In the early morning, Braxton looked like he was getting ready for battle, making sure that anywhere they were going to will be well-equipped with baby stuff. He even rented a SUV in order to fit 4 baby seats and already had a stroller that could also carry them all at once coming its way.
But for now, Braxton was walking into the gym with a baby strapped to his chest, and another strapped to his back while he pushed a stroller containing two even younger babies. Thank God there was Nix to cover because he had a feeling that Aleja was going to kill him if he left her on the floor alone. However, now that he was at the gym with four sets of eyes staring back at him, he couldn't help but wonder, "... How do I strap 4 babies onto me... ?"
RIKKE
It had taken a bit longer to get out the door this morning, mostly because she wasn't quite used to sharing a living space with so many people. She wasn't complaining though. It had been rather reminiscent of being back home to have such activity at the top of the day. Regardless, she and several of the others had been convinced that they should just go about their regular day, and honestly it made the most sense.
The only person that was up as early as herself, had been Luke -which to be honest, she couldn't be entirely sure the woman hadn't just remained awake- and as they'd had a chat, she'd given a suggestion that _now_, as Braxton walked into the gym, made sense. She eased the weights back down and reached into her duffel before walking over. "Luke said you'd be likely walk in today while trying to juggle all four infants." She glanced down. "I'm glad she was only partially right, as carriers and strollers often work better." She then reached out to hand him a garment. "To answer your question though, this might help. We keep them at the station in case we need to move multiple babies at once."
BRAXTON
His eyes lit up when Rikke offered him the garment. "Oh You're a lifesaver! Luke too! I can totally wear that yess." He already predicted that he won't be moving as much as he normally would but all he cared right now was to carry all four babies with him. "God y'all know me so well." Without hesitation, he put it on and got his babies all set up onto him. "Now we're talking. I'm going to wear this everyday now. Do.. you have a spare? You know, in case something happens?"
He slowly twirled around, making sure he was all set. "Yess, kiddos, time for work." He looked up at the Paladin, "Honestly, no one is going to listen to a word I say today because I bet you their attention is all on these four. Oh, since you're here, did Nix come in with you? She's helping out while Luke's still banned from coming back to work."
RIKKE
It never ceased to surprise Rikke how well Luke knew her 'siblings'. It seemed that in the end, it wasn't blood or even a shared name that made a family, but just the caring of one another. "Oh don't worry, we've got plenty. Our superiors seem to think that we face far more emergencies that require us to carry up to six babies at once than we actually do. Which, personally, I think is a _good_ thing, but I suppose that's not shared by all," she joked.
The Paladin had half a mind to inform him that most folks at the gym didn't pay him all that much attention anyway, unless he was leading a class, but she didn't think it would be kind to his current happy mood. She briefly began to consider what to say instead, but her face was overcome by a look of confusion at his next words. Phoenix _was_ here already, but the way he seemed to equate that with the fact she herself was here... "Yup, she's in the studio. By the way, you'll want to keep an extra keen eye on your little bundle there," she said, deflecting to Tomi. "She is feeling _mighty_ upset with you, and though I don't sense hostility towards the other kids, she does still have her powers so any bites to any one and we're all in trouble."
BRAXTON
"Yess, much appreciated - Truly. Like whoever invented these, genius." He grinned as he continued to carefully sway so it was almost like rocking the babies even if he was only doing it for fun at the moment. "I'm definitely not going to be doing any exercising in these but my god, this is sort of fun to wear."
His eyes immediately fell onto his daughter, seeing the small pout on her face. "Ahhh... Kiddo...." He cooed as he lifted her into the air, "I know! I know, I did promise first thing today! We'll go, we'll definitely go. Look, we can go like right now, and see if Erin's still home. It's still early." He looked over at Rikke, "...Is she still home?"
RIKKE
Watching him muck about, she took note of his statement of not doing any exercising with the vest on. "I don't know, I think squats would be a very practical thing to do with that...actually, I would probably _insist_ that you try and get some squats done in that thing," she teased...mostly.
Being able to sense a charge's emotions was both a benefit and curse. "Oh my," Rikke said as she shook her head to regain her own bearings. "They are still very much capable of their big-people emotions but it does not do well in their tiny-people bodies. Yes, Erin is still at the cabin, but so is Lyra...so there's that."
BRAXTON
Now he had to figure out whether he wanted to go to Keagan or Lyra. Keagan scared him, and he wanted to give Tomi time with her girlfriends... Lyra wasn't going to leave them alone - he could almost guarantee it. Instead of making a decision, he lifted his kid so that they were eye to eye. "Sky first or Erin first? Well, Sky and Miles together, or Erin and possibly Lyra."
"Something tells me that you're going to be very upset with me if I don't let you stay with them..." Braxton admitted though he was a bit sad about it since he wanted to spend time with his kid too, but whatever will make Tomi happy, he was all for it. "Um.. do you know who she picked?"
RIKKE
The Paladin had already gone back to the nearest machine, figuring her work there was done until she heard him ask her a question. She looked at him skeptically and said, "I can sense their emotions, I'm not a telepath. She was less angry when both names were mentioned, so there's no real decision to be made there. If it helps, Luke should also be at the cabin. She promised Keagan that she would do her best to work on gauging what emotions required intervention and which were just base level for any Calvetti....no guarantee Luke stuck to that though."
PHOENIX
Since she arrived at the gym, the witch had been making sure everything was ready to go for both her classes as well as the few she was subbing in for Luke while the other was still on leave. It wasn't until she doublechecked for the tenth time did she re-emerged from the rooms.. only to find Rikke and Brax (and the kids) all standing there.
She smiled at the sight, seeing Tomi being lifted up into the air - despite the small frown on the kid's face. "While Luke might help keep Lyra away from the kids, we all know that it's pretty hard to actually keep her from anything." She gave her 2 cents, "I know I've already failed at it more than enough times since the tour." From the pattern, Nix would say that Tomi will get upset either way if he tried to take her home again but she refrained from actually voicing that.
RIKKE
Rikke turned at the sound of the familiar voice, having honestly lost track of the witch once they'd managed to actually arrive at the gym. Nodding in agreement, she said, "Far be it from me to really think my input matters all that much, what with being the one with the least 'Lyra Experience', but I think if manage to get Erin and Tomi down to the basement, you and Teagan should be able to at least keep her corralled upstairs. Especially since she's constantly forgetting Teagan is human and she's a _wolf_." The paladin was still hesitant to allude to being part of the family as she wasn't sure who all knew what or even how the family would feel.
BRAXTON
He grinned at the sounds of that. "As long as Teg is there, I think we have a better chance. So off to the cabin we go!" He slid Tomi back into her spot. "I'll be right back." He looked over to Nix and then around to see if Aleja was also here. "If anything comes up, you can call me - I'll speed back." He nodded as he slipped back into his office to get the kids back into their respective seats. "Okay, I swear I'll be back as soon as I can - I honestly think that if I run into Keg, she'll never let me take Sky so Tomi might.. have... to stay with her for a bit..." He would rather if Tomi stayed with him, but he just wanted her to be happy especially since he hadn't really been there for her the first time around.
