The past few months I've embarked on a journey to watch all TV shows and movies Lee Pace has been in. On my Lee Pace TV show marathon, I stumbled across the TV show, Wonderfalls, which aired from 2004-2005. It was tragically cancelled after one season. I'm familiar with Bryan Fuller's work from Pushing Daisies (which came out in 2007). Wonderfalls was chalk full of lovably quirky characters who individually and together deal with rather intriguing plot arcs. the character development was beautifully fascinating! I truly enjoyed all 14 episodes of Season 1 of Wonderfalls. I'd highly recommend this show!

Here's the list of characters involved in The Fall of House of Tyler (TFOHT):

Jaye Tyler: The main protagonist character

Darrin Tyler: Jaye's father

Karen Tyler: Jaye's mother

Aaron Tyler: Jaye's older brother

Sharon Tyler: Jaye's older sister

Mahandra McGinty: Jaye's childhood best friend

Eric Gott: Jaye's love interest

This chapter is setting the background for the future chapters of TFOHT story. It will help to get a better understanding of the major characters as they become more complex in the future chapters.

I do not own any of the characters from Wonderfalls! Warning: Somewhat major spoilers from Wonderfalls ESPECIALLY the series finale episode!

Hope you enjoy reading my Wonderfalls FanFiction story! I'd greatly appreciate your constructive feedback! R&R!

Prologue: Beautiful Chaos

No one said family was easy. Despite how dysfunctional the Tylers were, they always had each other's back. It was a normal Friday evening at the Tyler household. Karen and Darrin were sitting in their family room. She was on the phone talking with Lena, her publicist, about the upcoming book tour for her new travel guide book. Her husband sat beside her on the couch completely engrossed in the PGA golf tournament on the television. All her attempts had miserably failed to pull Darrin's attention away from the television screen. Karen gave up. She returned to intensely multitasking replying to the emails in her inbox while arguing with her publicist.

Everyone had their favorite room in the house. Her son, Aaron, hardly left his room making only few exceptions. He was currently working on his doctorate dissertation on comparative religion. Darrin and Karen weren't disapproving of having their grown-up children still living in their house. Only their youngest daughter, Jaye, chose to move out and live by herself in a trailer park community. Jaye highly valued her independence and privacy. Her parents still didn't understand why their youngest child would give up living comfortably at their house. There was more than enough space for all five of them.

Upstairs in his bedroom, Aaron Tyler had spent the past few days intensely researching the internet about existential spiritual crisis. Some people couldn't wrap their minds around how a self-proclaimed atheist could have many Master's degrees in Theology. It was very shocking to many people. His little sister's "supposedly" uniquely strange ability to hear inanimate animal objects instruct her to help others had made him question his entire perspective on life. What if there was a higher power? This doubt implanted in his thoughts made his mind always restless and conflicted. The sanity Aaron once cherished was nowhere to be found.

Back downstairs in the living room. Karen and Darrin went about their normal activities. Her husband had just opened up a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to make a celebratory toast to Karen's upcoming summer book tour. The festive bliss was abruptly cut short when the phone rang. Who could be calling them at six o'clock on a Friday evening?

Darrin, who was closet to the landline phone, put it to his ear. "Hello. This is the Tyler residence. Who is this?" There was a short pause before a woman's panicked voice replied.

"Mr. Tyler? This is Mahandra," the woman clarified. There were strong undertones of apprehension in her voice. Mahandra McGinty was Jaye's childhood.

Karen silently mouthed to her husband asking who the caller was. Covering the mouthpiece of the phone, he reported to his wife, "Mahandra. She doesn't usually call the home phone which is odd."

She plucked the handset phone from Darrin's hands. Her husband threw an annoyed glance at her. Karen just simply ignored it. "Hello Mahandra. Jaye isn't here at the moment. She missed tonight's family game night. I assume she must have worked a late shift. My daughter wouldn't miss game night on purpose", Karen remarked. "She loves family game night—"

Mahandra hastily interjected, "If you are watching TV right now change the channel to the local news!" Her urgent voice edged with desperation.

Karen arched her eyebrows. As long as she had known her youngest daughter's best friend, Mahandra usually never spoke to her with such desperate persistence. "Is something wrong, honey? What's on the local news channel right now?" she inquired.

