive!"

"Damn it, Lincoln, why would I be smothering her with a freaking pillow?" I demanded. "I'll admit, that's what I want to be doing to you right this second, but Chloe is--"

A scream echoed out through the park, and I dropped my phone, realizing that it was Chloe who cried out in pain.

"Chloe!?" I shouted, looking in the direction of where the scream originated. There she was, my ginger sister laying in the street, a car a few feet away from her. "Chloe!" I screamed, sprinting over to the road. "You idiot!" I yelled at the driver. "You hit my little sister!" Kneeling down, I started to panic, breathing heavily, shaking her as if that were going to do any good. "Chloe, wake up please!"

Now sobbing, I screamed, "Someone call 9-1-1!" A crowd was starting to form, and multiple people reached for their cell phones and started dialing the same three numbers, all saying the same thing when the operator picked up: "A little girl has been hit by a car!"

I could hear the screeches of Molly behind me as she wobbled over to the street. "Molly, get back!" I shouted, making the motion to get out of there. "Please, don't come any closer sweetie." I think she could hear the panic in my voice, because her sobs became louder and more painful to listen to. I stood up, walked over to her and kneeled down. "Sweetie," I said, in the calmest voice I could muster, "please stop crying. Please? For Lou-Lou? I need you to go onto the sidewalk," I pointed to the concrete, "and sit down and wait for me to finish helping Chloe, okay?" She nodded and did what I said.

Briefly, I thought about how Mom would never trust me with my little siblings again, how she would sob at the hospital when her daughter laid in the white bed, fighting for her life. Don't think like that, Louise! Focus on the problem at hand!

Minutes later, an ambulance pulled up, sirens blaring, put Chloe on a stretcher and slid her into the red and white vehicle. I grabbed Molly and jumped in the back, reaching for my cell phone. When I remembered that I dropped it in the park, I groaned, frustrated. "Is she going to be okay?" I asked the paramedic as he frantically tended to my sister.

"I'm not sure right now, miss, but I'll let you know. Do you have a parent you can call?" he asked, not completely focused on our conversation. Not that I minded.

"Erm... Yeah, but I dropped my cell phone back at the park."

"That's fine, you can use the hospital's phone when we get there." I nodded gratefully and tried to calm down little Molly, who started screaming helplessly once again when the sirens were in our hearing range.

When we got to the hospital, they ran Chloe to the emergency room, still trying to revive her while they did so. I walked to the phone, bouncing crying Molly up and down. I quickly dialed the ten numbers of my mom's cell phone, and she answered immediately. "Hello?"

"Mom?" I bawled into the phone, reaching my breaking point and starting to sob.

"Louise?" she exclaimed, starting to worry at the sound of two of her daughter's cries. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Is someone hurt?"

"Mommy?"

"Yes honey? Calm down, what happened?"

"C-Chloe was hit by a car! We're at the hospital, and Molly won't calm down, and I'm starting to have a panic attack a-and I c-can't--"

"Oh my-- Lou, calm down. I'll be right there," she said, followed shortly by a click and then silence. I sat down on the bench connected to the wall and rocked Molly back and forth.

"It's okay little angel," I cooed in the sweetest voice I could manage, "just go to sleep. Big sissy is going to be fine. Both of your big sissies." She closed her eyes as I sang "Hush Little Baby" and rubbed her back.

Mom arrived within minutes, tears streaming down her face. "Is she alright?"

"I don't know," I admitted, trying not to wake Molly. "They rushed her back and I don't have any idea what's going on." Mom sighed and walked to the reception desk.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked, completely oblivious to the fact that a panic stricken mother was in front of her.

"Um... What's going on with Chloe Parker? She was hit by a car."

"Relation?" she asked, flipping the page of her magazine.

"I'm her mother."

"One moment," she drawled, picked up the phone and said, "What's happening with Chloe Parker? Her mother wants to know." Someone on the other line babbled for a moment, and the receptionist turned to Mom and said, "She's in critical condition. They'll send a doctor out in a few minutes to talk to you, but first they have to stabilize her."

Mom nodded, her orange hair bouncing slightly, and sat down next to me.  We sat in silence for about fifteen minutes, until a man in a white coat strutted out, blood soaked, worry lines creasing his aged face. "Miss Parker?" he asked.

"Yes?"

He walked over to Mom and sat down to be at eye-level. "Chloe is in the ICU, and should be there for a while. She broke several of her bones, and has a minor concussion," he explained.

"When can we see her?" I asked what was probably on both of our minds.

