A little over a month after Coraline and Wybie discovered that they were having two babies, rather than one, Wybie got a little more news.


His father had replied to an e-mail that Wybie had sent, asking if he'd be able to come visit before the baby (or what they thought was a baby) was born.


Malik Lovat's response had an even better response for his son; not only could he visit in time to see the birth of his grandchild, but he'd be staying in Oregon for a couple years in order to work on a project.


Both Coraline and Wybie were elated to hear this news, though Wyborn was a bit more excited that Coraline, for obvious reasons.


Now, two months after the e-mail had been received, Wyborn's father had finally arrived in Ashland, along with his wife and her three children.


Coraline had met Mr. Lovat and the others before, but it was always good to see them, especially since now she would really have something to connect herself to them. Or, at the very least, something to connect her with Mr. Lovat.


Speaking of the dark skinned, brown-haired man, he had walked over to his son and his girlfriend, face set in a cold expression. He stared at the two young adults for several moments, before laughing and embracing the two of them (a somewhat amazing feat, considering the blunette's swollen stomach).


"Wybie, son, it's so good to see you" Mr. Lovat said, squeezing his son's slightly hunched shoulder slightly.


Wybie grinned at the affectionate gesture. It wasn't as though his father never showed affection for him when they share each other, but they didn't see each other that often. That just meant the times they got to spend together were even more important to them.


Coraline, wanting to let Wybie catch up with his father, decided to go see the other four people who had gotten off the plane to meet them.


Malik Lovat's second wife was a thin woman with curly brown hair and tanned skin named Susannah Matthews.


She wasn't exactly Coraline's favorite person in the world, she often had the issue with prying too much into other people's business (possibly a side-effect of being a reporter), but Miss Jones would often liken her to Dani: annoying, but harmless.


Her kids, Wybie's stepbrothers and stepsister, were a different story.


Okay, maybe that was generalizing it too much.


The eldest, twenty-year-old John was actually fairly polite, if a bit cocky due to his excellent grades and skill at sports.


And the youngest, Tammy, was a sweet little girl of nearly ten, who's main flaw was her questioning nature, something obviously inherited from Susannah.


No, John and Tammy weren't horrible in the least, just annoying.


It was the middle child, eighteen-year-old Henry, who made the blunette feel uneasy.



The two of them had only crossed paths four or five times since Mr. Lovat had married Henry's mother, but each meeting was something Coraline wanted to forget.


Especially the last meeting, a little over a year ago, when the gangly teenager had smashed his chapped lips onto Coraline's. She had punched him, giving him a large bruise on his cheek and jaw, and later he had apologized, saying he didn't know what he was thinking.


Still, ever since that event, Coraline knew she'd hate being in the same room alone with Henry Matthews. He was creepy, reminding her of the stalkers of horror novels she'd read, who stood by their victims' beds as they slept.


But, Mr. Lovat was going to be staying in Oregon for two years, which meant the Matthews would too. And that meant Coraline would be seeing Henry more than usual.


Well, she'd be able to handle it, though she wasn't going to like it.


"It's nice to see you again, Caroline…I mean, Coraline" Susannah said, walking over to the blue-haired girl.


Tammy held tightly to her mother's hand, very shy and childish for a girl approaching her pre-teen years. She didn't say anything, but instead waved to greet Coraline.


Actually, none of the Matthews were particularly adept at greeting people; they usually just waved or something like that.


Not that it was a problem, seeing how when they did talk, they tended to put their foot in their mouths.


Suddenly, Tammy pointed at Coraline's stomach and asked, "Is that the baby?"


Coraline smiled slightly at the question, answering, "Yep".


However, the smile faltered when the young brunette asked how the baby had gotten inside Coraline's stomach.


Thankfully, the blue-haired young woman didn't have to answer the somewhat awkward question, for Malik Lovat had finished talking to Wybie, and had come over to the others.


"Coraline, it's so good to see you again" Mr. Lovat said, giving her a brief, but tight squeeze.


"It's good to see you too, Mr. Lovat." she said, returning the hug.


Once the two released each other, Mr. Lovat's gray eyes turned to Coraline's stomach, while his hands found themselves resting on it.

"And, how is this little one doing?" he asked aloud, patting the swollen flesh of Coraline's belly.


Instead of Coraline herself, Wybie was the one to answer his father's question.


"Don't worry, dad, the baby's doing fine. Actually, the doctor says their both perfect" the curly-haired boy told his dad, pausing to see how he would respond.


There was silence from the dark skinned man, before he smiled and said, "That is wonderful. It is always good to know that there is nothing wrong with little ones".


Apparently, Malik Lovat took surprises very well.

_________________________________________________________________


In the daytime, the room with the little door made Coraline feel somewhat uneasy, especially when she was alone.


At night, however, it was even more unnerving.


Yes, her parents were asleep downstairs, and yes, the door was safely locked, the key at the bottom of the well in the woods.


But, she just couldn't help feeling nervous in the little room at night.


She would go back to bed, if not for one thing. Apparently the babies were already getting her ready for nights of little sleep, as they seemed most active at night.


So, here she was, resting on a chair in the room with a world beyond the wallpaper and waiting for the night owls in her stomach to calm themselves.


In fact, she started to fall asleep at one point, only to be awoken by a deceivingly sweet, quiet voice.


"Are you tired, Coraline? If you want, I can let you inside, and you can rest" the voice of the Beldam almost cooed from behind the little door.


Coraline scowled, narrowing her eyes, even though she knew the Beldam couldn't see.


"Not in a million years" she growled, her body clenched ever so slightly in her anger.


How could the Beldam think she could actually convince Coraline to open the door, just for a comfortable place to sleep? She was tired, sure, but not tired enough to risk buttons being sewn into her eyes as she slept.


After she responded to the Beldam's offer, there was silence, and Coraline believed her "Other Mother" had retreated back to whatever she now considered a home.


Unfortunately, this theory was quickly discredited.


"Well, I hope you will at least allow me to see my grandchildren when they're born".


At this comment, Coraline jumped from the seat, unable to contain her anger that the words. How dare that monster even suggest that Coraline would allow her to get anywhere near the twins?


"Once again, not in a million years. And if you somehow get your hands on them, I'll do whatever I can to end you" the blunette threatened.


She normally wasn't very good at threats; most of the time they were just jokes.


But this time, she was serious: if the Beldam laid a hand on Coraline and Wybie's offspring, she would be begging for death by the time the young mother got through with her.


"Now, Coraline, there's no need for words like that" the Beldam's whisper of a voice responded to Coraline's threat. "After all, a grandmother should be allowed to see her grandchildren, no matter how strained the relationship is between her and the mother".  

At this, Coraline simply walked out of the room. She wasn't even going to give that statement a response.


Instead, she headed upstairs to her bedroom.


On the upside, the babies had finally quieted down.


On the downside, she still probably wasn't going to get any sleep.

_________________________________________________________________


"That girl is so stubborn" the Beldam muttered as she returned to her project.


The completion would not have to come for a few more months, but she found no reason not to start now.


After all, time and effort made for the best results. And only the best was good enough for her grandchildren.


She grabbed the two dolls, neither distinguishable from the other, other than the small tags on their necks; one doll's read MITZY, the other read BOBBY.


Placing the two dolls on the sewing table, the Beldam reached around again, grabbing buttons and pieces of fabric.


As she sewed a button into the face of the MITZY doll, she muttered to herself, "Don't worry, my little poppets, I'm always going to have an eye on you".


The sewn smiles on both dolls' faces seemed to grow at this promise.