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Lemonade scoffed "I guess she thinks we are as poor as what we seem" she said as she looked at her daughter and then back at her mate "someone doesn't have faith in our financial situation and given Jack gave her a credit card you would think she would understand we are not exactly a poor family" she said as she turned and grinned at her daughter. "Seriously, take it, what your father said is true, we can make it back sooner rather then later so go, enjoy your new home."

Blue hugged her parents once more before backing away "thank you both SO much!" She said as she turned and left "I will go tell the real estate agents now!" She said as she opened a portal as she went, ran through it and closed it behind her.

"I think, Darmani, we have one very happy girl" she said smiling at her mate "though there is the other very important matter at hoof now and that" she said as she sat down by the ice cream "is eating this ice cream (or at least some) before it melts" she said as she sat down and started eating the ice cream "oh and the fact that we need to tell the kids that they will be older sibblings...but ice cream first" she said smiling at her mate as she offered the spoon.

Lemonade giggled "they are old enough, I am sure they realize where babies come from by now but yes, if they don't I think getting a doctor to inform them or something would be best but given these four are males I think they would have a fair idea, they realize that one day they will be parents and babies don't come out of thin air regardless how magical this place is, so yeah, maybe I will send them to Doctor Sohma if they are that clueless, I think it would be best an actual doctor tells them what happens and how" she said as she dipped a hoof into the edge of the ice cream then took it out and licked it.

"Pfft spoons are for losers!" She teased as she took it and ate the ice cream off it before giving it back to him "besides, any good ice cream eater knows that if one doesn't have a spoon one makes use of their hoof, you don't let ice cream just go to waste so if you have to be a pig in your own home then so be it, besides, I will play female any other time but I think I can be a pig when I am in privet" she said, always being a bit of a tom boy, she liked being a girl and all but at times she did like just pigging out, burping, being crass and just otherwise being a 'male' with the rest of the guys, it was just so much fun when she didn't have to be so womanly.

Lemonade flinched at the ice cream as it hit her face and wiped it off and licked it off her hoof "that is what you call a waste of perfectly good ice cream mister!" She said as she put her hoof in and licked some more off it "and yeah, sure it is, piggy Lemonade is EXACTLY the woman you fell in love with! who doesn't love a pig for a mate?" She asked rhetorically, grinning at him.

Lemonade giggled "you are probably right, the average joe couldn't handle me and you need an ego stroking? Since when? I think your ego is healthy enough" she said as she scooped up some ice cream and threw it at him.

Maria took a deep breath and knocked on the library door and waited to be allowed entry.

Lemonade was in mid scoop when she heard the knock and walked a little awkwardly over to the desk and grabbed a load of napkins she kept in the desk in case she ever ate in here and had forgotten to bring in a towel or napkins and took several and cleaned herself up before walking over and handed some to Darmani, throwing her lot into the bin as she went "please hang on" she called, rather be sticky hooved then have a load of ice cream over her.

"I don't know but I hope it isn't bad news" she said as she settled down next o her mate. pushing the ice cream under the desk and then threw her mates napkins into the trash and took a deep breath "come in" she said as she sat there and waited.

Maria opened the door and smiled at Darmani and Lemonade and shut the door "hi guys" she said as she walked over and sat down and took a deep breath once more "please, hear me out before you say anything" she said as she, trying to get her thoughts together before she finally started.

"You two and your family have invited me and Red into your home, you gave us both a room and free board and love, something we both needed until Red's true past showed up and we lost whatever we had with you...well, Red did anyway, but the thing is, I am his sister and I can't go back

TBC

Maria sighed as she pulled up a full length, rather large round portal and gestured the others to look through it "my brother loves me, we have done a lot together but when he moved out into his own place he did offer me to go with him but I declined and whilst I am still not happy about living with him, due to my own personal belief that he doesn't need a sister to cramp his style when he has woman around and business associates and what not I am living here."

Lemonade looked through the portal and did nothing but sigh, looking at the place Maria was still calling home back in the Magical Realm "Maria, you can't be serious..." she said as she looked back at her to which she saw her nod.

"I am, that is home, I told, Red, that I would be alright, that I was used to living like this, that I didn't need him to give me a place to live when he should be getting on with his own life and not worrying about me, I am old enough to look after myself, we needed a break from each other and as much as I love him I can't have him protecting me anymore and so this is where I live."

"But..." Lemonade started, looking back through once more "but this place is falling down, the roof needs repair, there is a hole in the wall of the living room which is hastily patched up with bits of wood, the furniture is...is that a family of Silverfish just living in that chair?" She asked as a few just scurried inside a hole.