He sighed sadly. "Not until she gets a little better, unfortunately. We just don't want her to crash while you're visiting her. For now, how about you go home and try to get your mind off it? We'll call you when you can see her." He offered us a warm smile, which Mom returned with a glare. I couldn't blame her, though, because I knew that it must have been a pretty rough day.

When he went back through the double doors he emerged from minutes before, Mom said, "Let's go," and led Molly and I out the door to the car.

I started to cry silently. "M-Mom, I'm so sorry!" I bawled as I strapped myself into the seat.

"It's fine honey, it's not your fault," she assured me, obviously preoccupied. "It could've happened on anyone's time. Although I'd prefer if it would've been mine to keep you from feeling responsible."

I sighed. "I know it's not my fault, but if I would've kept my eye on her for just a few seconds longer, maybe--"

"Maybe nothing," she snapped, pulling into our driveway. "The simple truth is you didn't keep your eye on her for a few seconds more. You cannot change what happened, and as unfortunate as that is, we have to live with what we get. Chloe will get better, come home and everything will go back to normal."

"But what if it doesn't? What if she dies--"

"Don't you dare say that!" she screeched, stopping the car and pulling out the keys, causing me to jump. "Chloe will be fine. She'll--She'll be fine!" She broke down, sobbing into her hands.

"Mom... I'm sorry," I said, putting my hand on her shoulder. "I really am. I'm sorry I even exist!"

She snapped her head up and gave me a curious look. "What does that mean? Why do you say that?"

"I'm a bitchy freak who everyone hates. If I weren't here, Chloe would still be walking!"

To my surprise, Mom started to laugh... hysterically.

"Mom?"

When she finally caught her breath, she said, "Dear, don't you dare say that. If you weren't here, I'm fairly sure Chloe wouldn't be here either, nor would Lincoln, Molly or Simon. Truth is, if she does die, which hopefully she won't, there's nothing I can do about it. She was lucky enough to live at all, to be surrounded by her loving family and amazing big sister." She flashed me a toothy grin. "There's nothing you could've done differently. What's done is done."

I gaped. She was reacting to this whole thing with a surprisingly casual attitude. I expected her to be sobbing in the corner of the house or something, not laughing and smiling, telling me if she dies she dies! "Who are you and what have you done with my mother!?"

"Calm down, Louise, I just have hope that she'll be okay." She smiled at me once more, giving me some hope, too, and we walked into the house.

*~Paisley's Point of View~*

While I waited for the doctors to call to tell me that Chloe was fine enough for me to visit, I searched through my challenge father request emails to get my mind off of it. I came across another male version of a challenge mother: Chris Moren. It appeared it was Chloe Moreau's turn, since he looked exactly like her, only he was a man.

I ran down to the sperm bank and picked up his contribution. On my way back, I spotted a familiar face: William Johnson. I slowed down to a halt in front of the grocery store and shouted out his name, causing him to swing around. When he saw it was me, he smiled widely and walked over to the window. "Hey Paisley. It's nice to see you. How've you been?"

I smiled weakly. "I've been better. Hey, I have a lot going on in my life right now, and I'd really like to take you up on that offer to go out to dinner. That is, if you'll still have me." He grinned widely and nodded.

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

I shrugged. "I just really need a distraction, and I've been thinking about it recently: I really have no excuse not to date during my challenge. Everyone else does it, and they all seem really happy. Maybe the past few times just haven't been the right guys. Maybe this time it'll be different?"

He smirked. "Maybe. I'm glad you decided to come out with me. How about I call you later to make plans?"

I nodded. "Okay, sure. It was really great to see you. You better call me, mister!" I said playfully, rolled up my window and drove off. When I got home, I was bombarded by Louise, who was smiling like a loon.

"Mom, Mom, Mom! Guess what, guess what, guess what!?"

"W-what?" I asked, shocked.

"Chloe is awake and we can go visit her now! So, let's gooooo!" she sang, pulling me to the car. We were at the hospital in a matter of minutes, excited to see our red haired little fighter. "Hello!" Louise greeted the receptionist. "We're here to see Chloe Parker!"

The receptionist, a different, more efficient one, smiled up at us. "Okay, lemme see here..." she said, scanning through her computer. "Ah yes, she's in room 305. It's on the third floor. Just take that elevator right there." She pointed to the aforementioned elevator, we climbed on and zipped up to the top.

"Do you think Chloe will be happy to see us?" Louise asked as we walked.

I nodded. "I sure hope so! I bet she'll be quite confused. Ah, here it is. Room 305." We opened the door and were greeted with the sight of Chloe, bruised and hooked up to many machines, laying in her hospital bed. "Chloe?" I said gently, walking up to her. "Hey honey."

She looked up at me with her big eyes and cocked her head.

