𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘, 𝐍𝐎 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 - kiara carrera²

𝒗. 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒓

"BEWARE OF THE MIDNIGHT GHOUL."

Tatum and Cleo paused at the man's voice. It was sunrise now, and the baby was sleeping calmly, wrapped in the blankets his big sister and her new friend had stolen for him, which meant she could actually wear clothes now. The man in front of them was tall with dark skin and quite a belly, but though he tried to seem threatening, Tatum could see the light in his eyes. This man was just a big man-child. She smiled at him.

"The Night Ghoul?" asked Cleo, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, still playing with her knife, as she looked up to the man she clearly knew well.

He nodded. "That's what the streets are calling him. Mass murderer; killed twenty people this night. Security guards."

Tatum raised a brow, trying to hide the grin and the squeal she wanted to let out. She finally had a cool killer name. She hoped it would stick. "Who would do something so terrible?" she asked, as though she wasn't the exact person he was talking about. "And it's bold of you to assume it's a man."

Cleo chuckled and rolled her eyes, pointing at the man with her knife. "This is Stubby," she introduced, then switched her knife towards Tatum. "And Tate and her brother."

As expected, the man-child went soft on the baby, lifting him into his arms and giving it a big squeeze. Tatum wasn't sure how to react. But she smiled, because she knew Stubby wouldn't cause harn to her brother - she could see it on his features. He was a good person.

"Ready to see your friends again?" asked Cleo, standing outside of a cabin door.

Stubby's face switched to them, realisation hitting him. Cleo had grabbed the facts in under a second when she had met her, but the man didn't catch on until a little later. Just like Tatum never did. It was nice to meet someone as slow as her. "Tatum," he gasped. "The Night Ghoul - you're a ghost."

"No."

"She's not."

"But how -"

The door opened. And all it took was a small glimpse of Tatum's encaptivating, blue orbs before Sarah Cameron screamed. Literally screamed. Tatum slapped her across the face because she woke the baby up. "Don't make me cut you, Barbie."

"Holy shit, you're alive!" Blondie continued to cry anyway, tears rolling down her face now, as she threw the girl into a hug. "We thought you were dead."

"I thought you were dead," Tatum retorted with a light smile, hugging the emotional girl back.

Alarmed footsteps boomed through the cabin in front of them. "Sarah, what's -" John B paused at the sight of his best friend. His sister. And a helpless sob tore its way out of his throat.

"JB?" she said, her eyes finally welling up. Sarah let go of her to allow the two friends to finally reunite.

Without another word, the boy wrapped his arms around Tatum in a large, warm, bear hug. "We spoke to the others," he whispered, leaning his chin on top of her head. "They said you killed yourself. I couldn't...please don't ever hurt yourself, Tate."

Her chuckles vibrated through his face. "Relax, JB, I'm not suicidal. I was just kidnapped for a little bit."

Everyone turned to her. They didn't need to ask to know the answer.

"Our dads are here," Sarah stated in horror.

Tatum nodded, lifting her crying brother out of Stubby's arms and rocking him in hers. "And our brothers."

"Who's this fella?" asked John B, instantly going off-topic to fuss over the baby, earning a cute laugh from his girlfriend.

"It's my brother, TJ," she answered, smiling widely at the precious boy in her hands. He would have a good life. The best life any Quinn had ever had. Other than Triplet Tilly, of course - that bitch who got away.

A few moments went by, and the unofficially married couple ended up taking hold of the baby with excitement.

"Are they still mad at me?" asked Tatum quietly. When the other two looked up at her in confusion, she shrugged. "The others?"

"They were never mad at you, Tate," Sarah assured her, squeezing the insecurity out of the girl. "They were a mess when you 'died'."

"All this time, I thought they just didn't want to save me. I mean, I'd understand if they didn't, but it still hurt," she admitted sadly, crossing her arms and looking down at the floor.

John B shook his head, still playing with TJ. "You're kidding? If they knew what actually happened, JJ would've be down there with a machine gun in seconds."

Tatum chuckled, and regained her confident posture, twirling her knife around in the way Cleo spent hours teaching her. "What do we do now, then?"

"We go home."