Okay, here's Chapter 6. Sorry it took so long to post this, but I ended up busy for the rest of the 2014 year. This chapter introduces baby Kenneth, the beginning of the new Tennyson generation. So, this is kind of a special chapter. Enjoy!

Months have passed and the closer it got to our wedding day, the happier Sandra got. During these past 4 months, Sandra and I have been making plans for our wedding. We still haven't decided what we wanted, but the different plans we made gave us options. However, thinking of our wedding would have to wait awhile. I received a phone call from Frank Sunday afternoon while Sandra and I were going through wedding catalogs to get more ideas.

"Hello," I said answering

"Hi Carl," said Frank

"Oh hey bro, what's up?"

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a problem."

"What's wrong?"

"I have to go out of town this week for a big court case and I'm afraid to leave Natalie alone. I was wondering if she could stay with you and Sandra until I get back."

"Oh sure. Not a problem."

"Actually, there is one."

"What's that?"

"Well, Natalie is really pregnant and she could be due at anytime."

"Oh I see."

"Well, I hope that this kid waits until I get back. In the meantime, I don't want Natalie to be all by herself so..."

"Frank it's no problem. Natalie can stay with us. She and Sandra can keep each other company while I'm at work."

"Thanks Carl. We'll be over later tonight. Is 8:00 okay?"

"Sure, that's fine."

"Great, so you then."

"Bye."

I hung up and sat back down on the couch with Sandra. She was still going through a wedding catalog.

"Was that Frank?" asked Sandra

"Yeah," I replied

"What's going on?"

"Frank has an important court case to attend out of town this week and he is concerned about leaving Natalie alone so she'll be staying with us."

"Wonderful!"

"I think it'll be nice to have someone keep you company while I'm working."

"Yeah, but I'm going to find a job soon."

"Honey, you don't need to do that. I make enough to support us both."

"You're missing the point. I want a job so that we'll put more money towards our wedding."

"Oh I see."

"I just want us to have a good wedding."

"And we will. Don't worry."

I kissed Sandra and she kissed me back. For the rest of that afternoon, we looked through all the wedding catalogs. We must have looked through them dozens of times. Sandra even had a notepad and was jotting down ideas and even crossing out some. Around 8:00 that night, there was a knock at the door. Sandra jumped up and went to answer. She was looking forward to spending the week with Natalie. The door opened and the girls greeted each other with excitement. They acted like they haven't seen each other in years. I was kind of surprised when I saw Natalie walk through the door. When Frank said she was really pregnant, he wasn't kidding. Although, I thought it was cute how she waddled in. She walks just like a penguin and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

"Hey Carl," said Frank

"Hey," I said back

"Thanks so much for doing me this favor."

"It's no problem."

I took the bags out of Frank's hands and set them by the couch while Frank started making his goodbyes to Natalie.

"I'm going to miss you," said Natalie

"I'll miss you too," said Frank

He then knelt down and kissed Natalie's belly.

"Now don't you come until I get back," said Frank to his unborn child

"Well it's not up to you is it?" said Natalie looking down at him

"I know, but if the time does come when I'm away, I want you to call me."

"Geez Frank, you sound like a father scolding his teenage daughter," I said

"Oh shut up," he replied rolling his eyes as he got back up

"Don't worry Frank. Natalie will be safe with us and she'll have a good time," said Sandra

Frank smiled at Sandra and hugged Natalie once more before heading out the door. Natalie let out a sigh and then headed over to the couch. She then noticed the wedding catalogs scattered all over the coffee table.

"Are you guys still making wedding plans?" asked Natalie

"Yeah. We're just trying to get a few ideas," said Carl

"It's kind of hard," said Sandra

"I remember it being like that for me too," said Natalie

"Really?"

"Oh yeah. When it comes to weddings, it's hard to find ideas. Maybe I can help."

"Oh, that would be super."

