Chapter Thirty-Three: Goodbye, Old Friend

Ned's memory is starting to slip away more and more, leaving the family saddened by the loss of the Ned they knew and frustrated when dealing with the mood swings and childlike tantrums.

"Isa sweetie, I would stay in your room right now. Grampa Ned's in a bit of a mood tonight." Nathalie whispers quietly to the sleepy child, trying to keep the peace in the fragile household. Isadora nods reluctantly. She may have a fiery temper, but it doesn't mean she won't escape to the safety of her room when Grampa is cranky. Besides, it's not like there's any cool toys in the kitchen for her to play with.

"I'm hungry!" Ned yells out childishly. Roxanne takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
"It's coming Ned, I'm doing the best I can here." She says, shoulders tensing for the upcoming fight.
"But I'm hungry now!" Ned starts to cry, completely confused as to why he can't eat right now. Roxanne sighs, wondering how much longer he'll have to suffer like this for.

After a few more minutes of trying to cook and deal with the elder's growing temper tantrum, Roxann finally finishes making the meal. She lets out a frustrated sigh as she hands the sniffling old man a plate of autumn salad, trying to keep a soft smile on her face as to not upset him further. Roxanne knows that Ned can't help his outbursts, but she still compares him to a stinky baby llama in the depths of her mind.

Feeling calmer now that he has food in front of him, Ned declares that this is "the best meal ever!" The family smile softly to each other, thankful that they lasted through another mood swing together.

After breakfast, Nathalie goes to cheer Ned up, but she finds a shocking sight. "Oh no..." She whispers as she sees the glittering glimpse of her dying husband.

Ned feels freer, less bound to the lost memories that have been haunting him.

"I'm dying, aren't I?" Ned asks the cloaked figure lurking in the corner of the room. It silently nods.

He looks at his family. The younger one is sobbing wildly, and flashes of a unruly toddler come to mind. The older one turns away from him, but a part of him knows that it is to protect him, to prevent him from seeing the tears running down her face. Love flows through his ghostly veins. Even though he may not know the specifics of who these people are, they are his family.

Ned turns back to Death, knowing that even if he wished to live, he didn't want to. He will always be loved, and he can watch and protect his family in this form. He gives Death his hand with a smile, sorry that he had to leave, but knowing it was his time. They float upwards, towards the skies where the living will never reside.

Tears run down Irish's face as she sees a familiar ghostly presence floating above the house. Her heart sinks as she recognizes the identity of the ghost.
"Isa, Gapa's dead!" She cries out, reverting to the childish nickname in fear. They retreat inside the treehouse, crying for the loss of their beloved grandfather. Despite his dementia, the children know that he loved them deeply.

Roxanne believes that Ned would appreciate his grave being so close to the garden. She whispers softly her regrets, hoping that he knows that she loved him like a father. She just didn't know how to deal with such mental illness, didn't know how to deal with the loss of the man she met while gardening together. She only hopes he is in peace now, and remembers them fully in death.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Aged

Nathalie decides that the best place to celebrate her birthday is in the middle of the road. Perhaps she thinks that the cars are like ghosts and will just drive through her?

Being an uber snobby celebrity, Diana Tears doesn't acknowledge that Nathalie is standing right next to her on the road. Perhaps she just doesn't want to indulge such insanity, or she just can't see much through her green-tinted windows?

Nathalie is accepting of being an elder, just because she's older doesn't mean she can't be the sassy ghost-hunter everybody knows and loves.

Yep, arthritic bones won't stop her from sucking up little ghostly spirits!

Even though she's very much tired from fighting ghosts all night, Nathalie makes herself spend some time with the little ones.
"Hey Isa, how's my little Izzy Bizzy girl?" Isadora is too sleepy to protest the awful nickname, just enjoying having some one-on-one time with Gama.