"How are you feeling honey?"

She narrowed her eyes.

"Doing any better?"

At that question, she furrowed her eyebrows, as if she were thinking, and said, to my complete surprise, 

"Who are you?" 

I Never Considered Myself to be the Model Type- Babies 56 and 57

"MOTHER DEAREST!" Being screamed at in the early hours of the morning by your teenage son is one of the most annoying ways to start your day. Toffee towered over me, smiling triumphantly at me.

"Toffee?" I asked sleepily, rubbing my eyes. "What the-- What are you doing?"

"Mom, Erik and I decided we wanted to go to the beach with the family since Caramel will be coming home later today. What do you think? We also thought it might be a good idea to have some fun before we age up and leave this house forever."

I sighed and propped myself up on my elbows. "Yeah, sounds fun. I'll go make breakfast while you get Louise ready for the day, then we can leave. Sound good?"

He nodded and ran out of the room. An hour and a half ready, Caramel was back in his rightful place in our house, and we were preparing to set out to the beach. "ONWARD!" Toffee shouted, pointing in the direction of the car. "ONWARD WE MUST GO!"

The kids piled into the car, Louise gurgling happily in her car seat. Erik sang to the song as we drove, which irritated his older brothers. When we arrived at the beach, the three boys tripped over each other, eager to get into the salty water. "You three be careful!" I yelled after them. "And keep a close eye on Erik!"

I picked up the toddler and walked her over to the newly installed spring riders. "Mama! Me wanna pway on the howsey!" Louise sang, wiggling in my arms the closer we got to the metal horse.

"I know, I know, we're almost there," I assured her. Once we were just inches away from the play horse, I plopped Louise in it. She bounced and swayed on the spring rider for five minutes until I decided to set out my beach towel and umbrella and settled down to watch Erik, Toffee and Caramel play in the water.

A good four hours later, after swimming, tanning, eating burgers and hotdogs, making sandcastles and burying each other in the soft terrain, we packed up and went home, full and happy. Once we got to our orange sanctuary, I aged the kids up.

Caramel and Toffee aren't exactly friends, but they no longer hate each other like they used to. Their flirty personalities faded as they got older, and surprisingly, neither of them have girlfriends and don't plan to for a while (Quinn and Toffee broke up). Neither of them wanted jobs, so to save some money they moved in together, even though they aren't exactly on the best terms.

Erik's imagination was still running wild, even as a teen. He decided to practice art so that others could see what he comes up with in his head. He began dating Theresa, and they were going strong, which made Erik extremely happy. He spent every waking moment with her, and even though I missed my son, I couldn't possibly ask him to stop seeing her so much since it made him so excited.

Louise changed a lot as a child. She had a strong obsession with death and the color black, and since her room is bright colors and filled with girly toys, she prefers to sleep in the boys' room. She also developed a love for dance. She loves to come home after class and show me her new moves that she learned. Not only is it a super fun activity for her, but it's also amazing exercise. Another plus is it kept her away from our many electronics, something I liked to see in my kids.

Chloe and Lincoln were extremely adorable little tots. They never left each other's sides, and were really fussy when I took one away from the other. Lincoln was a little mischief maker, constantly causing me trouble and going missing. I'd usually find him in the laundry basket and it was completely beyond me as to how he managed to get in it every time, since it's so tall and he's so short. Chloe liked music, and was usually found in front of the xylophone. She was really catching on and could play songs like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Old McDonald.

I began searching through my challenge father request emails. There were a lot of good potential donors, but the one that caught my eye was another male version of a challenge mother. This time his name was Calvin Smitt, Calista Smith's male lookalike. It was beginning to be a little odd because I didn't think there could possibly be this many, but I bookmarked his page and got to work on my usual chores since I wasn't quite ready to get pregnant yet. 

After cooking dinner, cleaning the house and giving Chloe and Lincoln baths, I settled onto a beanbag and turned on Gnomeo and Juliet with the kids, excluding Erik (he wanted to work on his latest painting instead). Once the movie finished, I put the toddlers in their cribs and sent Louise to bed (after much complaining on her end).

As I was just settling into bed, the phone began to ring. I flung myself off of my mattress and picked up the phone, putting it up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Hey there. Is this Paisley Parker?" The voice on the other end was a masculine sounding man, completely the opposite of what I was expecting to hear. Usually, the only people that call are my challenge mother friends.

"Yes, may I ask who this is?"

"Of course. This is William Johnson. I'm a photographer for Mother Mania Magazine. We had your friend Skye Everard model for us once, and she recommended you for future reference. I was wondering if you'd like to do us the honor of modeling for us as well?"