Sandra sat down on the couch next to Natalie and they were both going through the wedding catalogs. I just stood back and watched them flipping through pages and even looking over the plans Sandra wrote down. I must have been standing in the same spot watching them for a few minutes. They were chatting, laughing, having a good time. I decided to head into the bedroom and watch TV. I didn't want to interrupt their girl time, besides, they can come up with better wedding plans than I can. It's true what they say; women are better wedding planners than men are.

A week went by and I have to admit that it went by quick. For this past week, when I would come home from work, I would see Sandra and Natalie doing stuff together. When Friday finally came, I was happy. T.G.I.F. (Thank God It's Friday). Usually, Sandra and I would go out Friday night to see a movie or have dinner, but since Natalie was with us, Sandra and I planned to rent a movie and order pizza that night. Natalie liked the idea, but mostly for the fact that she's craving cheese. However, our Friday plans would be put to a screeching holt. That Friday when I got off work, I headed home and expected to walk in and see Sandra and Natalie gathered in the Living Room or Kitchen chatting away, but when I made it to the front door and opened it, something was different. I walked in, set my stuff aside, and began looking around for Sandra and Natalie. It felt like the place was empty.

"Hello?" I questioned

There was no response, it was still quiet.

"Hello! Anyone home!" I finally called out

Suddenly, I heard the bedroom door open and close and footsteps coming down the hallway. It was Sandra. I was happy to see her, but when I saw the look on her face, I knew that something was wrong.

"Sandra, what's the matter?" I asked approaching her

"It's Natalie," she replied

"What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"I think she might be in labor."

I grew scared. I quickly darted down the hall with Sandra behind me and we both entered our bedroom. I saw Natalie laying on our bed and she didn't look so good. My scares began to grow inside my chest.

"Natalie?" I questioned

"Carl, I think it's time," she responded sounding scared

"Are you sure? This isn't a false labor?"

"I'm positive. This is it."

"Oh my God."

I turned towards Sandra hoping for an answer, but she seemed just as scared as I was. Suddenly, a thought came to me and I quickly rushed out of the bedroom and into the living room. I looked through the papers that were on the coffee table until I found what I was looking for. I then grabbed the phone as Sandra came into the room and looked at me rather confused.

"What are you doing?" she asked

"I'm going to try to get a hold of Frank. Stay with Natalie!" I said

Sandra nodded and rushed back to the bedroom. First I decided to call the business where Frank was handling the case. No luck, Frank wasn't there. I was told that he left the place about an hour ago. Next, I called the hotel where Frank was staying at. I was hoping that he was still there. Again, no luck. He had checked out of the hotel awhile ago.

"Shit!" I shouted slamming the phone down on the coffee table

This cannot be happening to me. I didn't know what else to do except drive Natalie to the hospital myself. I grabbed some of Natalie's things, rushed out the front door, and to my car. I put them in the trunk and then rushed back inside. I went into the bedroom where Sandra was sitting on the bed next to Natalie.

"Alright, let's go!" I said

They both looked up at me.

"What do you mean?" asked Natalie exhaling

"Did you get a hold of Frank?" asked Sandra

"No I didn't, so we'll have to take Natalie to the hospital ourselves," I said

"Oh no," moaned Natalie

"It's going to be okay," assured Sandra

Sandra and I helped Natalie up and we both helped her to the car. Natalie decided to get in the back with Sandra when I thought the front would be more comfortable for her. I didn't have time to argue. All that mattered was getting Natalie to the hospital in time. Let me tell you, the drive there was nerve wrecking. I don't think I've ever been this scared in my life. If my brother was here then things would have been different. Every time we stopped at a red light, I prayed to God that it would change quickly. During the stops, I would peek in the back to see how Natalie was doing.

"Is everything okay back there?" I asked

"For the millionth time, yes!" said Sandra annoyed

Have I really asked that question throughout this nerve wrecking trip? I shook off the idea and focused on getting to the hospital. About 10 minutes later, I quickly pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked in front of the building instead of the lot with the other cars. A security guard came by.