Luckily there isn't any neighbours awake to watch the Marlin household, otherwise they would be bewildered by Roxanne's odd behaviour. Most "normal" people don't garden in their pajamas, but Roxanne doesn't really care about what's normal. She enjoys being in her lingerie, and that's that.

Ned tries to help Irish learn how to walk. He's hoping that the more activities he does with the children, the more connected he'll feel to them.
"Come on Is- sweetie, you can do it!" Inwardly he sighs, at least they're having fun with him, even if he'll probably forget about them completely in the near future.

"Success!" Ned thinks excitedly as he smiles down at the clinging toddler, he's happy that he has contributed to the girls' futures. "One down, one more to go."
"I wall-kin' gurrl!" Irish squeals happily as she snuggles with Gapa.

"I luff you Gapa!" Isadora says happily. She smiles up at Gapa Ned, excited to learn how to walk just like her sister Irish.

As Ned teaches the girls, Nathalie decides to relax with the telescope. She's already mastered the logic skill, but she does get a great view of the beach.

Isadora is bored. While she loves having Gapa Ned giving her attention, she doesn't like hearing all the boring stories about fish.
"I got my first fishing rod as a young boy, in order to help the tribe..." Isadora sighs, itching to play the Xylophone now that Irish isn't using it.
"No more fish Gapa." She mutters, but Ned is too wrapped up in his story to notice that the toddler is wiggling in boredom
"I caught the biggest Goldfish the tribe had ever seen, and I..." Isadora wonders if she can do something fun even while being stuck with a rambling Gapa Ned.
"Thiss litte piggie go twoo mar-et, thiss litte piggie stay 'ome!" Isadora giggles as she plays with her toes, and Ned smiles back, thinking she loves his story.

After what seems like forever for the little one, Gapa Ned finally stops talking.
"You done?" Isadora asks excitedly, happy to be able to escape from the boring stories. Ned misintruptates this for excitement over the story.
"I'm sorry I can't tell you anymore stories right now sweetheart, I got to do some cleaning." Isadora tries to hide her glee by laughing into her shirt. "Don't cry dearie, I'll come back and tell you more soon!" Now she really starts to cry. "Oh, I love you I-Isa, shh, it's okay."
"I luff you twoo!" Isadora yells out as she toddles over to the Xylophone. Maybe he'll forget about telling her stories if she stays far away from him for a while?

Ned doesn't forget, he just mixes up the two toddlers. "I told you I would be back honey!" Irish is confused as to why Gapa Ned is talking about tribal flowers, but she assumes it's just a badly told bedtime story.
"I tie-er Gapa. Lubb you!" She exclaims with a soft smile before running off to find Mommy or Daddy to put her to bed.

The next morning, the twins feel a strangle tingling feeling in the air.
"I fweel..." Isadora starts to say, unsure of how to describe this weird sparkily sensation.
"Yess, it fweel tin-kee." Irish nods. They play pattie-cake for a few minutes, then Isadora suddenly stops.
"Wat go on Isa? Awe you o-ka...SPAWKLES!" Irish stares in awe as Isadora erupts in birthday sparkles.

"Wow, this feels different..." Isadora shivers as she tries to process her new complicated thoughts, wondering if Irish is going to age up with her.
"You big no-ow! I want be big!" Irish pouts as she sucks on her fingers.

As Isadora gets bored of staring at Irish and wanders off towards the dollhouse, Irish erupts in her own set of birthday sparkles.

"I'm gonna get you Izzy!"
"Nuh-uh!"
"Uh-huh loser!"
"Nuh-uh attention hog!"
"Uh-huh uglyface!"
"Nuh-uh nerd!"
"Uh-huh psycho!"
"Nuh-uh freakzoid!"
Ironically the siblings aren't fighting, but are just having a rather violent pillow fight.

Chapter Thirty-One: Love Without Memory

Nathalie's learned the fine art of meditation, something that brings a sense of peace that she hasn't had for a really long time. She even learns to Zenport, her body instinctively longing for the beauty of the outdoors.

