I WAS ALIVE

[JASON RUSSEL BARKER]

Part of him couldn't believe it, after every thing that he had gone through in the passed two years having kids, getting married dropping out of high school, that he was now in college and finished his first few days. Jason Barker had made it to college. It was still something that seemed so...strange and foreign to the nineteen year old. Something that he was definitely going to have to get used to. Oh but his other, she seemed to be quite used to it all ready, always calling her friends up on the phone and telling them how her son had made it into a college. The male could only assume that he couldn't blame her though, it did seem like quite an accomplishment when you really started to think about it.

Earlier that day before Jason had started his classes he took Maddy and Riley with him and stopped at his grandma's house for breakfast. Usually he would have left the two of them at home, because when it came down to it, bringing them out and about usually did end up being quite a chore. However, it had been awhile since Jason's grandma had spent some time with them, and the young man wasn't about to turn down an offer from someone willing to take care of the two of them. As much as the young man did love his children (and trust me, it was a whole lot) but every now and again the two of them could be quite the hand full. Always running around and some how finding a way to cause trouble, most times for Riley it was just the simple act of taking off his clothes and running around like the naughty little boy he was. Finally, once Jason had finished class for the day he headed to back to his grandmothers house to pick up both Maddy and Riley, though unlike the little morning visit he didn't stay nearly as long. It was more of a come in, give hugs then leave. Chances are it would only be a couple of days until he was back in that house again for lunch or a breakfast or something.

Part of the male felt like he should just head home now, probably help cook some dinner...his mom probably needed some help watching Cole, but the more he thought about it, the more he really didn't want to go home. Not yet anyway. A smile slide across his features as he looked back in the review mirror at both of his children. "Do you two want to go to the lake?"

he asked turning his eyes back down at the road to avoid a car accident. Heaven forbid that happened. "We can go look at ducks.[/color] This earning a few giggles and happy smiles from the twins, and without much thought he made a corner and only a few moments later he was pulling into a place to park.

Jason climbed out of the drivers seat before he went to the back pulling both children out of their car seats, carrying his daughter while he held onto his sons hand as the three of them head for the main beach. You two better be careful and not get wet either, I don't think you want to go home in wet clothes and Daddy didn't bring a change."[/color] With that, he pressed a few kisses to Madison's temple before setting her down on the sand and ruffling Riley's hair a bit.

TAGGED[/COLOR] OPEN
STATUS[/COLOR] finished
WORDS[/COLOR] six hundred thirteen
NOTES[/COLOR] bad post. will get better. haha
CREDITS[/COLOR] all to me[/blockquote][/font][/color][/justify][/size]

[GWENIVERE ROSE MARSHALL]

It was rare, but every once in a while Gwen did get a tiny bit stir crazy. Normally she was more than content to be at home. She would play with Gabriel, work on her homework, do some leisure reading. Between school, working at the candy shop, and staying at home with Gabe, it was very rare that Gwen wanted to break out of her comfort zone and go somewhere else. But not today; today both the young woman and her child felt antsy. Gabe was crawling all over the place, trying to get into things that he shouldn’t, such as the bathroom and kitchen cabinets and the electrical cords to the entertainment system in the living room. Normally, Gwen felt like Gabe was a curious but understanding baby; a stern ‘no’ from her was usually enough to keep him out of something for at least a little while. Today he refused to take no for an answer. Clearly, he needed new stimulation.

It was time to get him out of the house—fortunately it was a fairly nice spring day. Not very warm, but comfortable with a light jacket and the sun shining down on one’s face. Gwen admitted that it would be nice to spend some time by the lake, with a good book and perhaps even a picnic lunch. Carrying Gabriel into the kitchen, the girl set him in his high chair with some Cheerios to distract him while she put together a sandwich and salad for herself in a Tupperware. She diced up some strawberries and blueberries and pulled out a premade bottle from the fridge. In the corner, Gabe got bored with his cereal and pushed it all off the feeding tray. Cheerios skidded across the kitchen floor as the infant shrieked with delight and clapped. Gwen sighed, finishing her packing as she said, ”You know, young man, one day there will be consequences to your actions and this will not be nearly as funny. I won’t be picking up the things you knock over forever. Gabe didn’t appear to be listening, which wasn’t particularly surprising to Gwen. Cleaning up the mess, she then picked up her baby and settled him into his stroller, grabbing his jacket and a hair tie in case it was windy. Finally, they were out the door. She didn’t bother leaving a note—it was rare that her mother kept tabs on her these days.

It wasn’t a long walk down to the main beach, and Gabriel seemed rather content to sit in his stroller as it was pushed. Gwen thought about how much her life had changed over the past two years: she had started as a social outcast, completely alienated from society separated into her little world of books and knowledge. Then she had forced herself to branch out; a terrifying but necessary adjustment that only lasted for a few months. That has been a great time in her life—having friends, feeling needed, feeling normal—but had also led to the biggest change in her life: Gabe. Now she was back to being barely social, this time involuntarily but not entirely unwanted. Shaking away thoughts of what life would have been like if things were different, Gwen looked down at her baby and reminded herself that there was no use in regretting the past when it brought her an amazing little boy, and when in reality there were people who had a lot more going against then than she did.