Since leaving home earlier, he was almost impressed with how fluent his actions were of getting the babies in and out of the car and then into the stroller. "Okay.. Let's hope that Lyra's not the one opening the door - she may be the only one who can hear us right now.. Well, and Luke can probably sense T, ain't that right?" He poked the babies all in the tummies.
TEAGAN
Teagan had most definitely not been expecting to just see a mass of light disappearing before his eyes when he walked back into the living room. “I legit I just left for less than a minute to grab a drink,” he groaned. He may be on ‘Lyra Duty’ for the most part, but he was also on ‘Spooky Duty’ per the Calvetti Agents.
His attention was refocused the second he saw Lyra pull the most quintessential wolf move and perk up her head to signal someone approaching. “_I’ll_ get the door, Erin I know you said you’d rather not, but feel free to use magic if you have to,” he said referring to Lyra being kept at bay. Opening the door just as the first few knocks came, he beamed and said, “Hey! Come in, come in. Let’s warm the kiddos up.”
BRAXTON
"Teggggg, my man - am I glad to see you." He grinned as he rolled the stroller in. "Let me tell you, the babies were hype to get out - I don't know if they were just hype to see someone else other than me, or just in general." He laughed before getting the babies all out of their seats. "I even got this thing from Rikke earlier and it's a lifesaver, like you wouldn't believeeee. Helps me carry all the babies. Where's Erin?" He was already looking around because one more second of not seeing the girlfriend, one more second of Tomi being upset."
TEAGAN
He wasn’t surprised in the least when Brax replied and then just kept the verbal train going. Teagan focused on helping him get the strollers inside without incident instead, honestly happy, after the last week, to see that some things really _did_ stay the same after all.
Not even the last question was enough to faze him, given that Keagan had had _a_ time trying to get Skylar out the door this morning without too many tears. “Oh, living room. It’s also where we’ve got seemingly the entirety of the Target baby section, so we can get the other three sorted out too,” he said with a wink as he led them over.
BRAXTON
"Erinnnn!" He called out as he made his way towards the living room. The way his eyes lit up at the sight of the witch - and definitely for different reasons than Tomi, "There you are." He grinned as he held the kid towards the kid, "She missed you - and Sky - a lot, but I haven't stopped by the station yet.. so here we are!" He rambled on even after handing over his daughter.
He then went over to see what Luke (Because it's most likely Luke) got for the babies, and indeed, it really did look like he was at Target right now with the amount of things in this room. "Oh wow, Okay. Let's.. get the kids settled first." The beta wolf started getting each baby out of their strollers. "Look guys, look at allll the toys we have here - and clothes - How much stuff did you guys get??"
ERIN
As a familiar voice rang out, calling out her name, the witch wasn’t quite as surprised as she would’ve been by the same action two days ago. Getting to her feet she smiled and headed in the man’s direction, meeting him part-way, her own arms outstretched and ready to scoop up her brunette tiny. “Oh love,” she cooed as the girl immediately nuzzled into her neck, “I’ve missed you too. Sky’s only been kept pacified by the fact she has her two-“ Erin caught herself, and pivoted her statement, “-uh, _aunts_ from out of town and her uncle to keep her busy.”
She smiled once more and took Tomi to sit on the couch with her. After a few minutes of focusing her attention on one of her two best girls, she glanced up and laughed lightly at the question. “Luke wound up at Target unsupervised so…not entirely sure.”
BRAXTON
"I guess Tomi is going to stay here until Sky comes home.." On that note, he wasn't even sure if he could bring Tomi back to his place again. Braxton took out a stuffed animal that caught his eyes and held it up against one of the babies. "Look, this is literally bigger than all of you." He chuckled, holding it in place so that it doesn't accidentally fall on the mini twins.
"Well, you guys are for sure bound to have everything then. Definitely don't need to worry about missing something." He laughed, ""I'll have to go back to the gym eventually.. but I don't know if Tomi even wants to leave with me." He pointed out considering just how much Tomi was nuzzling into Erin - opposite of how she was with him last night.
LYRA
Lyra had been compliant for the majority of this visit, so far. She'd had plenty of opportunity to start making remarks the second she heard the familiar truck making its way up the drive. but she had refrained. Even managed to remain tightlipped when the Tomi practically lounged at Erin like her own father was on fire...but there was only so much restraint she could muster, even _if_ she was currently distracted by playing with the other babies. "I mean, it's not like the girl was living with you _before_ she was a bab- eeee!"
The wolf rubbed at the spot where Teagan had elbowed her. "What? I'm just stating facts. Besides, we've established that they've managed to retain at least some form of their usual memories. Clearly their likes, dislikes, and wants etcetera are all still there. On the other hand, she _is_ still a baby so technically can't put up much of a physical fight if you wish to take her with you." It was almost laughable to see the baby in Erin's arms whip their little head around and give her a proper glare.
BRAXTON
Despite all the shenanigans Lyra was always up to, she had a point most of the time - surprisingly enough. This time was one of those times. Brax kept his eyes on the babies who were tugging on the stuffed animal in his hands. "I can't believe I'm saying this but Lyra's right.." He looked up to give Teg a smile for his effort to shut her up. "T's home is here with Erin and Sky after all, and it's real shitty of me to take her with me just because she's a baby now." At the glare, Brax pointed towards the kid, "See - she definitely doesn't want to go back with me so really, the only choice is to let her stay here?"
He groaned as he scooted back a bit so that his back could hit the couch, "Honestly, I don't know what would be the right thing to do. Because they're still babies so technically that sounds very irresponsible of me to just leave her here despite.. all the preparation that Luke did to literally house everyone's kid at this point."
TEAGAN
Teagan swiftly placed a hand over Lyra's mouth before she could continue to provide her input. "It's not something that comes with any kind of instruction man. There's no real precedent for young folks reverting to babies, much less for them to still retain their knowledge of being older. I think that as long as each one of them is safe and well-cared for, there's no real right or wrong answer. Even if that kid's glare would have you thinking otherwise," he joked. "Ultimately, she's your daughter, and your move is rooted in her best interest, so even if she's upset it won't last forever." At least he hoped.
LYRA
Lyra only wiggled out of Teagan’s grip after he assured the beta wolf that he’d be forgiven eventually. “Buddy, even though I haven’t personally been here to be eye witness to all of this but I’m pretty sure that it’s not the first time Tomi slept somewhere else *away* from Sky - maybe a first from Erin since they’ve started dating but ya know, I’m sure they’ll understand since they’re just babies so really, there’s nothing to be moping over about. Maybe.” She chuckled as she gone over to the other babies and picked one up. “Escape from Braxie!” She almost squealed as she took a few steps back away from said man. “Oh these little nuggies! Knowing how tall the Bean gets, I’m going to enjoy the time I have now when you’re all smaller than most of us.”