Dumbfounded at his request, I stuttered, "O-of course. I'd love to!"

"Great! Do you think you could come down tomorrow at two to Central Park? There, you will have your hair and makeup done, after which you'll have your pictures taken. It's as easy as that, and shouldn't take more than three hours."

"Sounds good. See you then!" After hanging up, I prepared myself mentally for what was ahead of me. I didn't like having my picture taken, seeing as I'm ridiculously self conscious. It really didn't help that my picture was being taken for a magazine that was sold nationally. I sighed. Time to suck it up, Parker! The amusing part about that thought, was it was in Skye's voice. I spend way too much time with her.

When I arrived at the park, I plastered an extremely fake, but hopefully appealing smile onto my face, and walked over to where they had all of the cameras set up. "Um, hello," I said, feeling more and more nervous by the second. "I'm Paisley Parker. Is there a William Johnson here?" I directed my question to a petite red haired girl, her freckled face turning up into a smile when she heard my name.

"Oh hello Miss Parker! I'm Jenny, but you can call me Jen!" Jen bounced around me, ecstatic about something. "Mr. Johnson is busy setting up shop, so he asked me to bring you to get your hair done when you arrive! And look! You've arrived! Follow me!" She led me to an area of the park closed off by partitions. "Kelly," Jen started, her green eyes focused on a tiny blonde girl, who at first glance appeared to be anorexic, but as I watched her closely, I knew that wasn't right because she was stuffing her face with cupcakes. Damn girl with her fast metabolism.  "This is Paisley Parker, she's ready to get her hair done. Send her in to get her makeup put on when you're finished." Jen walked out of the hair area and left me alone with Kelly.

"Hello, I'm Kelly Martin, I'll be your hair stylist," she said, shaking my hand. "I'm sorry if Jen caused you any annoyance. She's been William's right hand woman for years now, and even though she bugs the crap out of everyone, he keeps her around."

"She annoys even William?" I asked. Kelly nodded as she pulled out some scissors and a brush. "Then why does he keep her around?"

Kelly shrugged. "They dated once a while back, and he just never fired her. Have a seat." She gestured towards a stool placed in front of a mirror surrounded by lights. She began chopping at my hair, not giving me enough time to protest. I looked terrible with short hair! My hair was my favorite part about me, she couldn't just chop it all off!

"Stop!" I shouted, causing Kelly to jump a little where she stood.

"E-excuse me?"

"My hair! Don't cut my hair!"

"I'm sorry Miss Parker, but I have to. Mr. Johnson requested that you have short hair for the shoot."

"I don't give a crap what Mr. Johnson wants!" I trilled, not meaning to sound like a complete bitch, but 

unfortunately, that's what I sounded like. "I like my long hair, and you can't cut it!" 

"I-I'm sorry ma'am," she stuttered, "but it's too late." She pointed to the mirror and when I looked at my reflection, I was shocked to see that she had already taken a great amount of my beautiful, orange hair off of my head. "Just let me finish or else you're going to look like a dwarf."

I sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry I shouted. I was just caught off guard," I said, covering my face in shame.

Kelly giggled, causing me to look at her in curiosity. "It's totally fine, Miss Parker, that isn't the first time that's happened to me. I've worked with a lot of mean girls before, and you aren't one of them. I promise, it's fine." 

After about twenty minutes of her clipping away at my orange locks, (not allowing me to look in the mirror, I might add) she turned the stool around, letting me look at myself. "Viola!" she said giddily. "I present to thee, your new look! SHAZAM, PARKER! MEET YOUR MAGNIFICENT LOOKING DOOM! YOU SEXY BEAST!"

I laughed happily. My hair looked great! Much better than I was expecting. I was actually glad that I got it cut! I never thought I'd be able to say that!

"Well," Kelly started, putting away her supplies, "it's time to get your makeup done. Follow me." She led me to another closed off area that looked almost exactly the same, mirror, stool and all. The only difference was instead of a small blonde girl in the center of the room, there was a larger, black haired woman that didn't greet me with a smile like the rest of the staff did, but with a cold, goosebump-causing glare.

"Meredith, this is the model, Paisley. Paisley, this is Meredith, your makeup... person. Work your magic, Merry!" Kelly said, skipping away.

"Sit," Meredith commanded, pointing at the stool identical to the one in the other partitioned area.

I obeyed, after which she began applying my makeup. After about five minutes, she pulled away, grabbing me by the wrist (which, from her hard grip, caused a bruise later on) and brought me to yet another partitioned area, when I brunette man approached me with a smile on his tan face, his teeth a pure shade of white.

"Hello Miss Parker, I'm William Johnson," he said, extending his hand.