Gwen smiled when she could really see the lake and who was there—if she wasn’t mistaken, Jason and his two adorable kids were playing in the sand. She couldn’t help but feel like it was fate that allowed her to see a friend that she hadn’t had time to visit in much too long. ”Look Gabe! It’s your godfather! Jason! And Maddy and Riley!” While Gabe probably had no idea what Gwen was talking about, he clapped and giggled at the enthusiasm in her voice. Getting closer, the young woman called out and waved with a smile, ”Hey Jason! Long time no see… I hope you don’t mind some company.”

notes:: oh hey there!
status:: finished
words:: 694
credits:: mine

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[JASON RUSSEL BARKER]

For the most part Jason had grown used to being alone. Well, not completely alone, he usually had his kids with him though them being only two years old they didn't exactly make for the most stimulating grown up conversation, on most occasions they were good for a laugh though! Then there was his wife and well, you could only say so much to a person that you lived with full time and they would be sitting in silence. Not that there was trouble with their relationship or anything it was just a nice, comfortable loving silence if such a thing existed. Jason was certain that it did. All of that being said he wasn't expecting anyone to show up at the lake shore. Okay I mean, he expected people to be there but no one to take to him, you can only imagine his surprise when he heard Gwen's voice. This would be refreshing that was for sure.

The young man turned his body a bit to face her as a smile pulled on his lips, "Hey Gwen, no I don't mind," he leaned down a bit to give a bit of a hello to Gabe, this whole situation was a bit ironic. Not only that they both showed up at the lake with their kids, but the fact that even with their young age the actually had children. It was weird. Riley was walking a bit closer to the water and he began to throw rocks in laughing a bit as the water came back and splashed the young boy in the face. Jason was of course keeping a close eye on the boy turning every now and again to make sure that everything was all right. Heaven forbid the boy fell into the water and drowned or something, Jason would never be able to forgive himself if that happened, he always beat himself up so much when one of them just fell ill he didn't even want to think about one of them dying! "It's a nice day, what are you doing out here?" He wished he thought of a different way of asking the question, it sounded like it was bad that she was out here or something, like Gwen wasn't allowed out. Jason laughed a bit and shook his head as he tried to think of a bit of a save for that, "I mean, you picked a good day to come out. What are you up to today?' There! That sounded much better!

Unlike her brother, Maddy stayed close to Jason's side, the little girl never adventured out too far she was shy when they were out but boy was she ever a sassy little princess when they were in the home! It was like she had a split personality some of the time. She used her tiny hands and made a mound of dirt by her dad's feet, a castle as she liked to call them. "You look good," he commented absentmindedly, "What have you been doing recently? I haven't talked to you in a while. Busy with school is my guess."

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[GWENIVERE ROSE MARSHALL]

Truth be told, Gwen always felt a little guilty when she ran into Jason or Bree. She felt a little guilty when running into anyone who had been there for her during her fairly eventful pregnancy, but even more so with Mr. and Mrs. Barker. Of all the people in Ridgewood, they had supported her and comforted the most. Jason had even offered up room in what had then been his tiny apartment when Gwen was scared that she would get kicked out of her house. They’d answered every crazy question she’d had about child rearing, and defended her to other Northridge students who were treating the shy, careful girl like some sort of slut. She couldn’t count on her fingers how many times she’d called either of them crying about how hard this pregnancy was making her life, and how much she couldn’t handle it. And sure, Gwen had repaid them a little bit—she had made Bree and Jason the godparents of her little boy, which in her eyes was pretty much the most significant thing she could have done.

Still, since Gabe had been born, she’d made almost no effort, despite many empty promises, to spend the sort of time with Jason and Bree that she had before Gabe was born. Both little families were very busy, and it didn’t help that Gwen had been feeling rather anti-social as of late. It was rude and selfish of her to completely sever ties with the couple, and really she didn’t want to! She loved their company and thought very highly of them, for all their faults and struggles. Gwen smiled in response to Jason’s comment, vowing to herself to not let all of their interactions in the future be coincidental. She wanted Jason to know how much she appreciated how much he had supported her. Gabe cooed and clapped happily at the attention Jason gave him, and then turned his wide curious eyes to watch the other children with jealous fascination. Gwen hoped he wouldn’t mind staying put for at least a little while. The young woman shrugged and gave a small chuckle, ”Nothing really… you know me, I’m not exactly the most active person. I thought a little walk and some fresh air would be good for both Gabe and I. It is a pretty great day, considering the bipolar weather lately!”

Gwen fiddled with things in the upper tray of the stroller. She was always made uncomfortable by talk about her appearance. A hand went up to skim her recently shortened locks. ”Ha, thanks… I can’t really believe how short my hair is. Every day I wake up and look in the mirror and am startled! It’s a bit silly I guess, but it’s nice not to have Gabe pulling at it all the time.” Gwen bit her lip, looking up through her eyelashes. She hadn’t told anyone other than her parents about colleges yet, and supposed it would probably make sense for Jason to be the first to know. Knowing he wasn’t in school any more made her hesitate for a second (the girl didn’t want to make him feel bad) but she hoped he would be happy for her regardless. ”Yes… busy with school… And, you know, trying to decide on a college. I… I g-got into Brown…”

notes:: yeah, wayyyy late. Sorry dear <3
status:: finished
words:: 554
credits:: mine

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