There was an uncomfortable stretch of silence. "Hello. You still there, Mahandra?" Karen beseeched impatiently.

"A bank robber has taking four people hostage at the Wonder Falls Gift Emporium. The identities of the four hostages have been released...including Jaye and Sharon," Mahandra explained in a dead serious tone. She anxiously waited for Mrs. Tyler's response.

Another long pause on the other end of the phone call. Karen frantically grabbed for the television remote switching to the local news channel. Darrin threw another annoyed glance at her. "Why the hell did you change the channel? I was happily watching the PGA golf—"he exclaimed lividly but immediately shut up after one glance at his wife. Her calm facial expression morphed into a distraught expression. "What's wrong, darling?" Darrin lovingly insisted. His wife's face turned pale. Karen hung up the phone call without saying goodbye to Mahandra. The handset phone fell out of her hand and onto her lap. She buried her face in her hands and began to weep. Darrin was now officially concerned. Something was definitely wrong. He instinctively enveloped his wife in a comforting hug while soothingly stroking her head. Darrin didn't know what to say to ease her distress. Something had seriously shaken her up. "What did Mahandra tell you?" he persistently implored.

"Our daughters have been taken hostage at the Wonder Falls Emporium," she answered between her sobs. Burying her face in his chest, Karen wept harder causing her entire body to tremble.

Darrin sharply sucked in air as his body froze. "Get the car keys and wait in the car," he instructed his wife. Karen unwrapped herself from his comforting embrace. She wiped her tear-stained face with her hand and silently proceeded to retrieve a coat and the car keys. He shot up from the couch and dashed up the stairs. Barging into his son's bedroom without knocking, there was no time for polite formalities in their urgent situation. Aaron was intensely gazing at his computer screen with headphones on.

Shaking his shoulders to get Aaron's attention, Darrin loudly bellowed, "Aaron! Get dressed and meet me in the hallway in a few minutes. This is an emergency! Time is of the essence! Don't dawdle!" Out of the corner of his eyes, Darrin could have sworn he saw the phrase "existential spiritual crisis" on his son's computer screen. Aaron has been inexplicably acting very strange the past few days. There was time to ask about his matter later. Now was not the time.

The booming voice startled Aaron as he yanked off his headphones and spun around to find his father standing in front of him. "What the hell! Haven't you heard of knocking instead of barging in my room, dad? You scared the shit out of me!" he angrily snapped at his father with his hands tightly crossed across his chest.

"This is my house and I don't need your permission to enter," his father clarified. "You've been acting very peculiar recently but we'll discuss that later. Right now I need you to get ready and follow me to the car. Jaye and Sharon along with two others are being held hostage at Wonder Falls Gift Emporium! Your mother is anxious awaiting us in the car."

Without responding to his dad, Aaron shot out of the computer chair. He threw on a thick sweater over his cotton t-shirt and followed closely behind his dad down the stairs. They bundled up in winter parkas along with gloves and scarf. Sprinting out of the house, the front door noisily slammed shut behind them.

Back at The Barrel, Mahandra repeatedly dialed the Tyler's home phone number with no answer. Each time it went straight to voicemail. "Damn it!" she cussed under her breath in exasperation while slamming the payphone back onto its stand. A few people sitting around the bar cast curious glances at the cocktail waitress before resuming back to their conversations. Mahandra hurriedly bundled up in her long winter parka, hat, scarf, and gloves. There were more than enough waitresses at The Barrel to cover for her. She rushed out without notifying her manager. Revving the engine of her car, she sped out of the parking lot towards Wonder Falls Gift Emporium. Mahandra needed to know her best friend, Jaye Tyler, was unharmed and safe!

Darrin, Karen, and Aaron Tyler huddled close together shivering in the blisteringly wintery cold. They stood close behind the police barricade nervously awaiting news about Jaye and Sharon. They were still being held hostage inside Wonder Falls Gift Emporium. Mahandra parked her car in an available street parking. She briskly shoved through the growing crowd not caring about the irritated gazes people threw at her. Finally, Mahandra spotted the Tylers amongst the sea of people. Fearing for her friend's well-being, tears formed slowly blurring her vision. She maneuvered through the populous throngs of people as the tears began to sting her eyes. Mahandra stopped momentarily to wipe away the stinging tears.