I accepted, and said, "Ah, finally, I get to meet the mastermind behind this operation. I've been anxious to get to see you."

He laughed. "Well, it's great to finally meet you too, Paisley. I've been really excited to get to take your picture. I think out of all the models, you are going to look the best in front of the camera."

"He says that about all the models," Jen interjected as she walked briskly past us.

William sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, that's true, I do say that about all of my models, but I actually mean it about you."

I giggled and said, "Well thank you, sir, that's very sweet of you to say. So, what do I do?"

"Just stand there and look pretty. Strike some poses for me. Every time the camera flashes, change your position to anything you see fit. We'll pick the best ones later on. It's that simple."

(a few (or a lot) of my personal favorites ^^)

I nodded and stood where I was as he walked back behind the set of camera. Kelly came up to me a moment later. "Hey, about what Jen said... She's still really attached to William, and she feels threatened--even though there's nothing to be threatened-- especially because he's never treated a model so warmly. Usually, after feeding them that line he fed to you, he's really cold towards them... All business, you know? So, I'd keep your guard up when you go to restaurants. I wouldn't put poisoning people past her." With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. I stood, dumbfounded, as William shouted, "Pose!"

For the next two hours, I posed in any way that came to mind as the cameras flashed. When I finished, I walked to the refreshment table and began stuffing myself with cupcakes and punch. I spent the next half hour talking to Kelly about my challenge and all of the people she's had to work with (earning quite a few laughs out of me--she's worked with some real tools).

"Alright people, we're closing up shop!" shouted William, earning everyone's undivided attention. "Thanks to all who helped make this possible, I will see you next week." I sighed gratefully--my feet felt like I had been walking around Disney Land all day--and said my goodbyes to Kelly.

"It was really nice meeting you, if you're ever in town again we should really go out together," I said, sneaking one last cupcake.

"Alright, that would be really cool," Kelly replied, grinning helplessly and walking away awkwardly.

As I was about to leave the park, someone tapped my shoulder. "Paisley?" William said as I turned around.

"Yes?"

"Listen, I was wondering if you'd like to go out to dinner sometime?"

This request caught me off guard. "I-I'm sorry William, I'm flattered, but I'm just really not looking for that kind of thing right now. It really would be nice, but... I'm... I'm sorry. Maybe if you're still single after my challenge we could--"

"Oh no, it's cool," he said, raising his hands in a defensive way. "Really, it's fine. I was just wondering, since you're so pretty and you seem really nice and cool."

My cheeks started burning and I knew that I was blushing like an idiot. Raising my hand to my mouth, as I tended to do when I was embarrassed, I said, "That's really sweet of you William. Thank you."

He smiled crookedly. "Well, if you change your mind," he said, handing me his business card. "Just call that number."

I gave him my warmest smile, rubbing my wrist, one of the many things I do when I get nervous. "Thanks William, I'll be sure to. Maybe we could still hang out as friends sometime, though?"

"Oh yeah!" he said, clearly not getting what he wanted out of that conversation. "That would be great! Call me sometime, 'kay?" I nodded, letting him know I understood, and he turned and walked away, leaving me free to go home.

Home had never sounded so good to me, believe it or not. When I got there, I was bombarded by Skye and 

Chloe, who, for reasons unknown, were let in by Erik (he claims he did it because they're super cute and he wants them to have his babies).

Question after question was thrown at me, leaving me barely any time to answer one of them.

"What was it like?"

"Was it fun?"

"Was the photographer nice?"

"PLEASE TELL ME YOU SCORED SOME CUPCAKES."

That last one was Skye, if that wasn't obvious. "Slow down, guys, please!" I begged, sitting down on the couch in the living room. "My two very best friends, I've barely had any time for myself today. I'm pooped, in all honesty. Speaking of which, I need to go to the bathroom. Gimme a minute," I said, pushing myself up and running away.

No, I didn't actually need to go to the bathroom. I'm just great at making excuses. After about twenty minutes of hiding myself in my room, I heard footsteps towards the bathroom and Skye yell, "PARKER! YOU TAKE FOREVER TO DUMP! HURRY!"

"Skye," came Chloe's sighing voice, "have some class." They both giggled, leaving me to myself for about twenty more minutes, until they realized I wasn't actually in the bathroom, but hiding instead.

"Parker," Skye said, opening the door, followed shortly after by Chloe. They both sat down gently on my bed, staring at me worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"We're sorry that we're intruding, Paisley, we just wanted to see how it went," Chloe apologized, running her fingers through her blue hair.

I smiled weakly at my friends. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hid from you two. I'm just super tired, and I still have my kids to worry about. Oh crap, where are my kids!?"

