So there were these two people, right? Two of this town’s very best. Although…it might be said that person #1 didn’t think highly of person #2 at the time. Actually…person #2 felt the same.

“Triiiiiiiiiiiiissssssstttttttaaaaaaaannnnn,” the petulant baby-faced girl at his right whined. “These two people have names, don’t they?”

Tristan rolled his brown eyes and shook his head. Kid sisters were such pains. Such P-A-I-N-S! “Gee, Nat,” he shrugged his shoulders. “You think?”

Her blue eyes flashed angrily, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m going to tell Mom!”

“Aww…Nat,” Caleb grumbled. “Don’t,” he pleaded. “She’ll make us go to bed. And I don’t want to go.”

“Yeah, Na,” Hope parroted. Looking up at her big sister with enormous brown eyes.

“See?” Tristan smirked. Earning himself a slap over his dark head. “Ouch! What was that for?”

“Haha!” Caleb laughed. Pointing at his big brother.

Hope giggled as Nat scooped her up in her arms and planted kisses on her silky cheeks.

“Tristan,” Nat said expectantly. “The story?”

Tristan rubbed the sore spot on his head with a glare. “Okay,” he relented when Nat whispered something in Hope’s ear, and a second later, the angel-faced toddler stuck her bottom lip out in the biggest pout he’d seen in his short 12 years. “There were these two people…”

“Names, please,” Nat sighed. “How am I supposed to get into a story with nameless people?”

Hope stuck her thumb in her mouth and nodded her blond head. “Twisthan.”

“Person #1…let’s call him….uh, how do you like the name…oh heck, Nat! I don’t know what to call them!”

“Romeo and Juliet,” Nat said dreamily.

“You girls are so weird. Why do you even like them anyway? They died.”

Hope’s brown eyes grew round as saucers.

“Tristan!”

She was on his case again. “Okay,” he muttered. “Romeo and Juliet.” Dumb names! Stupid names! Craz….

“Tristan!”

“Not so loud, Nat. You don’t have to scream it to the whole world. We’re not supposed to be out here anyway.”

Nat peeked her brown head over the edge of the old tree house. The lights were still on in the living room, and she could barely see the silhouettes of her parents. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“What’s that? I didn’t hear you. Care to speak a little louder?” Tristan smirked. “As I was saying…Romeo and Juliet…they were two great people. Awesome, cool people. Only they didn’t realize it. Well…Romeo knew he was cool. And Juliet knew she was cool. But they didn’t know each other was cool. Understand?”

Caleb’s mouth hung open, and his blue eyes were glazed over.

Hope sucked her thumb happily. Secure in Nat’s arms. Her pink fuzzy slippers dangling from her tiny feet.

“And?” Nat prompted. “So it wasn’t love at first sight. What happened next?”

Tristan stretched his legs out along the bottom of the old treehouse, and held his arm out for Caleb.

Caleb scooted closer, and tucked his tawny head underneath his brother’s chin.

“Romeo hated Juliet’s family. But it turns out…Romeo’s mother loved Juliet. Like a daughter. She tried to convince Romeo that Juliet was really a nice person.”

“Stop! Stop right there. Romeo and Juliet aren’t working for me,” Nat muttered. Shifting Hope to her other arm. “How about…”

“Bart and Lisa,” Caleb piped up.

Tristan’s belly rumbled with laughter, and Caleb’s tawny head bobbed up and down.

“What?” Caleb said in a hurt voice.

Nat bit her lip to hide her smile. “Bart and Lisa are brother and sister.”

“Oh!” Caleb said in realization. But then…”So what? Sounds better than Romeo and Juliet,” he stuck his tongue out at her.

“I know…Susan and Liam,” Nat said triumphantly.

“Susan and Liam then,” Tristan shook his head. “Girls! If Mom weren’t so great…”

“Hush up,” Nat warned.

“Susan and Liam didn’t like each other. But get this,” Tristan divulged with a mischievous smile and twinkling brown eyes. “They worked together every day!”

“And fell in love,” Nat added.

“Not yet. That part comes later,” Tristan shushed her. “Liam had this problem, see. He grew up without a dad.”

“No Dad?” Caleb frowned.

Hope’s little features were appropriately sad.

“And one day, he decided to find him.”

“Oh really?” Nat rolled her blue eyes. “Get to the part where they fell in love.”

Tristan ignored her. “Susan…purely by accident…ended up going with Liam to look for his dad. And she nearly died!”

Caleb gasped. “Died?”

“She didn’t,” Nat gaped.