Ned may not remember everything, but the love he has for his grandchildren will always reside in his heart. Even if he has to remind himself that they are his grandchildren and not Tyson's playmates.

"Goodnight my button, sweet dreams." Ned whispers warmly, loving the innocence in this little girl's eyes. Irish gurgles happily as he gives a soft kiss on her baby smooth skin.

Irish gives Gapa Ned's hand a big squeeze, and smiles up at him with sad brown eyes.
"No go bye-bye." She whimpers. Ned gives a soft smile back, knowing that he doesn't have too much time left in this world.
"I have to go sweetie, but I'll always love you." Irish pouts a bit, but a part of her developing brain understands that everybody has to go at some point.
"I lubb Gapa twoo! Lotta lubb!" She waves at Ned excitedly, though her eyes are already starting to droop.

As Ned leaves the room, the babies gabble softly as they slowly fall asleep.
"I lubb Gapa! You lubb Gapa?"
"No knoweeng, Gapa no stop wiff bad namess. I no Izzie, I Isa!"
"Mommy tellie me Gapa have head booboos, he no bad."
"I luff Mommy..."
"Mommy all-wees wight I-sa."
"Twue! I luff you I-ish!"
"I lubb you twoo I-sa!"

Roxanne falls asleep alone, battling dream dragons without her knight in shining amour. At least she doesn't have to share the blanket, Tyson's a blanket hog.

Tyson blinks harshly, trying to stop the tears welling up in his eyes. He will fix everything in this house until it is perfect, until his life is perfect.

Nathalie holds on tightly to Ned, wondering if he even remembers Thorne and all the drama related to his birth.
"I love you Ned, I'm so grateful that you remember me." Nathalie breathes, her sad blue eyes resting upon the heavily wrinkled face of her love.
"I am too, I don't know if I could ever forget the love of my life." She feels Ned's package, still roaring even after all these years.

"You're the hottest man alive Ned." Nathalie whispers flirtatiously. Ned smiles, his brown eyes alight with lust and love.
"And you're the Woohoo queen in my eyes." Ned growls softly, almost purr-like.

"Mmm!" Nathalie moans as gentile lips meet and tongues collide.
"I should feel guilty that I'm taking advantage of this...but he tastes so good...but he should kn-...mmm, but I've lost so much..." She just can't quite bring herself to tell him, to lose the renewed passion that makes her feel young again.

Even as they age, Nathalie and Ned have the Woohoo drive of bunnies. Nathalie is just happy she can finally Woohoo with the man she loves, it just hasn't been the same since Thorne's birth.

It's morning, and Roxanne can't wait to see her baby girls. She rushes into the room, not even caring that she's still in her lingerie or that Tyson never did go to sleep with her. Motherly love beat all, at least for today. She picks up Irish first, smiling at the bubbly baby. Roxanne is amazed at how cheerful she is in the morning, she's always been a night owl.
"How's my pretty girl?" She chirp, her heart soaring at the site of Irish's little smile.
"Goo' Mommy! You pwetty too!" Isadora, not as much of a morning person as Irish, merely sucks her thumb while she tries to shake off her drowsiness.

After playing with Irish for a bit, Isadora has had enough and starts to cry softly. Roxanne gives a soft kiss on Irish's head and sends her off to play, then walks over to Isadora to try and soothe the cranky little girl.
"You're also my pretty girl Isa!" Isadora merely gives her a childish glare, and she sighs. "Why don't we play the airplane game? Prepare for liftoff!" Roxanne exclaims, and Isadora giggles. "Swoosh! Ah! Wee!" Roxanne makes silly sounds, knowing that Isadora loves anything noisy.
"Vwoom! Beepbeep!" Isadora screams excitedly, loving any attention she can get from Mommy. Roxanne breaths a sigh of relief, crisis averted.