ERIN
The witch couldn't help but feel guilty about this in some way. Here was Brax, getting a second chance to be with his daughter as a baby and she herself was in some way, even if completely unintentionally, preventing him from getting that same pure joy out of it that Keagan was clearly getting. "I think it's just a matter of me having a wee talk with this one like I did with Sky this morning. So much has happened in the last week alone that I'm sure the idea of being out of each others' sight for too long can be a source of anxiety, and with them being tiny babies, they can't right process it all. But much like when they were teenagers, Tomi was able to manage her time between being with me or sky and being with her siblings, it's no different now." She glanced down at the baby to make sure her point got across.
Glancing over at Lyra at the antics she said, "Sky's always said that Miles outgrew you early on, so it might not last long."
BRAXTON
He gave the young witch a small nod, not going to hold high hopes because Braxton already half expected Tomi would rather stay at the ~~Mansion~~ Cabin. With the remaining twins, he dangled toys above them to attract their attention. "It didn't take any of them - except Sky - to outgrow you, Lyr. Your only hope was and still is Sky. Enjoy it while it lasts." He snorted. "Where is Luke?" It was odd not seeing her around to greet the kids at least. And him. Mostly the kids though.
TEAGAN
It took speed he didn't know he possessed but he managed to get to Lyra before she made a move to attack Braxton with on of the many stuffed animals in arm's reach. "I would think that as the Beta of a whole wolf-pack you'd have a bit more tactical knowledge about launching attacks on the enemy's home turf," he managed before setting Lyra back down on the couch. "Luke was here but then suddenly orbed out somewhere. My best guess is that she's either with Keagan and the girls or with Rikke and the paladins somewhere."
BRAXTON
"I'm just speaking the truth." He raised his hands in defense, "Did you forget their growth spurts? Like sky rocketed - it's like one year they were all beans, and the next they were... not." He chuckled at the memory when all the adults noticed that the gap in height was getting more noticeable by the year. "Oh.. Just now? I literally was with Rikke before I came here. See, I really would've stopped by the station but I also like.. 4 kids, and Keg has 2 so that'd be.. 6 kids at the station - that's a lot of kids."
LYRA
She managed to wrestle herself free from Teagan, and made her way to sit properly on the couch. It was to give the impression that she understood and would behave, but really it was just so she could get some space and head start in case she had to run at some point. All for the sake of providing some honesty to these people. She should be sanctified for her work, really. Glancing down at Braxton she simply stated, "That was one very longwinded way of saying you're scared of my sister."
BRAXTON
"Yes. I am scared of your sister. She has been kicking my ass since I was born." Brax admitted without missing a bit. It wasn't news at all. Who doesn't Keagan scare?? He has been SO glad that Luke's been around to act as a buffer for the most part - he prayed for his brother when said buffer was out of commission. "I also don't want to interrupt their time together! The fact that she took them to work when the cabin still had so many people says it all."
LYRA
"EXCUSE ME! Are you implying that a house that isn't even _yours_ is crowded?? Like, have you seriously just demonstrated the gall to have the _nerve_ to even suggest that my presence is a detriment to my sister's ability to bond with her babies and her baby-daddy?!" It took a full ten seconds of silence and a look at the faces Teagan and Erin were sending her way for Lyra to realize something within her little rant may have been TMI...but she couldn't really be bothered to figure out what just now. She was far too offended by Braxton's words.
BRAXTON
He held his hand up in defense while Lyra went off on him. And then silence followed.. Which then Brax had to rewind back a little to process what the younger Calvetti said. "I didn't say you were a detriment to Keg bonding with her babies and he... " He paused, looking *very* confused, "... But doesn't Keg hate Dick's guts? There's no way she'd want to *bond* with him especially when his bum is all the way in ja-" His eyes narrowed as he looked over to the other people in the room. "Am.. I missing something?" After a short pause, his eyes slowly widened almost as comically as Joey Tribbiani did in Friends. "............Who's the baby daddy?"
TEAGAN
There wasn't a real way around this, and it sucked that even though it wasn't something to be ashamed of, it was unique enough that it still had to be somewhat of a secret. _Especially_ given the fact that by telling Brax who the 'baby daddy' was, they'd be -by extension- providing him with a lot more of Keagan's private information than he believed the woman would ever be okay with him knowing from someone that wasn't directly her. As Erin excused herself to give the babies diaper changes -magic worked wonders in carrying four babies- he turned to glare at Lyra with narrow eyes before simply stating, "We're going to say me for now, and you can either take it at face value or venture to ask Keagan face-to-face as that's really more _her_ business to share than ours."
BRAXTON
"....O....kay..." He didn't really know what was going on but if Teg said don't pry, it's best that he didn't - especially when *Keagan* was involved. it was obvious that Teagan was *not* the father but he did not want to give her another reason to beat his ass when she scared him enough already. And as curious as he ever was, his survival instinct was enough to stop him. "No mentioning in front of Keg.. got it.." He made the action of zipping his lips. "Uh.. Babies. Do you think Erin needs help?"
LYRA
"The way she managed to easily slip her way out of this conversation leads me to believe she's fine," Lyra piped up, not looking the least bit affected by the fact _she_ was technically the cause of the conversation taking an awkward turn. "Besides, she's well practiced in the art handling multiple things with only two hands." If the grin now on her face was anything to go by, she was actually _glad_ to have managed to make the conversation even more awkward.
BRAXTON
Although he had known Lyra for most his life, the woman had quite the talent to make someone go speechless. "I don't... Teg.. You have such a skill." He turned over to his buddy with new appreciation all over again because he was literally the only person who could handle little Calvetti. "I.. don't really have much of a plan for today other than going to work - which I don't think is the case anymore.... so you guys don't mind if we uh.. chill here until maybe Izzy comes home?"
RIKKE
There had been little reason for her to stick around the gym after her usual workout was completed and, with her shift at the station not set to start until late in the evening, it seemed like the most logical choice to just orb back to the cabin. The paladin hadn't really bothered to think too much about what she may or may not come back to, but the sight of the Beta on their floor while Teagan acted as a human shield between him and Lyra was...about as expected as one could get in this place.
"I can only speak as a guest, but I don't see Lucas having an issue if you decide to hang out here. If anything, I think she might prefer it so she can bring Skylar back and keep her from wanting to try and fight people due to lack of Tomi."
BRAXTON
"I guess we'll stick around until they come back" He pulled out his phone to shoot Izzy a message about their whereabouts. The throuple were literal magnets, can't and shouldn't be pulled apart for any reason and he was making the effort to *not* add onto the list of asshole-y things he had already done - whether it was intentional or not. Shooting out the text quickly, he took a proper seat on the couch once he was partially sure that little Calvetti wasn't going to destroy his ankles. "...I should tell Aleja that I'm not heading back in for the day.."
RIKKE
"Oh I think she figured that one out on her own already," Rikke shot at him as she took a seat on the floor and begin to do some light post-workout stretches. "I was exiting the showers on my way here when I saw her talking with your sister, and it seemed they were discussing how they would address the two classes you had left today. I'm not really big on the whole eavesdropping thing, by the way, your sister is just really, _really_, loud."