The four hostages ran out of the Wonder Falls Gift Emporium building. Paramedics instantly descended out of their vehicles rushing towards the four hostages. The hostages stubbornly followed the paramedic team to their vehicles to be examined. Thirty minutes later, the paramedic teams released almost all hostages except one to their anxious loved ones waiting nearby the police barricade. The three hostages were given a clean physical bill of health.

Sharon and Jay raced into their parents' welcoming embrace. Karen and Darrin were over the moon joyful to be reunited with their two daughters. They were both unharmed yet still slightly shaken up after their terrifying ordeal. Jaye and Sharon at one point weren't sure they'd make it out alive. Their quick-thinking and resilient personalities are the reason all four hostages came out unscathed. They outsmarted the bank robber holding them hostage for the past several hours.

Not wanting to interrupt the joyous reunion, Aaron stayed back watching them with an exuberant grin. He was glad his sisters returned to them safely and completely unscathed. Out of the corner of his eye, Aaron thought he saw a woman bearing close resemblance to Mahandra McGinty. He assumed it was his conscience playing a nasty trick. Earlier that day, Aaron dropped by The Barrel to see his beautiful girlfriend. Mahandra refused to acknowledge their relationship in public. He wanted her to come to terms in her own time. She was paranoid that if the other Tyler family members found out about their clandestine relationship they would disapprove. Patience was one of his many virtues. 'Good things came to those who wait' was his life motto. Aaron had no problem patiently waiting. Mahandra was definitely worth it.

"Aaron," someone yelled in the distance. This snapped him out of his deep thoughts and back to reality. His girlfriend pushed her way through the hordes of people. Running towards him, she gleefully threw her arms around his neck. Aaron almost lost his balance but quickly re-balanced otherwise they both would have gone down. That would have been bad considering how frigid cold the ground was. He slowly planted her feet firmly on the ground. Her eyes were puffy and red. "I left The Barrel as soon as I heard about the hostage situation on the local news playing in the bar area. Are your sisters okay? I was so afraid something horrible would happen to them." She burrowed her face into her scarf as an icy cold blast whiplashed her face.

"All four hostages are safe and unharmed. The paramedics already examined each of them. My sisters are strong-willed. Us Tylers stay level-headed even when thrown in frightening situations," Aaron assured his anxious girlfriend. She wept tears of joy upon hearing the wonderful news. The adrenaline flowing through her body flooded her with overwhelming emotions. Mahandra usually never cried this much. Her boyfriend pulled her into a comforting bear hug. Their close body contact helped keep them warm in the blisteringly frigid outdoors. Neither Aaron nor Mahandra could deny the strong feelings mutually felt for each other. Their chemistry was undeniable. Despite all the chaos and commotion around them, it felt as if time had frozen and they were the only people there. They were completely unaware Jaye, Sharon, Karen, and Darrin were now watching them in amusement. So lost in the moment Mahandra pulled away and softly kissed his lips. Smiling at her, Aaron kissed her back. She had unintentionally announced her relationship with Aaron Tyler to the public. Good things can came from beautiful chaos.

Karen and Sharon gasped in genuine surprise at their PDA. Jaye and her father watched wearing similar bemused facial expressions. Mahandra and Aaron had brilliantly kept their romantic relationship under wraps that none of the Tylers suspected anything between them. The four of them were so stunned by their romantic relationship.

When the four of them could finally form coherent sentences, Mahandra and Aaron were catapulted back to reality. Four set of eyes stared at them with their mouths gaping. A bright red blush spread across her face upon realizing she had ousted their secret relationship. Her boyfriend lightly chucked under his breathe and softly kissed her forehead. Grasping her hand, Aaron pulled her towards his family. They were still trying to wrap their minds around how he had deviously outsmarted them under their own roof!

There was never a dull moment in the Tyler household. Always something interesting happening. Let alone all of their uniquely fascinating personalities was enough to provide exciting entertainment. Yet despite their quarrels and disagreements, the Tylers unconditionally loved and supported each other.

I appreciate you supporting my story! Stay tuned for the next chapter!