Maria nodded "yes, it is, they are practically living all around my home but that chair, for the time being, is pretty much like a five star hotel to them."

"This place needs to be destroyed, it is not fit to be lived in by anyone, it is unhealthy, it is practically going against goodness knows how many different building codes, it doesn't have a lock on the front door...Maria, how can you even call this a home? Better yet, why haven't you gone to the council? You know they will help."

"The council doesn't care, they have more important matters to deal with then then to worry about low cost slum living, there wouldn't be any houses like this if they did."

Lemonade sighed as she looked at Darmani "I REALLY don't want to speak to him but I think that it is about time Tira used some of his power he has in the council to pull his weight."

"He isn't on the council though"

"Maybe not, Maria, but he is loved by them and that means he would be able to somehow get someone to listen to him and that means more then just Coven and her mother who are council members in training, it is time we go to the top" she said, deciding that now would be a good time to start making the Elders do more then just sit on their butts and do everything else then looking after those in the slums.

"B...but it doesn't matter" she said, looking at them both "I came to say that I will be living on here, I will stay as your maid and Nanny, I know what my brother did was wrong and as much as I want to hate him for it I can't...at least, not entirely, I can't turn my back on the man who saved me from being destroyed by a werewolf, if it wasn't for him, since I had that werewolfs scent now on me, I would of become a meal for another werewolf and I can't just throw his love, help and support back in his face regardless how horrible I feel about him doing what he did to the Gargoyles and the other races. So please, if you will still let me, I wish to stay on, I don't really want to, if I have to be honest, as I will miss working here along side my brother but I can't go home either, I have been healthier since living here with you and your family that I can't go back to how I used to live, Red may no longer be a part of this family but, and I know..." She stopped, having had Lemonade interupt her.

"Wait...not part of this family?! I never said he wasn't, i know what he did was wrong but when I accepted you both to be part of this family that is still what I want now, Jack on the other hand was part of this family and still he cared to hide things from us, he never told my mother anything and he never told us anything and thus I am pretty certain he would of told Red not to say anything either so whilst I am not happy with how Red handled things I am not kicking him out of this family. My father deserves whatever it is he gets but as for Red he may no longer live here and may no longer have a job but given you both don't have any other family then no, he is still welcome here, he is still part of this family but as for a job and living here that is no longer an option."

"Y...you mean he can still call this family his?" Maria asking, just wanting to make things crystal clear in case she never heard right.

"Yes" Lemonade said, smiling at her "Red is still a member of this family, I might not have liked what he did and all the lying that went on but whilst he may have been the ring leader of his and Jacks little murdering spree he also did his time, unlike Jack who was let out because he had to do a job, he didn't even finish his time in jail, HOWEVER, I may say this but that still doesn't mean I want to sit down and have afternoon tea with him yet either, I am still rather upset and cross at him" she said in a rather serious tone.

Maria nodded "I understand" she said, hiding, as best she could, the grin she was wish to plaster on her face "and thank you for that but does that mean that I still can have my job?"

"Of course it is, like I said, you may stay and after what we just saw of your house I think it is best you do, even if you didn't want your job, I wouldn't be sending you back to Solstice to live in that place, I am not that heartless and I will speak to Tira about doing something about yours and others living arrangements also, I had always heard the slums were bad but I didn't know they were THIS bad, at least the slums around Harmonia have doors with locks, this just needs to be taken care or now."

"I agree but the council are too busy with everything else then with the slums, I wish you luck" she said as she got up and walked over to Lemonade and nuzzled her "thank you, I really appreciate this" she said as she looked to Darmani and kissed his cheek before walking to sit back down, waiting to be dismissed.

"You are most welcome, Maria, besides, it also saves us a job of searching for another maid and Nanny" she said smiling at her before turning to Darmani "so, how are our finances looking? Do you think we have enough for another down payment on a house?" She asked, knowing that they shouldn't be doing this but if Maria wished to go home, even just for the night instead of staying in their home, the least they could do is have peace of mind they were not sending her to a place where she could end up getting killed or get sick or something. "I know that a place in Harmonia would be too much, like what Blue is wanting, but a nice place in Solstice shouldn't be too much of a problem, more affordable living and she will be close to her brother and it would be a lot safer and healthier then what she has now and given we haven't been paying her due to the fact that she got free board and food as the original job description was for a cook only and not a live in nanny or maid then this would sort of make up for what we haven't been paying her.

Of course, i know that we have given her some money here and there but still this would be the best thing for her and if we draw up a contract and have our lawyers look over it I am sure we can come to a payment agreement so she can afford the repayments on the house and still have money to herself but this is a major step so it is just what you decide also, if you wish to talk about it some more then so be it, it is just an idea after all."