BRAXTON
"Oh. I-Okay.." It wasn't his intention to leave everything without even a warning, but it seemed that they expected as much when he walked out of there with all four kids. The faerie and those who covered his shift needed a raise for putting up with him. "Right..so I guess they're not really expecting me back - I should really figure out my own schedule. I did not anticipate coming over this early."
RIKKE
"I am far from one to have much experience in childcare, but as a Paladin I _do_ have experience with magic being temperamental and doing all sorts of things," she began, "So in all honesty, I have zero idea as to why you all chose to try and go back to any semblance of your normal routines _one_ day after your teenage and young-adult offspring reverted back to infancy. We ourselves," she said meaning the Paladins, "haven't fully disconnected from the 'hive-mind' -as Lyra calls it- since it began, in the hopes of finding everything we can. I mean, no offense, but how dangerous would it be for you to be in the midst of crossing traffic with four babies hanging off you, only to suddenly have them become four _almost full adults_ instead?"
BRAXTON
Brax didn't know if it was meant to be a rhetorical question or not but he opted not to answer it. Everyone was apparently a workaholic, including him, but also didn't want to leave the kids alone. However, Braxton did feel a bit embarrassed when Rikke pointed out the situation. "I guess we were a bit too excited to experience things that we've never done nor were we capable of the first time around.. so our priorities are a little.. out of order." And given their positions now compared to back then, Braxton didn't know if it was harder or not to stay away for too long - they didn't even know how long the kids were going to stay like this. "I'm starting to think I'll need to make daily visits..." A daily dose of Sky and Erin for Tomi. Braxton must admit that he was incredibly glad that the Dawsons were staying over at their place because Sean got to see Ryllie majority of the time.
RIKKE
The man's words led to a sad smile, that she of course proceeded to try and hide with the help of her stretching. She had spent so much time prioritizing being a Paladin above everything else, that now that her own true memories were back, it was easier to fall back into that role than to try and view and process the world through the lens of the woman that she had been before... Even now, upon hearing him, it was certainly true that if given the chance herself, she'd have opted to spend every waking second with her son. "It's understandable to want to take advantage of the time, but we would prefer that it be done safely. In all honesty we're all trying to figure out if maybe there's a centralized location where we can have all affected families stay so we can keep a collective eye on all the affected kids at once, but that's still something we're working through." Rikke figured such a plan would also help with the groups of kids that wanted to be together at all times...even now.
BRAXTON
"As much as I would love to have them over at our place.. I have a feeling that it will most likely be held at the Radcliffe's - Lowkey surprised that Leo hadn't already magicked up a room or - a floor because let's be real, I wouldn't be surprised with what she can pull off - and designate it as the new daycare center." It'd be nice to have the kids all together in one spot so that they didn't have to go from house to house. This might just turn into one big sleepover at some point if they really wanted. "I'm glad that you have the brain cells right now." He joked - not really - because clearly no one really had it. With that, the beta wolf got off the couch and decided to see how Erin was doing with the kids. "Hoooow's the kiddos? Bet you're all giving her an easier time than y'all did with me."
It didn't seem reasonable to bring the babies to the station when there was suitable babysitters literally at home right now. However Keagan could not bring herself to leave them behind once again even if they did keep both Luke and her away all night. So she just waltz straight into her office with them without batting an eye towards all the stares she was most likely receiving from the rest of the crew.
With her babies set up next to her, Keagan quickly got to work to catch up on everything she had missed - vacation be damned. With her attention alternating between her babies and her work, she didn't even look up at the door when she heard the knock. "Are you here for me or the babies?"
ANDY
It was odd to walk into the station and see a flurry of activity that was less 'crisis' and more 'gossip'. It was even more odd to walk towards her temporary office and note that the door was already open, but as she made her way up to the doorway both of her unvoiced questions were answered at once. Mick _had_ warned her that Keagan was likely to not go a single week without at least one visit to the office, so that part was almost expected.
The babies to her side though? Not quite as much. Even _if_ Leo had opted to take hers in for a staff meeting the very next day after they reverted, she would've expected more...uh..._maturity?_ from the actual Chief Deputy. Or maybe she was just unaccustomed to parents caring that much for their kids... "Uh, technically neither. But since you're here, I suppose we can talk shop and what not."
KEAGAN
Recognizing it as Andy's voice, Keagan looked up and motioned to the chair across from her, "Sure, have a seat. I know, I'm not supposed to be here yet." But taking a month off just mean there was a lot ot catch up on in the first day back - that was not ideal for her. "I'm sure you have everything handled." And Mick hadn't called her or anything so it was safe to say that .. all was well, for now.
A squeal came from her side and Keagan turned over to see Sky latching herself onto her sister like a koala. "Baby.." She chuckled softly, "Loosen your grip a little. Your sister is right here, no need for that death grip." Keagan uncharacteristically pulled out her phone and took a picture of it before sending it to Luke. "Okay, we can start. What have I missed?"
ANDY
It was one thing to ignore the scent of an infant. After all, as Quin and Ripley had come to help her figure out, it turns out scent may be how regular vampires hunted but, it was far from how _bezerkers_ did. They relied far more on the sense of sight, being able to rely on it to lead them directly to a bloodsource like a laser. Or, well, more like a shining beacon.
As such, Andy felt confident in being able to maintain her composure as long as she maintained eye-contact on her boss...?... but all it took was the squeal to have her snapping her head in the direction of the babies and the brightness with which they shone had a dull ache starting up in the pit of her stomach. Losing quite a bit of her confidence, she opted to just smile and say, "It's fine, there's not a lot of sensitive information to discuss and if you're setting up shop for the day, I'll probably be heading back to the hotel soon." She did her best to keep her tone light, but she already knew eyes were bound to have betrayed her.
KEAGAN
While she knew Andy wouldn't do anything to harm her babies, her maternal instinct to protect flared - with her own eyes glowing as well. She managed to hold back her growl but still moved to put her body in the line of sight.
"I think it'd be in our best interest that we can hold this converstion off for another day - Or I could read it off a report unless there's something that requires my attention right now but I'm sure you probably had everything handled and I'm just.. unintentionally micro-managing." She admitted.
ANDY
"I may not be someone who grew up in this town with the rest of you guys, but I think it's still fair to say that there's very _little_ that you ever do without _intention_." The observation was less on the micro-managing, and more about how the woman eased her way between her and the babies. Not that Andy could blame her. She often still wondered how Leo could trust her as much as she did...
"I can definitely have a report to you by no later than COB today," she added, being suddenly very happy for the sound of an incoming visitor -well, visitor_s_ but Andy was sure the other person was being brought down to the office against their own wishes. "I'll see you _next week_," she said cheekily before heading off and simply nodding a greeting at the giddy lab technician dragging a confused -and unamused- medical examiner.