“Chill. Chill,” Tristan grinned. “I said nearly, didn’t I? She lived. Liam saved her, of course. And…saw her naked.”

Caleb giggled wickedly. Hiding his eyes behind his hands.

“Boys,” Nat muttered under her breath. “Like that’s the most important thing.”

“Well…after that little trip, Liam realized Susan wasn’t so bad. In fact, he started to actually…L-I-K-E her.”

Nat inserted her perfected eye roll here.

“Until finally…Liam asked Susan out on a date.”

Hope’s eyelids fluttered heavily, and she wound a strand of golden hair tighter and tighter around her pinkie.

“Did they kiss?” Nat smiled.

“Well…not a real kiss. A kiss on the cheek. But Liam knew now he really, really liked Susan. And Susan felt the same.”

“What happened to Romeo and Juliet?” Caleb interrupted suddenly in a perplexed little voice.

“Romeo’s Liam now. And Juliet’s Susan,” Nat explained patien…rather impatiently. “When did they REALLY kiss?”

“I’m twelve, Nat. I CAN’T tell you about the time first time they really kiss. Except…” he teased. “They had a big fight not long after it. Susan was very, very upset. She thought Liam was only pretending to like her. So she ran away.”

“To Disney World?” Caleb asked with a toothless grin.

“Disney World?” Nat scoffed. “Where? Where did Susan run away to? Wait…I don’t really care where. Did Liam go after her?”

Tristan crossed his arms about his chest and shook his head at his kid sister. “Let ME tell the story. Nat…you’re worse than Mom.”

Hope’s little fingers stopped moving, and her arm relaxed. Falling to her side limply.

Caleb yawned. “Is this story long? I’m…sleepy,” he yawned again.

“Liam went after her. And brought her home again. But boy! Was Susan mad!” Tristan explained with a wicked gleam in his brown eyes. “She called the police, and Liam was put in jail.”

“Poor Liam,” Caleb commiserated.

“Poor Liam?” Nat shook her head. “I’m sure he deserved. Like you said…Susan’s a cool person. She had to have a reason.”

“Reason Smeason,” Tristan rolled his eyes. “Susan was in a lot of trouble, and Liam had to protect her.”

“Aww,” Nat sighed. “That’s when they fell in love.”

“Nat…”

“Okay. Finish the story.”

“A whole lot of stuff happened, and Susan realized Liam was cool again. But she didn’t want to admit she’d been wrong. Just like a woman,” Tristan told his sister. “Stubborn.”

“Hey! I resent that! Boys are just as stubborn! Look at Dad,” she huffed.

“Dad says Mom’s more stubborn,” Caleb just had to add his input.

“Caleb!” Nat gasped. “Mom would be so disappointed!”

“But she is,” Caleb shrugged his small shoulders.

Tristan laughed. “It was all Susan’s evil family’s fault, but she didn’t know it at the time. She found that out later. After she’d already died.”

“Tristan! She died! I don’t want to hear anymore! What kind of love story is that?”

“Calm down, Natty,” Tristan grinned. “Liam’s love brought her back to life.”

“Only the best love story I’ve ever heard,” Nat sighed.

Hope’s thumb fell from her lips.

Caleb watched in fascination as drool trickled down her chin.

“And they were extremely happy. For a while.”

“Tristan…”

Tristan held up a brown hand and smiled. “Don’t attack me. It’s not my fault Susan died again.”

“That’s it,” Nat grumbled. Climbing to her feet with Hope snuggled in her arms. “Hope…Hopie…it’s time to go bedtime. Tristan’s story’s no good.”

“Yeah, Tristan,” Caleb said sleepily. Hugging his sister’s legs and holding on for support. He was almost down for the count.

“I can’t believe we snuck out here for a story like this.”

“Don’t you even want to know what happened with Liam?”

“Yeah, Tristan. What happened to Liam?”

“DAD!” Tristan, Nat, and Caleb shouted in unison.

“Finish the story, Tristan. I’m really interested in how it ends,” their dad grinned.

Nat looked past him, and her blue eyes landed on her mother. “Mom…we didn’t…”

“Know we were out here?” her mom laughed softly. An amused smile on her lips.

“Give me your sister,” their dad said. Stretching out his arms to receive his Sleeping Beauty. Hope snuggled against him with a gentle sigh. Her blond hair spilling over his arms.

Nat descended the ladder next. Holding out her own arms for Caleb.

“You’re not mad, are you Mom?” Caleb asked with wide blue eyes once he was safely on the ground.

Tristan hopped down from the last couple of rungs.

