Chapter 2 - Part 6: Science Genius Girl

It was the middle of the night and Faith woke up to find herself starving, and craving the strangest food; spaghetti and ice cream.  She settled for the left over Stu Surprise, scarfing it down, wondering where that urge came from.

Going back to bed was pointless as it was beginning to get light out, so she sat out in the morning sun and wrote thank you notes to all the guests who had sent her and Pete wedding gifts.  Most of which they ended up selling, though they did keep the Gnubb set that Morand gave them and a painting from Lyndsay Jacobs.

Having been let go from his job to prevent any potential nepotism rumors from spreading, Pete built a little shop in the basement next to the laundry room.  He put up a workbench and started working on a few of the crazy ideas he had that the lab wouldn't let him pursue.

Unfortunately, he was working at such a feverish pace that he quickly drained his supply of scrap metal and needed to acquire more.  Luckily, he knew exactly the place to get it.

The monstrous pile of junk behind the empty warehouse at the shipping yards was calling his name, however it was so compacted that he couldn't pull free any scrap.  So he did what any rational person would do, toss an explosive into it.

As he stood there waiting with excitement like a kid at a candy store, he wondered what his retired Fire Chief father-in-law would think of him purposefully setting off an explosion.

However it didn't seem like he was going to have to worry about that as it appeared to be a dud...

... or not.

He sheepishly picked up the scrap metal and fled the scene before anyone could notice the smoking charred guy in his shredded underwear.

While Pete was out blowing up piles up junk, Faith was at home once again feeling nauseous.  This was the third time in two days she found herself on her hands and knees next to a toilet.  It wasn't too long before the reason became more pronounced.

"So, you've been putting on some weight," Morand mentioned to Faith as he sat watching the sports channel.

Faith didn't look up from the book she was reading, "Thanks for noticing, Dad," she laughed.  "Actually, you can thank your grandchild for that," she finished.

Morand looked at her, confused, "Why?  Has Khalilah been sending over cakes and cookies again?"

"No," she responded, "I'm talking about your soon-to-be grandchild."  She put her hand on her expanding belly and smiled at him.

Her father's grin was wide and permanent.

"I hear you, little one!  You be nice to your mommy, now!" the ecstatic Morand said to Faith's stow-away.  He was over the moon about becoming a grandfather again and would barely let his daughter out of his sight.

They spent a lot of time playing with the Gnubb set that Faith was beginning to realize Morand had purchased more for himself rather than the two newlyweds, as he was much better at the game than she.

Time passed, and as the days went by Morand found himself just sitting around at home.  There was only so much TV or Gnubb a man could deal with.  He started taking up a new hobby, painting.

He had never considered himself much of an artist, but sitting around the house all day with nothing to do was driving him batty.  Picking up an easel he simply painted what came to mind, some of them coming out rather well.  Soon enough the walls of the house were filling up with original Morand Cagley masterpieces.

Her father keeping busy with his paints let Faith continue to focus on a special project of her own.  One that she discovered had become quite fruitful.

"It worked!" Faith exclaimed loudly to herself and the other plants.  She had done it.  It had taken many years and several failed attempts, but at last - success.

The creation she was staring at in awe, that she helped bring to fruition, could change the lives of many in Harmony and around the world.  There was only one person, however, that she was most eager to share it with.

Unfortunately, it would have to wait as it was quite possible the excitement of her discovery is what sent her into labor.

Morand rushed her to the hospital in "Big Red" while calling Pete to have him meet up with them at the hospital.  The young man had been spending a lot of time lately at the local junk yards collecting scrap for his inventions.

They were met at the hospital by Ariel Macon, one of Pete's mothers who was also just as excited to welcome her grandchild into the world.

It wasn't long until the newest addition had arrived, a baby girl.  Hit with the recent success of her research project and the focus of her life's work, they decided to name their daughter Flora.

The new mother made her daughter comfortable in the nursery, giving the tiny baby a kiss before sending herself to bed.

Pete not working normal job and usually being up all hours of the night at his workbench meant he was the one to care for baby Flora when she needed feeding and changing in the middle of the night.  Her arrival seemed to happen so fast, but he couldn't have been happier to be a father.

The Cagley household was filling up once more...

Title / Freezepop