NIKITA
When she heard from others that Chief Deputy brought her baby twins to work, Nikita was bound to visit as soon as she could. Not wanting to get scolded by her however, she quickly worked on a good portion of her wok for this morning.
Without question, she dragged Kyle along with her the first chance she got. Using the moment Andy walked out to slip into Keg's room, she was literally shaking with excitement that if she weren't careful, her ears would pop out. "Oh my gosh, look at them!!"
KYLE
Kyle considered herself very lucky. The morgue had it's own entrance out the back of the station, that was mostly meant to afford her the ability to meet the delivery of any bodies to the loading ramp and into her 'office', but that she had been using to avoid the vast majority of her co-workers since....ever. As such, she didn't have a way of knowing that Nikki would be bounding into her office and then immediately dragging her off in the pure midst of some rolling waves of murmuring.
"I could have been elbow deep in someone's chest cavity." The words were barely above a whisper and honestly said to no one in particular as she knew well Nikki would _not_ be paying attention. When they got the Chief Deputy's office and she heard faint gurgles and babbles, Kyle peeked in to see what Nikki was so excited over. "Oh...those aren't cats."
NIKITA
"Nope, n-no cats. But l-look! Babies! Twins. Oh my god, they're so cute." She was vibrating on the spot with excitement. The only reason why she hadn't already gone up to play with the twins was because Keagan hadn't said anything yet and she didn't want to scare the babies - although she was told that they did retain their memories.
"K-Kyle.." She whispered, "They're so tiny..." The moment Keagan told her that she could approach only if she got her work done, Nikita already got in close. "Their hands.. oh my gosh, I .. i think they're smaller than my panda hands..." She was so tempted to shift right then and there.
KYLE
"Infants feel rather out of place in midst of a sheriff's station," she stated. Granted, it was she herself who felt out of place around infants. Or really children in general. She'd never really dealt with them, even when she was one herself.
Unlike Nikki, who immediately made her way over to the babies, Kyle opted to just watch them from afar. Not only would she not really know what she was meant to do with them if she engaged, but what if she did something wrong? They were her superior's children. Granted she didn't get much time to ponder this when a bright light filled the room and a woman materialized out of it. "Glistening..." she whispered, a look of deep curiosity already on her face. "_What_ is that?" she asked Deputy Benson with no preamble or concern for the fact the other woman was clearly still very much right there.
KEAGAN
She watched as Nikki get giddy over her children, and honestly, she understood because she was the same - in a less outwardly enthusiastic way. "Lucas." She greeted with a smile, having a feeling that she knew why the other orbed into the office. "That is Lucas."
She turned to the other, "Is it because I uh.. got a little angry? The babies are fine. There was just a little incident - sorted now though.... Wait, did you leave Lyra alone?" No matter how old her sister was, Keagan (and the rest of the family) still believed she needed supervision.
LUKE
She had honestly tried as hard as she could to ignore the sudden ‘flare up’ she’d sensed from Keagan, but when she received no word after two whole minutes, Luke just opted to pay a little visit. “Hi. I’m a Lucas…that’s about the only _certain_ ‘what’ I can answer right now,” she introduced.
She was in the process of nodding to answer Keagan’s first question, before then shaking it at the second. “Teagan and Erin are at there. Erin’s in charge, so what was the incident?”
KEAGAN
"I think this will be a common occurrence for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, you won't accidentally orb in front of someone who has no idea about supes." She lifted their twins into her arms and walked over to Luke.
"I got a little overprotective, when I don't think I needed to be." Her eyes ventured over to the other two in the room. "Nikki, I know you'd want to play with the babies, but they might bite and we don't want to take any risks until we figure this out."
LUKE
“I…need to start working more with, what your boss has dubbed, the Fallcrest MENSA chapter. Need to figure out what I am before I can begin to work on control. Though for the record, I think for as many times as entire brain was scrambled about, the universe can allow me to wipe a few minutes from Mundy…_kidding_!”
Luke wanted to look somewhat repented, but having her girls back to being so close to her made that impossible. She could feel their giddiness at being at work with their mom after having work be the thing that kept her away for so long, it was hard not to keep a grin on her face even as she glanced back at Nikki. “Keg- uh, Deputy Benson is right,” she began, correcting herself as it clicked that folks outside the cabin-sphere weren’t quite up to date on…anything about their family. “You make too cute of a red panda to risk a werepup bite changing that.”
KEAGAN
"Mm, if there was anything to take from what Old Man Grey did, is that one should *not* mess with the memories." She sighed before her attention was also drawn over to the babies. "I'll be sure to let you know when the babies are asleep - but even then, I'd advise you to not get your fingers anywhere near Sky.. the kid uh.. tends to sleep-eat?" She chuckled at her own kid's antics. "You might be safer watching over Miles."
Keagan gave Sky a look because she could almost sense how affronted the baby was from her stare alone even if she didn't have a Paladin's power. "Yes, I'm talking about you, baby. You almost ate your sister's cheek, remember?"
KYLE
Though Nikki had managed a few words between pouting, the hunter hadn’t been able to look away from the tall redhead that had seemingly just appeared before them. Granted, at the mention of the babies having their powers and one being a biter, she did instinctively reach out to usher the shifter behind her.
“I thought the Nexus had only activated _three_ Paladins with charges in town?” Came the question without preamble. “Also, the last time we met you were one of the pack’s token _humans_…Wait, you mentioned Old Man Grey, does this have anything to do with Evan shimmering into the morgue the night of the invasion?”
KEAGAN
Her eyes looked over to Luke, wondering who should answer the question. "A lot had happened." Was the short answer. Keagan lifted both the twins up into her arms. How was she really going to work today when she was constantly distracted by her children.
"But as you can see, Lucas here can umm.. well, orb. A little too well in my opinion." The latter was meant to be a joke, seeing how she was only upset for a brief moment and she came over.
LUKE
Maybe it was the accent or lack of obviously discernible emotion in the woman’s voice, but being hit with rapid fire questions like that made Luke wince a little. It was rather authoritative and, the fact she had also just been full-named three times had her feeling like she was in trouble.
“Uh, I wasn’t personally at the meeting that led to Evan shimmering over -kind of got caught up _elsewhere_- but from what I know that had to do with something _mostly_ unrelated to me. When I have specifics about-“ she gestured to herself by running a hand up and down, “-_this_, I’ll be sure to fill ya in.”
NIKITA
Though Kyle had stepped in between her and the babies, Nikita still poked out from behind to watch the babies interact with their mom. She only heard off hand from others about how Keagan were often away when the twins were growing up so watching this interaction just had her absolutely beaming.
She could watch them all day but then, the conversation brought her attention back to reality, "...I..It sounds like a lot happened.. More.. More than we know of." From what they just saw, Luke obviously gained some supernatural powers even though a Paladin would have been their last guess. "... But it's nice to s-see you're walking around again."