"Hey, you can't park here. This is for emergency..." he started to say

"Well this is an emergency! I have a pregnant woman in the car who's about to explode any minute!" I yelled cutting off his sentence.

The security guard just stared at me for a moment, but went towards my car and opened the door where Sandra and Natalie were. It didn't take long for Natalie to get inside the hospital. Two nurses brought out a wheelchair and immediately rushed her in. Sandra went in with her while I moved the car. It didn't take long for me to find a parking spot and it wasn't too far from the main entrance of the hospital. I opened the trunk, got Natalie's bags, and took them inside with me. I met up with Sandra when Natalie was being taken to a room.

"Oh, thank God we made it," said Sandra

"Yeah, what a relief," I said

Once Natalie was settled in her room, Sandra and I entered and I placed Natalie's bags by the chair.

"Thanks guys so much for getting me here," said Natalie

"No trouble. You know we'd do anything for you," said Sandra

"Well, I just hope that everything's alright," I said

"Don't worry Carl. The baby is fine and will be arriving soon," said Natalie

Natalie began her labor breathing again. I escorted Sandra out of the room for a minute. I felt that we were both thinking the same thing: Where the hell is Frank?

"Well, Natalie is in there all by herself. Frank should be here. What are we going to do?" Sandra asked concerned

"I don't know!" I said back

We were both silent for a moment until a new thought came to me.

"Alright, there is one last thing I can try," I said

"What is it?" Sandra asked

"Since Frank wasn't at the business place or the hotel, he must be on his way back home. The only thing I can do is drive to his place and wait for him. Once he arrives, I'll drag his sorry ass back here."

"Well, what should I do?"

"Natalie may want some company. Can you stay with her until I get back?"

"Of course."

I kissed Sandra and headed out towards the parking lot while she went back into Natalie's room. I hurried into the parking lot, got in my car, and drove off to Frank's place. Along the way there, I was hoping that my brother would be home. Frank can't miss this. My brother would regret it for the rest of his life if he ended up missing his own kid's birth. It took me about 7 minutes to reach Frank's house and just as I pulled up along side of his house, I saw Frank walking up to his door. He had keys in one hand and a suitcase in the other. I blared my horn which made him jump. When he saw it was me, he darted down towards my car.

"What the hell Carl? That was not funny!" snapped Frank

"Natalie's in labor. Get your ass in the car!" I snapped back

Frank suddenly grew into shock, but did what I told him to do. He threw his suitcase in the back, shut the door, and buckled up. I then took off towards the hospital again. My brother was now experiencing the fear that I went through awhile ago.

"What...when did this happen?" Frank asked stammering

"I'm not sure. When I got home from work, Natalie was in labor and I drove her to the hospital," I said

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Gee. I should have thought of that."

I then slugged my brother in the arm making him say ow.

"OF COURSE I CALLED YOU!" I yelled

"Then how come I didn't receive your call?" Frank asked rubbing his arm

"Because you weren't there. You only left me and Sandra two numbers remember?"

"Oh man, I knew I should have left sooner. I should have skipped that business lunch."

"Well, all that matters now is that you get to Natalie before your baby arrives."

It didn't take long for us to reach the hospital. Once I found a parking space, Frank jumped out of the car and ran towards the hospital entrance. I don't think I've ever seen my brother run that fast before. Once I locked up the car, I walked towards the hospital entrance. I would have ran too, but I felt that there was no need to. Once I reached Natalie's room, Frank was embracing Natalie. He kissed her a few times and made about 100 apologies.

"Natalie, I promise you that I'll never take off like that again," said Frank sounding guilty

"Frank, it couldn't be helped. You had to take that case," she replied

"I'm sorry Natalie."

"Don't be. It won't be long until we see our baby."

Natalie suddenly grasped Frank's hand which caught him off by surprise. Natalie's contraction went on for about a minute. When she let go of Frank's hand, he began rubbing it immediately. I felt like laughing after that, but had to keep it in.