"Calm down, calm down, they're in the basement watching T.V. Did you know that Spongebob can really get their attention?"

"Skye, I could've told you that," Chloe said, taking my teal haired friend by the hand and pulling her away. "I'm sorry Paisley, we'll leave. But we'll be back. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but trust me, we'll be back." With that, they left my house, Skye and Chloe both humming creepy music as they backed out of the room.

I finally got the chance to fall asleep, and when I awoke the next morning, I remembered that I hadn't gotten pregnant yet, so I ran down to the sperm bank to pick up Mr. Smitt's contribution to my challenge. When I got back, Louise stopped me on my way to the kitchen.

"Mumzy," she drawled, bouncing up to me in her ballet dress.

"Yes hon?"

"I wanna show you the new move that I learned in class today! Can I?" I nodded and she twirled gracefully, 

landing neatly on her feet. I smiled widely and gave her a hug.

"That was really great Lou! I'm proud of you!"

"Also Mom, I was wondering if maybe I could go to the graveyard tonight? Pleeeeeeease?"

My daughter's obsession with death and ghosts was honestly starting to freak me out, but I had to let her do some things she liked, even though it wasn't exactly normal to me. "Fine. That's fine, I guess. Just... be careful, 'kay? I don't want you getting hurt."

She nodded and after changing out of her dress, ran out the door and headed to the graveyard.

*~Louise's Point of View~*

I called up my friend Jeremy before I left and asked him to meet me at the cemetery. When I got there, he was standing next to the big pond in the center, inching closer and closer to dipping his bare foot into the water. "Jeremy? What the fudge are you doing?" I hollered, making my way towards the little creep. Sure, I considered him my best friend, but let's be honest here, he's weird! But I am too, I know, so it's all good.

At school, I'm known as "Death Girl." The other kids make fun of me, just because I like skeletons and have a fascination with horror movies. Well, that's what I call it, but once I overheard Erik telling Mommy that it's a freak obsession that needs to come to an end. He once walked in on me binge watching my horror movies, and got freaked out. After that experience, my dear brother refused to talk to me.

Although it makes everyone else uneasy to be around me, Mom's never said anything about it. She encourages me to be myself! That's what I really love about Mommy: she accepts us kids no matter what!

I walked over to the pond, grabbing Jeremy's wrist and pulling him back. "You're such an idiot," I whispered into his ear. "You're going to fall in and make our mom's mad. You already do enough of that, so just come with me." I led him to the back of the cemetery, behind the mausoleum where the weeds grow around the graves. That's also the area that freaks most of the kids at my school out, which makes it all the more awesome to spend time in!

"What're we doing back here, Lou?" Jeremy asked, looking around, freaked out like the baby he is. "It's getting dark. Look! The sun's already set!"

"No need to point out the obvious, Jer," I snapped, setting down the backpack I brought and pulling out a blanket. "We could be here for a while, so I figured I'd bring some treats to help us pass the time."

"Um, okay, but Lou, what exactly are we doing here? You know how creeped out graveyards make me." I could see he was starting to shake, but that didn't faze me: I was going to stay here as long as I had to.

"I told you the other day that I saw a ghost, and you said you'd believe it when you see it, so this is what we're doing. I'm going to make you believe that I saw a ghost!"

Jeremy's shaking got quicker and more noticeable after I said this, causing me to have a little bit more sympathy for him. Of course, not enough to leave, but sympathy all the same. "T-that's ridiculous," he stuttered uneasily, "ghosts don't exist! That's absolutely stupid! Lou, I love you, but this isn't right. It's getting really dark, and you know how scared I am of the dark."

"Calm down ya big wimp." Moments later, the tombstone closest to us started shaking, and a long moan echoed throughout the graveyard.

"YAHHHH!" Jeremy screamed, jumping to his feet.

"Calm down, this is normal!" I assured him, staying right where I was.

"You're a big freak!" he screamed, causing me to doubt my choice in friends.

"Shut up you fat jerk!" I shouted back.

He gasped. "You know how sensitive I am about my weight, you evil hag!"

"That's why I said it, Porkers!"

The tombstone shook harder and faster, and a transparent man popped out of it. "AHH!" Jeremy yelped, slipping on the grass and making a break for it out of the graveyard.

"You're such a baby!" I yelled after him, packed up my bag and walked out. "Geez, what a boob. I told him ghosts exist. He must've been in denial. Can't really deny that, can you?" I mumbled to myself as I walked home.

The next day at school, Jeremy walked up to me, adjusting his backpack to a more comfortable position. 

"Hey Lou," he greeted. "Sorry about last night. I didn't mean any of the things I said."