LUKE
Luke, for reasons she didn’t wish to analyze at this very moment, had been expecting for Kyle to either argue with her over the matter or call her a liar or anything, really, _except_ that the young woman would just give her a nod and let it go. Taking her word at face value, apparently.
She turned her attention to the other woman currently peeking out from behind her protector, and managed a smile. “Thank you,” Luke replied, earnest appreciation clear. “I know it wasn’t exactly all on me, but I do feel pretty bad for having given folks a bit of a scare. I’m just glad the girls are safe and that Keagan won’t be scaring anyone else in town. At least on my behalf.”
KEAGAN
On her part, Keagan drew her attention away from her daughter once more to give Luke a small glare - one that easily implied that she wasn't offended by it. However, it was short-lived as she already turned to the other two in the room, "Kyle, could you please make sure Nikita gets her reports done? I do understand that the twins are adorable, but *work*, Nikki." She chuckled at the pout coming from the shifter, but Keagan already expected them to come by again later in the day again - maybe even a few times.
In a semi-sitting position, the Chief Deputy leaned back onto her desk. "It's been quite the morning, isn't that right, Miles?" She cooed before giving her a light peck to the forehead - which did earn a little whine from Sky.
LUKE
Luke just grinned in response to the glare she received, turning to look in the direction of the odd pair as they both agreed to Keagan’s requests and made their way out…for now. “Still can’t get over the fact those two are basically besties for the resties. I suppose there must be some truth to the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing,” she chuckled.
At the sight of Keagan interacting with the girls, Sky being contented when she got her own kiss, Luke smiled. Though it was short-lived as the older woman’s comment prompted her to ask, “So what actually constitutes this ‘incident’ that seems to have made your morning so long?”
KEAGAN
"I wouldn't say it was a long morning... Just unexpected?" She shrugged, "I must admit, it may have been my fault - I'm not supposed to come in since I'm still on leave. But Andy came in today." She was already wincing internally just remembering how she reacted. "Her eyes glowed at the sight of the twins, and I did not react well despite knowing she wouldn't do anything to harm them."
"I should go apologize to her when I see her later." She sighed, "Nothing really happened other than that - Do you think I overreacted? She didn't do anything and I believed that she wouldn't have done anything."
LUKE
Luke didn't even bother disputing the semantics of her statement, knowing that it would really do nothing at all except give Keagan's obvious attempt at stalling more fuel. She was proven right as Keagan found herself having to continue speaking and eventually wound up providing Luke with the details she needed. She let out a sigh of her own, before stating, "Well, first lesson here -which I'm sure will be completely ignored- is how we don't always need to be in places where we aren't _expected_." It was Luke's way of pointing out that if Keagan hadn't been micromanaging, this could've been avoided. "That one goes for me too, and learning to manage this orbing thing," she was quick to add.
Luke offered a sympathetic smile. "Do I think it was an overreaction? Yes, if you plan on sticking to the whole 'truly believing she wouldn't do anything' bit. But I think _any_ parent would've felt protective in that situation, and I'm sure Andy understands. Regardless, I conversation without babies around may be beneficial."
KEAGAN
"I'll .. try not to come in after today unless Mick calls me in. I just.. it's weird *not* to be working." She conceded eventually. This really had been her fault since she shouldn't have been here in the first place. "I'll find her afterwards - can't exactly call her back, now that she went to the hotel." She shifted Miles so that the baby was leaning into her complete as she gave the kid a hug. God, she did not ever want to let them go to the point that she was almost amazed that she managed to go back to her job all those years ago.
"Miles, I'm sorry but you're going to be trapped in a hug for the next little while." She spoke softly to the baby as she rocked slowly from side to side. "I can't get enough of this."
LUKE
"I'm no expert, but I think the fact that you legit can't help yourself from being at work...is in itself a sign that you have an unhealthy relationship with work." Luke knew full well the line of conversation she was following made her a giant hypocrite, but they'd have to work on one parent at time. "You spent so much of your time hiding in your work -as have I, I won't deny it- that it's become a personality trait. In your case, I think it might high time you take a step back and maybe consider what such a lifestyle has cost you and if the price is something worth continuing to pay."
Skylar was never one to be left behind in the cuddle department, so Luke had to do very little as the tiny ginger practically maneuvered herself to be held like her sister was. "I think after eighteen years with Sky as a sister, Miles is more than used to being trapped in a cuddle."
KEAGAN
"Hmm, yes.. I agree, I should take this time to.. be less of a workaholic." She had another chance with the twins, Keagan really shouldn't let this slip again. ".. but I'll have to at least stay here for today since I did just.. make Andy leave." She sighed as she thought about her actions again. "It wouldn't be fair for her to make her go back and forth. With her speed, I'm sure she's already at the hotel." She looked around her office before turning to her twins, "I'm definitely not willing to lose more time with my family.. I've been away for far too long. I know that.."
Keagan let out a soft sigh as she continued to nuzzle the baby. "They've been really good all morning, though I think it was because there were so many things capturing their attention. But, I think I can get wrapped up early so that you're not all stuck here with me."
LUKE
Luke listened as she spoke, but didn't make to actively provide much more input. "I don't think anything that comes out of my own mouth on the subject could truly be considered _objective_, but suffice it to say that I think Andy will appreciate you at least giving notice if you're going to be coming in on your days off," she quipped. Luke had always been careful not to overstep with regards to Keagan's career and her choice thereof, especially because she knew her input would always be biased and tinged by her own desire to have the woman close. She wasn't really one to take the fact they were now even closer as a family than they knew as an excuse to change that. Keagan would always be her own person.
"If memory serves me right, as long as they're together and they have something to keep them occupied, they'll be fine. Trouble will come if and when one of Miles' sensitivities is triggered, which will then upset Sky on her behalf, which leads to crying from Sky that is in itself a sensitivity for Miles, and it's a vicious cycle."
KEAGAN
"That.. is fair." She chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind for the next time, but the goal is for me *not* to come in altogether, wasn't it? Or at least that's what I *should* be doing.. especially since we've been given a second chance at this... " She watched as Sky cuddled with her other mother and it just brought a smile to her face. How she stayed away for so long was really a mystery because right now, there was barely anything that could pry her away from all her girls - she literally brought them to work with her, and would probably continue to do so if she didn't have vacation days either.
"I think they were very distracted by everything in my office for a little while because I wouldn't think paperwork is what appealed to them, and then Nikki came in with Kyle." She smiled, very amused to how Luke was so accustomed to their routine even years later.
LUKE
Luke walked over and wrapped her free arm around Keagan's shoulders, bringing her two other girls to form one big family cuddle. Partly because she knew the girls would enjoy it -especially Sky- but also somewhat selfishly for herself, because the last one had been while Luke was in a hospital bed. "I can't say that getting to enjoy such small luxuries as getting to hug all my girls at once is much more appealing in your office than it was in a hospital room, but it _is_ a step up," she remarked, before placing a gently kiss atop the brunette's head. "Habits are hard to break, but if you want something bad enough, I know for a fact that you will always find a way to get it."