Nathalie wonders if she should invite Thorne and Rosaline over for dinner soon. They moved with the family, but since they turned into young adults during the three day drive over to Brooklyn Heights, they decided to find their own home around the area. She isn't sure if they are together or not, but either way, she hopes they have a happy future together. She starts to freak out a bit by the thought of getting all the proper plates and napkins for a dinner party however.

Chapter Thirty: A Sudden Move

As Ned stands in the kitchen, a sudden chill comes over him. He couldn't describe what he's feeling, only that it hurt horribly.  "Like somebody's bashing a trophy over my head. Wait, is that the right word? Do people hit with trophies?" He mumbles, feeling like something's really wrong but not really being able to name it. Tyson smiles at Irish, oblivious to Ned's distress.

That is until Ned's mutterings become truly bizzare. "Tyson, you're such a big boy! Soon enough you'll be graduating and leaving the nest." Tyson's content smile disappears, replaced by concern.
"Dad, are you okay?" Ned beams, and Tyson's stomach drops.
"Oh, you're speaking! You're growing up so fast! And you have a little girl friend, what the ladies man!" Tyson is stunned into silence.

Rosaline has been listening in, growing increasingly concerned. She struggles to focus on the pancakes she's making, and nearly drops the pan when she hears a sudden scream.
"Mommy, make it stop!" Ned screams as he clutches his stomach. "You're not in the sky!" He wails before falling to the ground. Irish starts crying along with Ned, and the family rushes him to the hospital.

"I love you, my sweet Irish." Roxanne murmurs softly. "You know I didn't want to do this so soon, but we're moving to Brooklyn Heights tomorrow. It's a big town with lots of kids for you and Isadora to play with." Irish giggles, not understanding that Roxanne is heartbroken to leave her new home. "Grandpa Ned isn't feeling well, so we need to bring him to the sea, and Brooklyn Heights has many homes on the outskirts of the town that are right by the water. Plus you'll get a perfect little princess room!"
"I pi-cess" Irish smiles, liking the sound of this new place.

"You're so precious you know, you look just like your daddy. Have sweet dreams, my little one." She whispers as she rocks Irish to sleep, knowing that everything will be okay as long as she has her girls around.

The girls play together in their new room, rivalry forgotten at the moment with new toys.
"You good! Moos-ick pwetty." Isadora exclaims as she tries to put the devilish block in the hole.
"Tanks Izzie." Irish smirks softly, knowing how to bug her sister. As she predicted...
"I Isa! No Izzie!"

Isadora gets bored of playing with the dumb blocks quickly, so she goes over to the cool castle and sees if she can find some better toys there, since Irish is hogging the Xylophone.
"Vroom! Beep-Beep!" Isadora squeals, she loves toys that make funny noises.

Tyson doesn't really talk much for the first hours of the move, keeping himself busy with fixing up the appliances so that he doesn't have to think about Ned's dementia.

Ned isn't really sure who these little girls are, but a small part of him feels like they are familar somehow. "Irish?" He mutters, trying to remember the names of the little girls. Nathalie told him, but he just wasn't sure of anything anymore.
"No, I Isa! Sil-wee Gapa!" Ned nods, the redheaded one is Isadora. Now he remembers, but only because Nathalie tried to drill it in his mind..
"At least I remember Nathalie, and a bit of my baby boy. At least that's something." He whispers, knowing that the doctor said that it was only going to get worse. He had been forgetting a lot of things lately, taking care of the plants, cooking meals. Other people have been taking over his responsibilities without really realizing it, and soon he was the person he feared. A person without a task.
"I make poopy, Gapa cwean?" Isadora inquires, her innocence face forcing himself out of his remincings.
"Sure, sure Izzy." With red hair and a red face, the little fire-ball loses her temper.
"I is Isa! No Izzy! No I-ish! No! Bad Gapa, bad!" Isadora wails, and Ned wants to cry with her.