Doctor Strangelove

Epilogue

"Kids, no!" Stephen said. "NO! Do not touch that! Brooke, if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, don't go in the library!"

It had been about nine years since Rachael and Stephen had gotten married. They had something to show for it, too: two children. A boy named Nick and a girl named Brooke, to be exact. Nick was eight years old. He was tall and skinny with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was very reserved and quiet, but if given the right mix of things to do he would be all over the place. Brooke was six and looked almost exactly like her mother. She had brown hair and brown eyes, too. Her face was the same shape as Rachael's. She looked as though someone had cloned Rachael. Brooke was extremely energetic and couldn't sit still if her life depended on it. Stephen would be lying if he said that they didn't drive him up the wall. But he would also be lying if he said that he didn't love them more than anything in the world...next to Rachael, that is. 

"Why can't I go in the library, Daddy?" Brooke asked.

"Because I said," Stephen said. "Please just do as I say? For me?"

"Alright," Brooke sighed before running off into the kitchen with her brother. 

Stephen sighed in exhaustion. In addition to becoming the Sorcerer Supreme, he was also a stay-at-home father. He didn't mind, of course. He stayed at home anyway so it wouldn't make any sense for Rachael to drop her shows.

Since their children had been born, Rachael had wanted them to be surrounded by as much normality as possible. Quite frankly, Stephen agreed with her. He wasn't allowed to wear the Cloak of Levitation or the Eye of Agamotto around the house while they were home and they weren't allowed in the library because Rachael didn't want them to accidentally do spells. If Stephen had a client, he would take them into the library to talk while Wong kept an eye on Nick and Brooke. When Rachael got home, she would take care of them while Stephen locked himself in the library to make sure that nothing was going wrong in other dimensions.

Of their two children, Brooke was the mischievous one. Stephen saw a lot of a younger Rachael in her. Nick was a more laid back, but he was still more energetic than Stephen had been as a child. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep up with his children, but he did love playing with them. 

When Rachael finally got home, Stephen went straight to the library. He locked the door and concentrated on checking for other-worldly threats. As soon as he was gone, Brooke gave her mother a confused look. Rachael braced herself for a bout of questions that she would have to answer very carefully.

"Why does daddy spend so much time in the library, Mommy?" she asked.

"He's working," Rachael said.

"What does he do?" Brooke asked.

"You're too young to understand, honey," Rachael answered.

"Can I go see him?" Brooke asked.

"No," Nick said. "We aren't allowed in the library."

"I didn't ask you, Nick!" Brooke snapped.

"Hey," Rachael gave Brooke a look. "Don't talk to your brother like that. But he is right. You aren't allowed in the library."

"Why not?" Brooke asked.

"Because Daddy is working," Rachael sighed. This was getting repetitive. 

"Can I go see him when he's done working?" Brooke asked. 

"No, you just aren't allowed in the library," Rachael said. Her patience was wearing thin.

"Why not?" Brooke repeated.

"You just aren't, okay?" Rachael snapped. Brooke looked down, knowing full well that it was time to stop asking questions.