Luke chuckled lightly and said, "As long as you remembered to bring the bag I packed you should be alright. It's all about finding the right balance with these two. Under or over stimulation is the enemy. Also, if they've retained a good chunk of their memories as teens, then they'll probably have tools of their own to not completely freak out on you. _And_ don't read too much into if if Sky babbles away and Miles doesn't even manage a 'mama'. It's not personal."
KEAGAN
As expected, once Luke engulfed them into one big family hug, Keagan saw Sky's little hand reach out to Miles. It was endearing to see those little digits trying to grip on the her sister's arm... Or hand, she couldn't really tell. "We'll just have to make sure the next time is at home, or just somewhere suitable." She turned to reciprocate the kiss, this time one for the lips. "This would be a good direction to go with."
"You've really mastered the balance of keeping *both* kids occupied at the same time thing. I must take a page out of that guide book." Really though, she was thankful the twins had Luke by their sides. All the times she lost for being away from family, she was going make up for them now. "When is Sky not babbling away?"
LUKE
Luke took note of the wriggling and shift the baby so it was easier for her to coordinate her tiny hand with its target. "Home is always an option, though depending on who else is home at the time, it may be less of a family hug and more of a family _pile up_," she noted. There would be zero way that Lyra would see them and not join in, at the very least. She smiled into the brief kiss and agreed. "Well the girls certainly seem to be taking to it well, all things considered. I'll be the first to admit I wasn't entirely sure how receptive they would be to the idea of us a family unit. I knew they loved me as their _aunt_, that was a given, but nothing is ever guaranteed and all that jazz."
Luke could only laugh lightly at the comment. "This is _technically_ my second go around. At least this time I know that to avoid hours of fussiness and crying, I should make sure clothes have no tags, and Sky is always within arm's reach of her sister." The way Keagan's comment made the babbling redhead stop dead, was enough to make Luke laugh as she gave the kid a squeeze and kissed her head. "It's okay, Chicken Strip, you just have opinions."
KEAGAN
"Home is a good option - even better if Teg is there to hold Lyra back. Bless him for being the only one who can keep Lyra from.. most things." Keagan used her free hand to take sky's other hand, absolutely melting at how small that hand was compared to hers. "Luke, I'm pretty sure you're literally their favourite person. Isn't that right, girls?" She pointed the question towards the twins, giving both another kiss. Keagan was already holding back herself from giving both the babies an onslaught of kisses. Maybe later.
"Sky needs to be in arm's reach of at least *someone*. When is she ever alone?" She laughed at the stare the baby was giving her. "Yeah, I'm talking about you." She continued to tease before giving her little cheek a gentle squeeze." Her smile never dropped as Luke assured her that there was nothing wrong with her babbling away. It was almost comical how abruptly Sky stopped talking, "I'm kidding, you know I love hearing what you think. Babble away, Sky."
LUKE
“Teagan has quite a way with her. Whether Lyra ever comes around to realizing that it’s probably for a reason well…I mean it did take _you_ a while to figure out why for the Christmas Miracle in October,” she teased. Her smirk eased into a timid smile as Keagan mentioned being the twins’ favorite person, anxiety spiking a bit when she actually asked the kids directly. “I think I could live with them implying I’m not their favorite if it meant their actual favorite person is their mother,” she began before slightly furrowing her brow, “Well, their original mother, you know _you_….I’m going to stop talking.”t? It was a small price to pay.
KEAGAN
"Well.. Unlike us, they *did* date at some point." She rolled her eyes at the mention of the Christmas Miracle in October, the incident that everyone was now *very* certain as to why it happened in the first place. Her brows only went up higher in amusement as Luke tried to explain that she was fine if Keg was the kids' favourite, but failing to actually say so. "It's not a competition, Luke, besides I'm not their only mom as you pointed out."
Keagan's eyes rolled again - this time less playfully than the last, "That hadn't changed over the years. No one wants to be around him. For good reasons." However, with the sight of her babies, nothing could faze her right now. The sight of the two of them together, especially with Sky trying her best to latch onto her sister just kept the smile on her face. "I should really wrap up here so we can spend the rest of the day together, how does that sound, girls? Hm?" She said this yet she did not budge from her spot. "Just who do you two take over, hm? Being so cute."
LUKE
"Yeah, and it was _Lyra_ who called it quits and hasn't really gotten around to giving it another go," Luke replied. Teagan could take care of himself and had never been one to need anyone to fight his battles, but every once in a while, Luke felt the protective sister streak. Now wasn't the time to delve too much into it, but she knew first-hand what it was like to be the one waiting and she'd hate that to be her brother. "Isn't _everything_ a competition for a Calvetti?" she said cheekily.
"Luckily he was hardly ever the one holding them anyhow, so it's not like it was a common occurrence. These little bits spent most of their time with Aunt Ook," she provided, with a small smile, hoping to ease some of the worry she knew would rear itself at the mention of Richard. Turning Sky around in her arms just enough to allow her to actually manage to latch onto her sister, she simply laughed. "I think as long as they're together and have at least one of us around, they could care less about the venue," she pointed out. The latter question made her snort as she said, "Well, you keep saying that _you_ are so _not_ cute, so...I suppose that just leaves one other option," Luke glanced down at the girls and said, "They get it form their _daddy_." The eruption of giggles was more than enough confirmation that they were indeed in on the joke.
KEAGAN
"Are you going to try and knock some sense into her then? Lyra also has the same Calvetti stubbornness but surely she's aware that Teg's the only one she listens to... sort of. She listens to him way better than to any of us at least." The whole 'Lyra forgetting she's a wolf especially when Teg's involved' was always amusing to her. "*Some* things don't have to be a competition. This is one of them."
Keagan could not express enough just how thankful she was about Luke being in her life, in the twins' lives. "He was probably trying to impress someone." Because that felt like something he'd do. Bonding with the kids? As if. Instead of focusing on the asshole, she just watched as Sky interacted with Miles. "Well, nothing changed over the years. Now she's even got 2 girlfriends stuck to her side." She gently nudged the taller woman with a groan, "Don't ever say that around Lyra." She snorted, "But yes, I thought we already confirmed that. Mini-Me's and all."
LUKE
Luke paused for a moment before answering. "I suppose not. I mean, it's not like it's something that's out of my reach or anything, but it's not really any of my business. They're both still my best friends and neither has broached the subject with me, so it would be overstepping to do so," she admitted, albeit reluctantly. "Which, incidentally, is what I had to remind myself of this morning when I saw Nix and Rikke heading off to the gym together..."
She groaned at the memory. "Usually he was just trying to get under my skin by reminding me he was the actual parent and I was just a quote "glorified nanny" for the girls." Saying these things out loud to someone else really did highlight just how not right her family's actions towards her were...yikes. Luke could only chuckle at the thought of Skylar having wound up with two girlfriends, "Sometimes there's too much love for just one person." At the mention of saying this around Lyra, her face fell slightly. "This is why we can't have nice things," she grumbled. "They're mini-_us_. The sum of the best of both of us...and some of the not so best too," she laughed.
