Appearance: Standing at 5'9, with blonde hair and brown eyes, Marlie has the ability to look fierce in one moment and cute the next. More often then not it's the latter though, and she usually has a smile on her face, whether out of amusement or just being happy. She has a knack for selecting a knockout outfit from seemingly innocuous thrift store pieces, and she's in the cosignment store at least once a week looking for the perfect t-shirt, dress, skirt, shoes, or pair of pants. She has definitely developed her own unique style, but it works on her and she pulls it off well. She is a pretty girl and curvy in all the right places, with a healthy weight for her height and body structure.

Persona: Arielle Kebbel

Personality: Marlie is at times a loner and at times a social butterfly, and her high self-esteem allows her to balance both aspects of her personality almost effortlessly. She is always ready for some fun but also knows herself well enough to draw and hold to her own boundaries. She's been raised to believe in the essential goodness in all human beings, and to enjoy all aspects of life that she can. She is conscious of the fragile nature of the earth and tries not to keep her own contributions to global problems at a minimum. Overall, she's a very cheerful girl who is quite happy to take life one step at a time and live in the moment. It's hard to make her mad, though her one sore spot is her religion and the misunderstandings many people have about it.

Biological Father	Tyler Swanson, 32, Construction Worker (Dominic West)
Biological Mother	Susan Reilly, 32, Midwife/Sex Ed Teacher (Connie Nielson)

Tyler Swanson

Susan Reilly

Pets: Black cat named Osiris.

Friends: TBA

History: Marlie's parents, Tyler and Susan, were in high school together in San Diego, and they were both only sixteen when Susan found out she was pregnant. She hadn't counted on having a baby so young but she was in love with Tyler and thought they could make it work and that it would bring them even closer together. At first Tyler seemed just as enthusiastic as her, but as time went on he started to freak at the thought of being a teenage dad, and by the time she hit her second trimester he had completely changed his mind.

She suspected it had something to do with his parents, who like hers had been against them raising the child. Soon the relationship collapsed under the stress of the situation, and Tyler's father was suddenly being transferred out of state. In only a few months Susan's whole world had changed. She was absolutely devasted, but still determined that her decision to keep the child was the right one.

Her parents stood behind her despite their doubts, but Susan felt like she needed even more support. She sought out teen pregnancy groups and through one of them she met a local midwife. She had always felt that women's bodies were capable of far more than cultural dogma suggested, and at thirteen had started to get very involved in Wicca, a religion that matched her holistic, nature-centered view of the world. Midwifery was like as an extension of those beliefs, and the warmth and caring of the midwife was overwhelming. Soon she had switched from her obstetrician to the midwife for her care, and by the time she had started her third trimester she had become determined to have a home birth. Her pregnancy had been healthy and normal, so her midwife was supportive of the decision.

Susan soon absorbed a library's worth of information about pregnancy and birth, and felt ready for what was coming. Marlie's birth changed Susan's life forever, and afterward she felt gloriously alive, strong, and empowered. Only a couple of weeks after her birth she asked her midwife if she would allow her to study under her to become a midwife herself. She dropped out of high school, got her GED and with her newborn in tow started on the hectic but rewarding process of becoming a midwife. Marlie grew up around pregnancy, labor, and birth, and by the time she was four her mother was a registered midwife in the state of California.

Susan worked with her mentor for a little under a year, and then as kindergarten started to loom on the horizon for Marlie she realized she didn't want to stay in San Diego forever, and wanted to open her own practice. She knew it would be hard and that she couldn't go anywhere with a huge community where she might be overwhelmed with clients. She also had always longed for the simple life, so Ambrose Island seemed perfect. Her parents could afford to lend her the money to buy a home and add a birth center to the property, and Marlie was able to start kindergarten with the same kids she would one day graduate high school with.

Life since that time has been hectic at times, but Marlie is used to her mother having to run off or stand her up sometimes because a woman is suddenly going into labor. Her mother also serves as the Sexual Education teacher at all the schools in town, filling in for that unit of health class at every grade level and teaching the kids her very unique perspective on the facts of life.

Marlie met her father once just before they moved to the island, but he was awkward so the meeting left her without much of an impression of him. He used to send a card on her birthday, but he hasn't for a few years now. But she doesn't let it bother her, and in fact rarely thinks about his absence in her life, knowing that he has his own path to lead. Because she and her mother are so close in age, they are very close, though Susan takes care not to cross the line too often of trying to be Marlie's friend instead of her mother. Susan's one regret is that she never had more children, but she's only in her early thirties so it could still happen yet.

Marlie herself has grown up to be a confident, secure teenager with a respect for all the natural forces in the world. She has never dated, but not because no one wants to; she just hasn't felt enough of a spark towards anyone she's met yet, but she's open to the possibility and has a frisky side just waiting to show.

Vehicle: Blue Honda Insight, though she also bikes or walks to areas that are accessible to that mode of transportation.

Job: Does some part-time recordkeeping and filing for her mother's midwifery practice and birth center.

Neighborhood: Hill Crescent, 659 Slope Avenue

Other Residents: N/A

House Description: The Reilly house doubles as Susan Reilly's birth center and midwifery practice. There's two parts to the house that are connected; one part is the family home, a two-storey home with a master bedroom and full ensuite, a second bedroom for Marlie with another full ensuite, and a half-bath on the main floor as well as a cozy living room, kitchen, dining room, and den.

The other part of the house is the birth center. It has a small foyer with a reception and waiting area, and behind that is Susan's office. Further into this part of the house are two large cozy birthing suites, each with a king-sized bed, a rope hanging from the ceiling for laboring women to grab onto, a birth stool and ball, chairs for visitors, and a newborn care station.

There's a full kitchen that's easily accessible from both rooms so families can make food. Through the large windows there's a beautiful garden out back to bring peace and tranquility into the labor suites, or a set of french doors allows women to walk through their labor. Both of the suites have a private bathroom featuring a two-person jacuzzi tub and separate two-person shower.

-School Details-