“No, Sweetie. I’m not mad.”

Caleb hugged her waist and smiled up at her adoringly.

“The story, Tristan?” their dad reminded him.

“I…why don’t you tell it, Dad?” Tristan shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. He didn’t feel right telling it with THEM here.

“Susan didn’t die,” their mom spoke up. “Liam’s love…it’s what kept her alive.”

Nat smiled at the look that passed between her parents. She had the most wonderful parents in the world. She hoped her husband looked at her the same way her dad looked in her mom’s blue eyes.

“But how?” Caleb whispered in awe.

“It’s amazing,” their dad answered. His brown eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “No one else could believe it either. But it happened.”

“Liam was so happy to see Susan again, he married her on the spot.”

“They eloped? How romantic,” Nat sighed.

Her mom smiled down at her, and reached a hand down to tuck her dark hair behind her ear. “It WAS romantic.”

“Yes, it was,” her dad smiled back at her mom.

“How did you…Mom? Dad? Tristan? What’s going on here?” Nat asked in confusion.

“My dear, sweet Natalie Marie,” her dad chuckled. “I thought for sure you’d have it figured out by now.”

Nat’s mouth dropped open in an ‘O’. “You mean…you guys…Susan? Liam?”

“You’re Bart and Lisa?” Caleb tugged on the hem of his mother’s shirt.

“I married your father the very moment I laid eyes on him again,” their mother smiled. One of her patented glowing smiles. “We’d been apart so long. And I knew I didn’t want to let another minute of my life go by without him. Plus…somebody was well on his way.”

Tristan ducked his dark head in embarrassment. His cheeks flushed pink. “Mom…”

“Nearly two years later…you came, Natty. And we moved out here to this big old house.”

Nat’s blue eyes shone as they roamed the familiar dwelling. Hope’s fairy night light made the shadows dance upstairs.

“Things were a little hectic for the next few years,” their father laughed. “Mom had to learn how to cook.”

Tristan snickered. “What do you mean learn, Dad? You do most of the cooking around the house.”

“Tristan Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald!” his mother gasped.

“Sorry, Mom. I love you. But your cooking...well…”

“It’s awful,” Caleb said bluntly.

“Thank you,” she pouted. Ruffling his tawny mop of curls. “I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you.”

“That’s right,” their dad grinned. “You’ve been telling it like it is since you arrived seven years ago.”

Caleb flashed his toothless grin once more.

“Honest to a fault,” Mom agreed.

“What about Hopie?” Nat asked quietly.

They all took a moment to smile at her tiny form. Sweet face relaxed in slumber. Blond mane in wild disarray.

“Hopie’s our surprise,” Dad laughed.

“Don’t you mean accident?” Tristan teased goodnaturedly.

“Tristan!”

“Our unexpected surprise. A happy surprise,” Mom admitted. “But a miracle all the same.”

“Is that why Aunt Theresa calls her Serendipity all the time?” Nat had a sudden realization. Well…what else could it be? Aunt Theresa was always spewing something about Fate, Destiny, and Serendipity.

Dad chuckled as he transferred her baby sister into Mom’s open arms and hefted Caleb’s drowsy body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Smart girl,” he grinned down at her.

She hurried ahead of them to open the French doors.

Tristan stepped through the doors behind them all and ruffled his kid sister’s dark hair affectionately.

“Tristan…I can’t believe you didn’t tell. Mom!” she called up to her mother as she paused at the top of the landing. “I want to hear the WHOLE story. Starting with ‘Once upon a time’ and ending with ‘Happily ever after’.”

Her dad laughed. “Our Nat isn’t going to stop until she hears the whole story. She’s quite persistent. I hear she gets that from her mother.”

“Luis,” her mom laughed. As her dad leaned in close to kiss her gently on the lips.

“I’m telling you, Sher. She’s just like you. You don’t believe me, ask Mama. She sees it. Ethan sees it. We all see it.”

Nat grinned in satisfaction. Just like her mom! She could live with that.

Tristan shook his head and started his ascent up the stairs. “Don’t you know, Nat?”

“Know what?”

“The story’s not over yet.”

And she realized he was right.

The story was only beginning.

The End

Disclaimer: This story in is in no way meant to infringe upon the rights belonging to , NBC, or any entity thereof. All rights to Passions and any related content, including characters used, belong to "Outpost Farms Production Inc", James E. Reilly, and NBC.
This story is the property of the author. Copyright 2001. Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without the written permission of the author.
Once Upon A Time © 2001 - All Rights Reserved.