"That's fine, but I did," I replied and walked to class. I wasn't really the nicest person, and I expected Jeremy to put up with it. Whenever he got really mad at me, I told him if he didn't like my personality, he could leave. That always shut him up.

After a few days, Jer eventually came around to the idea of ghosts, but never to the fact that I liked to head to the graveyard each night and watch them come out of their graves. That was fine, since I never really expected him to participate willingly in the first place.

However, not every graveyard visit ended the same way: one day, after coming home from ghost watching, I walked through the door and was greeted by Erik freaking out in the foyer. "What the-- What's going on?"

"Mom's in labor!" he shouted, jumping up and down.

I sighed. "Some big brother you are. She does this all the time. Calm down."

A few hours later, Mom introduced us to the newest additions to our family: Molly and Simon Parker! 

Just Two More Orange Haired Parker Children- Babies 54 and 55

Hello everyone! There are a few things I'd like to say before you start. First, I'm SO sorry it took so long to get this out. I feel really bad, but it's here now! Personal reasons and such, you know? Second, I'd like to apologize for how short this is. I had a severe case of writer's block, and Skye was rushing me to get it out, so I decided just to post it as is. That's also why the pregnancy is so rushed. Okay, read on and enjoy! 

Midnight and Platinum aged up beautifully, as they did every time before. He and Ryn didn't make it very long after he aged up, but he's okay with it. The twins have decided to move in together for the time being, until they can finish college. Midnight is trying to become a baker and is planning on starting her own little bakery downtown someday. I look forward to the day when I can simply walk down the street and grab a (hopefully free) cookie from my daughter.

Caramel and Toffee are gorgeous young boys, who I know will be heartbreakers. Caramel has already had three girlfriends in the span of two weeks, while Toffee hits on every cute girl he encounters. It's actually quite silly to watch, but as long as they aren't messing with anyone's feelings, I'm fine with it. Caramel has asked if I would enroll him into a boarding school to, in his words, "get him away from that idiot twin of his." Their bond shattered once they developed clashing personalities, which made me sad, but I knew not all multiples could get along.

Erik was still a cutie and loved to use his imagination. Outdoor and indoor activities were fine by him, but he preferred to use his mind creativity to entertain himself. The only times he was truly happy was when he was a submarine captain in the bathtub, a racecar driver on the couch, a king of the royal court at the dinner table, or a t-rex, prince or astronaut. He would waltz around the house wearing the funniest costumes that made me giggle. Aside from playing pretend, he loved to paint as well. He could paint almost anything he set his mind to, and I signed him up to an after school club so he could work on his abilities.

Lastly is Louise: She got Sky's large eyes but my hair and eye color. She reminded me a lot of baby Laura, in the way that she was always happy and giggly. I hoped she stayed that way forever. She also loved to curl her hair every morning, and if it wasn't just right, I'd have to start all over until she was content with her hair. Such a silly girl, but I couldn't love her any more than I already do. 

I got to work on finding a good boarding school for Caramel to go to once I had Midnight and Platinum situated in their new apartment. I decided on Smuggsworth Prep School, because apparently they were the best in the country for young geniuses. To get into a school such as that, he needed to have his I.Q. tested and it ranked at the genius level. I felt a little embarrassed that I had never noticed it before, but what mattered was finding the money to get him into this ridiculously expensive private school. Once I added the cost of his uniform, textbooks, and the enrollment fee, I was about ready to rip out my hair.

What if every child I had wanted to be enrolled into a private school such as that? I was already broke and doing that wouldn't help very much! When I told Skye my worries, she offered to pay for the tuition. I rejected right away, of course, but I didn't want her to give up. I felt terrible taking cash from my best friend, but honestly, I was desperate. Without much convincing, I accepted the offer and sent Caramel off.

He hugged us goodbye, including Toffee, which surprised me, and hopped into a taxi.

Once he was gone, I found a new challenge father by the name of Luke Johnson. It was scary how much he reminded me of my friend Laura Johanson. The same purple hair, eyes, everything... First Skye's male equal, and now Laura's. When will it end?

After doing what needed to be done, I cleaned up the house and cooked dinner for the kids still living at home.

The next morning I ran some errands and got a text from my friend Chloe Moreau asking how I was doing. After chatting for a while via text, I asked her to come over so we could finally meet in person. She agreed and a meeting was planned for six o' clock, so until then I headed home and began my daily chores.

Chloe was over before I knew it, so when she approached the door I extended my hand and she took it without hesitation. "Why so formal?" she asked.

I laughed and shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I get nervous before meeting challenge mothers. Anyhow, what would you like to do? We could go somewhere or do something in the basement. I'm a boring person. I apologize."