"Carl, Sandra, thanks for helping me," said Natalie exhaling

"I'll be taking over from here," said Frank

"We'll be out in the waiting room," I said

"Oh, I can't wait to see that baby," said Sandra excitedly

"Shouldn't be much longer now," said Natalie

"Oh Carl, do me a favor and make a few calls. I want to make sure that everyone knows that the baby is coming," said Frank

"Sure, no problem," I said

"See you guys in a little while," said Sandra

Sandra and I left Natalie's room and headed towards the waiting room. While Sandra took a seat, I headed over towards the payphone and began making calls. I called Natalie's parents first, called Natalie's best friend, called Frank's best friend, and the last person I called was my dad. Even though I didn't want to make that call, I had to. My dad and I may have gone down different paths, but I wasn't that heartless. He had to know about the baby coming.

"Thanks for calling me Carl. I'll be heading down to the hospital soon," said Max

"Okay, great," I said

"See you soon then."

"Bye."

"Bye."

After I hung up, I went over and sat down next to Sandra. At that moment, I finally felt that I could relax. All the nerve wrecking & fear finally went away. I looked at Sandra. She seemed happy. That smile remained on her face and I was glad.

"Oh this is so exciting isn't it Carl?" Sandra asked

"Yeah, it is," I replied

"You're going to be an uncle soon. We'll soon be seeing your niece or nephew."

"Well, don't forget that this baby will be your niece or nephew too."

"Well not yet."

We became silent again. I cuffed my hands together and sat them in my lap as I leaned over.

"Carl?" asked Sandra

"Hmm," I responded looking at her

"Do you ever want kids?"

I kind of froze at her question and stared at her for a moment.

"What brought this up Sandra?" I asked

"Well I had pictured myself in Natalie's place when I was in there with her and just asked myself if this is something I wanted and then I asked myself if that's something you'd want," said Sandra

"Oh, I see."

"I know what I'd have to go through and from my point of view, it looks painful, but worth it in the end."

"That's just how the miracle of life starts Sandra."

"Well Carl, do you ever want kids? Do you ever want to become a father?"

"Yeah, of course I do, but not right away."

"Well I didn't mean this minute."

I leaned over and kissed Sandra and she kissed me back. I then leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling. Sandra's question got me thinking about our future. If we did have children, would I be a good father to them? How would I react when they are born? These thoughts crossed my mind a few minutes more until I shook off the idea. It was still too early for me or Sandra to be thinking about that. Two hours have passed. Sandra and I haven't moved from our seats. Sandra had actually fallen asleep and rested her head on my shoulder. I didn't want to move and wake her which resulted in my butt falling asleep. Suddenly, my brother entered the waiting room and approached us. I tapped Sandra and she woke up to see Frank standing right in front of us with a big grin on his face.

"It's a boy!" said Frank

"I have a nephew!" I said happily

"Oh congratulations!" shouted Sandra

She jumped up and gave Frank a big hug and he hugged her back.

"What's his name?" asked Sandra

"Kenneth Tennyson," said Frank

"How's Natalie doing?"

"She's doing just fine, happy as can be."

"Can we see her and Kenneth?"

"Yes, but just wait a few more minutes."

"Alright, then we'll check out the gift shop and find something nice for Kenneth."

"You don't have to do that Sandra."

"But I want to. Come on Carl, let's go!"

And with that, Sandra grabbed my hand and lead me to the gift shop with excitement. We spent about 10 minutes browsing around. Sandra admired some of the baby stuff on the shelves. Soon, we decided to buy Kenneth a blue teddy bear. After that, we headed towards Natalie's room. When we walked in, Sandra awed at the little bundle Natalie was holding in her arms. Kenneth was sound asleep. Sandra showed Natalie the teddy bear and she found it adorable. Frank placed it on the window sill next to the flowers.

