Clockwork Firefly

Clockwork Firefly - Epilogue

California Pacific International Exposition
Balboa Park, San Diego, California
October 29, 1936

The crowd stood transfixed, the sunlight glinting off of the skins of Rabbit, Upgrade, The Jon and The Spine as they sang and played as they had for months. Thousands, hundreds of thousands had stood in wild amazement, and though the Depression was causing trouble for everyone, they could forget all that for an hour. Lose themselves in the mystery and magic that usually only belonged to the worlds of children and dreaming. Up front, she could see Mark Ray sitting beside the donation basket, his hair so like his father's. Wanda, her hair in pigtails, was sitting beside her grandfather in the front row, just grinning. A pair of arms surrounded her and Mary jumped a little before Peter's chin came to settle on her shoulder. "Hello." nuzzling at her cheek gently before pressing a kiss to her temple. "Any problems?"

"Mm, no. Everyone's doing very well."

"You feeling alright?" His hands slid over her waist, palms cradling the swell of her stomach. "No morning sickness?"

"Just fine. Not like with Wanda." Chuckling wryly as she wriggled back into her husband, her hands covering his. "Probably means it's another boy. Peter Walter the fourth." She wove her fingers between his.

He chuckled. "That'd make four Peter Walters in one house, Mary. Don't you think that's too many?"

"Never too many Walter men." As the crowds began swaying with the influence of the songs, she thought back to the past thirteen years. She's accepted Peter's proposal the day after Christmas in '22. They'd married in the spring of '23, and a year later, they welcomed Marcus Raymond, named for the two sons of Madam Adjaye who had given their lives to save his grandfather and his uncle Pete. Two years later, Wanda came along. The Steam Man Band had honed their act and even performed at A Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago and now had nearly completed the long run at the California-Pacific International Exposition. Life was all she could have hoped for.

"What are you thinking about." He asked, his hands sliding from her stomach to her waist to turn her to face him, his arms sliding around her.

"How maddeningly attractive you are?" Her arms slid around his neck and her cheek set to his shoulder. "How happy I am? How wonderful the band sounds?" She sighed contentedly. "How I have to finish the kids' costumes for trick-or-treating." She tipped back her head. "You know... your father and brother will be busy with the show with the rest of the band and I know we can count on Hatchworth to take the kids door-to-door..." She smiled and wagged her brows. "Whole manor all to ourselves."

He leaned down and set his forehead against hers. "Mmm. It is nearly Halloween, you're right. Makes me think of the first time I saw you come into that ballroom in Coronado. I was so angry when I saw who you were with, but I didn't even think about what he had done to make trouble for the family.. I just wanted to punch his lights out because he was touching you. I wanted you so much that I almost swallowed my tongue." He chuckled, holding her closer. "You're the best thing that ever happened to him you know. If you hadn't handled it so well, I would have probably wound up spending my Halloween burying him in the desert somewhere."

"He got the idea though. Don't mess with the Walters." She tweaked his earlobe gently. When they released him for lack of evidence, he had immediately fled to Europe, and though they occasionally found him to have been behind plots attempting to take down Walter Robotics, he had never darkened their doorstep again. Her lips brushed his jaw, her smile felt against his skin "He didn't know who he was crossing. I warned you long ago about my flaws. I'm quite vicious you know." She gave a playful growl against his neck, the faint touch of teeth against his skin.

Shivering, he chuckled and lifted his chin a bit, denying her nothing. "I'll take my chances." His arms tightening further in a squeeze before he relaxed and simply absorbed the feeling of his wife and future son nestled against him, his family, those of flesh and bone filling his vision, those of metal filling his ears with their song.

"...I'm on top of the universe

On a shootin' star

Life is so wonderful

and everything is by far

So spectacular..."