She giggled and shook her head. "I'm sure that's not true. How about we try out your basement?" I nodded and we headed downstairs. After a few hours of derping around, Chloe had to get home to her kids, so I said my goodbyes and sighed as she walked to her car. The life of a challenge mother is a lonely one, but one worth living, you could say.

I ushered the kids to bed and hopped into my plush paradise myself. It had been an... eventful day, or, in other words, a tiring day. I swear, if I didn't get a break soon I would go insane and go on a murdering spree. With Skye as my accomplice, probably. It does just make sense, doesn't it?

With that in mind (the break thing, not the murdering thing) I told Toffee to watch the younger kids and headed out to do my own thing. First was a nice massage at the salon then I went to the bistro and indulged in expensive, fattening foods. After which I went to the beach to work on my tan, leaving my children home alone all day long.

*~Toffee's Point of View~*

I love Mom and am glad that she was taking a day to herself, but that day to herself was not benefiting me in the slightest. Erik wouldn't shut up, what with his "imagination" and all. Louise wouldn't stop crying and screaming out for Mommy. Honestly, how does that woman do it all day every day? And she's been going at it for a year! Well, I suppose that's why she's taking a break, huh?

With Caramel being hundreds of miles away, our relationship somehow got better. We talked all the time and eventually I even started missing the guy. You repeat this to no one, got it? Especially my mom, because she'd get all gushy and I really didn't like it when she was like that.

To shut Erik up, I picked him up and plopped him in front of the TV in the basement. I shoved a pacifier into Louise's mouth and set her in the nursery. With them taken care of, I did my homework and invited my girlfriend over.

Her name was Quinn and she was perfection in my eyes. My mother didn't know about her yet, but that was because she was always so stressed out and I didn't want her saying something to Quinn that she'd regret. My mom has been known to do that.

Mainly all we did was make out on the couch. I know some people wouldn't call that dating, but whatever. At some point in time Erik came in for some reason and saw us kissing. He didn't take it very well and ran off screaming and covering his eyes. "I CAN HEAR YOU FROM DOWNSTAIRS!" he yelled as he slid down the banister. I rolled my eyes and continued what I was doing with Quinn.

When Mom came home, she was in for a surprise. She gasped quietly and composed herself quickly before Quinn could notice. "Oh!" Quinn exclaimed, hopping up from the couch. "You must be Ms. Parker! I've been dying to meet you! My name is Quinn!" She shook Mom's hand and gave her best grin.

Mom smiled nervously, probably more confused than anything. She was the best at meeting her kid's significant others, in the way that she never looked nervous or said something offensive, so I assumed that this time she was caught off guard. After regaining control, she smiled sweetly and said, "Hello Quinn, it's so nice to meet you. Would you like something to drink?" After this was said, it was pretty much impossible to separate them. Don't get me wrong, I love that they get along, but really? She's my girlfriend! Release your hold, Mother and give her back!

I shooed Quinn out of the house once Mom had finished blabbering to her so she didn't have to endure any more of her constant chatter. Why is it that the only thing that my mom can do to set me off is hog my girlfriend?

*~Paisley's Point of View~*

Apparently I made Toffee mad because he refused to speak to me for almost a week after I met Quinn. I didn't try to talk to him, though, because I knew that he just needed time to cool off.

Caramel was due to come home for a visit once a month, and that time was coming up quickly. The only time Toffee spoke to me was to tell me that Caramel decided he didn't want to come back because he still needed to stay away from home for a while.

This wasn't happy news but I respected his wishes and continued on with the kids currently at home. "MOOOOOOOOOOM!" Erik screamed from up the stairs. When I didn't answer, he called again, "MOOOOOOOOOOM!"

I sighed and replied, "What is it?"

He came sprinting down the stairs at the sound of my voice. "CAN I INVITE THERESA OVER! PLEEEEASE?"

"Who?" I asked, slightly dumbfounded at his request. I had never heard of the girl he was asking about before.

"My friend! I really like her and I wanted to introduce her to my family, since you are the best family in the world!" His giddy reply left me feeling warm. . "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE? Oh, and by the way... Theresa is Quinn's baby sister! WE CAN ALL BE RELATED IF I WERE TO MARRY HER."

I nodded and smiled. "Of course she can come over. And that would be cool if you could all be related."

A few days later, my water broke, so I ran upstairs and gave birth to twins, Chloe Parker and Lincoln Parker! 

Really, I'm actually ashamed of that ending. It was so rushed! But, meh, what can I do? :P Also, thanks to Chloe Moreau for letting me use Chloe!