"He's so precious," I said

"He is," said Natalie with a smile

"I can't believe it. Yesterday Kenneth wasn't even here and now he is," said Sandra

"We can't believe it either," said Frank

"I bet you two are happy," I said

"Oh yes. We're happy and proud," said Natalie

Sandra and I continued to gaze down at Kenneth. He began to wake up and squirm a bit, but soon settled down. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times. This just made Sandra's heart melt even more. Then Kenneth began sucking on his hand. Suddenly, someone dropped in (literally) through the ceiling. This caught us all by surprise.

"Hello my dears," said Verdona

"Mother?" Frank and I questioned

"Well is that any way to say hello to your mother?"

"No mom, it isn't that. None of us didn't expect to see you here," said Frank

"Well when it comes to me, you should expect the unexpected and I had to come when I learned my grandson was finally born," said Verdona

"How did you know that our baby was a he?"

"Did you forget already Frank? I'm an Anodite. We can sense these things. Now let me see him."

Verdona approached Natalie who didn't look too comfortable of the idea, but she let Verdona hold Kenneth anyways. Natalie figured that the sooner Verdona met Kenneth, the sooner she'd leave. Verdona gazed down at the infant and smiled. Kenneth looked up at her continuing to suck on his hand.

"Tell me, what's the child's name?" asked Verdona

"His name is Kenneth," said Natalie

"Kenneth, that's a lovely name."

"Thank you."

"Now we just have to wait and see if he has the spark."

Natalie groaned from my mother's response. I could tell that she didn't seem to fond of my mother, but hopefully one of these days they will get along. Sandra and I visited for about 15 minutes and then decided to go home. As we were walking out, we ran into a familiar face.

"Carl, Sandra!" said Max happily

"Hi dad," I said

"Hi!" said Sandra giving Max a hug

My dad hugged her back. It was nice to see them getting along.

"Well, what has Natalie and Frank been blessed with?" asked Max

"A boy," I said

"Alright, I have a grandson! I'm a grandpa!"

"He is the sweetest thing," said Sandra
"Mom thinks so too," I said

"Verdona is here?" asked Max

"Yep. She just dropped right in through the ceiling again."

"Yeah, that's normal for your mother to enter a room."

We all became silent for a moment and then we made our goodbyes. When Sandra and I finally got home, we both collapsed on the bed. It was already getting late. After the big day we had, we both were too tired to get into our pajamas.

"Carl?" asked Sandra

"Hmm," I said tiredly

"Do you think Kenneth has the spark?"

"I don't know Sandra. It's too early to tell, but for Natalie's sake, let's just hope that Kenneth is a normal human being."

"Well, when he have kids, will they have the spark?"

"Sandra, I don't know the answer to that either and don't you think it's a bit early to be talking about that?"

"I guess you're right. We better get some sleep. Goodnight."

Sandra turned off the lights and curled up in her spot. In minutes, we were both asleep. The dream I entered wasn't a great one, but it started out nice. In the dream, Sandra and I were married and had 3 little ones running around the household. Sandra was cooking in the kitchen while the kids were playing in the living room. I sat down in a recliner when the 3 little ones came up to me with happy smiles. I was about to hug them when suddenly their eyes started to glow which made me jump back in the recliner. Soon, the 3 little ones changed into Anodites and began repeating the word "spark." I looked around and everything around me changed and Sandra wasn't anywhere to be found. The dream has turned into a nightmare. The word "spark" kept being repeated over and over. Suddenly, the 3 Anodites jumped at me as if they were attacking me. I suddenly woke up in a jump scare way. I quickly sat up and looked around. I realized that I was in my bedroom and Sandra was by my side still asleep. I moved my hand across my face trying to shake off the nightmare I just had. I laid back down, but couldn't fall back to sleep right away. My mind kept asking "Will my children in the future have the spark? Will they be Anodites too?"

End of Chapter 6. Woo! This chapter went on for quite awhile. Anyways, Kenneth finally made it into the picture and now one thing pries on everyone's mind: Does Kenneth have the spark? Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll get the last chapter up as soon as I can.