KEAGAN
"Maybe dad will do it without us prompting it, and *maybe* by then, he'll stop trying to push *you* to her." Keagan snorted, remembering all the times Jarrett kept bringing the topic up. Her brows went up with curiosity. "As long as you weren't going to tease Nix, the girl has enough of that from Lyra. I wouldn't be surprise if Rikke's opinion of my sister is getting lower and lower by each encounter."
Her eyes flashed briefly at the reminder of how much of an asshole that man was. The audacity of him doing all the things he had done will always make her blood boil. But this is not the time for that. She was surrounded by her favourite people in the world, and that really was all she should be focusing on. "Enough about him. I'll say it again and a gain, I'm glad you were there for our girls because there's no question where all that love comes from. It's a good thing she's found people to share all that love with." She chuckled, "They're literally a good blend of us, aren't they?" That thought was always on her mind as she watched the girls grow up, it was very entertaining to see what traits they took from which parent.
LUKE
"I think he really just wanted me in the family," she remarked, a smirk firmly in place. "I'm almost certain that considering how much of her life has been spent in stasis, Lyra is proving to just be a really fascinating specimen for Rikke. Though I do wish Lyra would lay off a bit. Nix is like the only friend she's managed to make on her own and honestly she really cares about her, so if Lyra keeps making it awkward and Rikke loses that, I'm gonna be like, totally not happy with her."
A sheepish look crossed her features as she glanced down at the pair, a dopey grin on her face as she admitted, "This one night, like a week after you found out you were pregnant, I came home and found you sleeping on the sofa. My sole intention in even walking over to you was just to put the blanket off the back of the couch over you but," she paused realizing she was rambling, "Anyway, basically I ended up crouching and just staring at where your belly was for I don't even know how long, and I promised that if whoever was making their way to this world via you made it all the way, safe and sound, _I_ would make sure that they remained safe and sound out here."
KEAGAN
Keagan almost snorted at that understatement. The whole family wanted Luke in the family the moment they *met* her, even Lyra literally adopted her the first day. "She'll lay off at some point - especially if she knows Nix is genuinely upset over it. She may be a pain in the ass, but she would not want to make Nix mad.. or cry."
Keagan smiled, "That's very sweet of you. And I can't thank you enough for keeping to it especially when I wasn't around. These two got to grow up, becoming the amazing women they are today. I do regret that I missed out on so much, but hey.. something good came from the seals breaking for once.. gave everyone a second chance.." She raised Miles higher so she could press her cheeks against the tinnnny little baby cheek. "I don't know what I was thinking back then, I can barely let go of them right now. Coming into work was a bad idea - I don't even know what i'm going to do if the twins aren't back by the time I officially have to go back to the office."
LUKE
Luke nodded, but her face remained concerned. "I know that Lyra would never do anything to actually cause someone she cares about to be upset, _on purpose_. The problem is that Lyra very often doesn't realize she's gone too far until it's already happened." Just off the top of her head, Luke could already recall some disaster blind-dates that wound up causing the girls to be more upset than Luke herself.
Luke tightened her hold on the shorter woman and once again rested her head atop the others. "We were all legitimately different people back then. Our choices were made based on the experiences we'd had up until that point. The old saying does go 'hindsight is twenty-twenty' for a reason," she chuckled. "Besides, the girls turned out to be the amazing young women they are because of _you_ as well. Your time with them while growing up, may have been limited and not as consistent as one would've liked, but it was impactful. A true example of quality over quantity." Luke laughed at Keagan's antics, and how Miles' face practically screamed 'great. my mother's an older version of my sister'. "I'm sure that _if_ that becomes an issue, we'll find a way to make it work. Nikki seems rather keen on helping you with childcare."
KEAGAN
"Yes.. I do know that very well. I can only say that I can try to make sure she doesn't tease Nix too much - and hopefully Teg can reel her in enough to give the two their peace. Sending her back to mom isn't really a threat anymore so we'll need to figure something else out."
What Luke was saying held a lot of truth, and nothing could be done now that everything's in the past. "It's not as if I'd change anything if it meant the girls turning out being who they are now." She sighed, "Whatever we did, it turned out for the good." She chuckled before turning to give her kid another kiss to the cheek before quickly giving Sky one too so that the older twin didn't feel left out. "Okay, do you want me to hand you over to Luke, Miles? Your eyes are *screaming* for help." She laughed when she spotted the face the baby was pulling. "As long as the babies are not in the lab.. or the morgue, I suppose that could work out. And thankfully, we got rid of that pain the peach so we won't be exposing all his negativity to the kids."
LUKE
"Fingers-crossed," was all she could manage. There was no stopping a Hurnado, one just had to hope it decided to change directions. "Speaking of your mom, has anyone told her about the babies?"
Luke managed a small shrug and said, "I think even if we did change certain things, people will always find a way to be who they're meant to be no matter what. These girls would have been amazing with or without my involvement because they're just naturally amazing little people with good hearts. And a good heart will always get you very far in life." She chuckled at the hint of a frown on Skylar's face in the brief moment she believed she would not be getting a kiss like her sister. "Well, you may feel like this is a second chance for you to get to see them as babies, but clearly this is also a second chance for _them_ to get to enjoy having you around and wrapped around their tiny little fingers." She glanced at Miles and said, "I think she's just getting used to the idea of twice the physical contact. If she's not crying, she's not upset."
At the mention of the places Keagan didn't want the babies to go, Luke just said, "I actually think Miles would love to go to both of those." The mirth drained from her tone, however, at the mention of negative people around the kids. "They already had to deal with negativity the first time around as babies, I don't want _anyone_ even remotely distressing around them now."
KEAGAN
"....I'm sure Lyra already told mom and dad first chance she got - probably sent them several pictures. Who knows, maybe that will get them to take a flight back." She had no idea if her parents were actually going to visit but Keg would not be surprised if they show up at the door again. "...Or maybe she hadn't yet because mom hadn't texted me....I'll do it when we get home."
"Yeah.. they're good kids.. so good." She chuckled when Luke said that she was being wrapped around their little fingers. "Oh? And what is it that you girls think you're going to get away with? Hm?" She said this as if she hadn't been spoiling them already all these years. "Miles, I hope you get used to it soon because I don't think I will stop hugging you anytime soon." She smiled when she heard Sky let out a giggle. "Your sister thinks it's funny." She'd 'threaten' her other kid with hugs too but that might not be as much of an issue with this little one. If anything, Sky would probably welcome it.
"No babies in the morgue or labs." She repeated. "We'll deal with them before they get the chance to even step within proximity." Keagan pulled away and walked back around her desk to her chair. "Since I did unintentionally kick Andy out for the day.. I should at least wrap up this much." Nothing was going to stop her from hugging her child while she worked.
LUKE
"See, you're proving my concerns are valid even when the topic is different. You're first instinct was to think that surely Lyra had already told half the planet, because that's what Lyra does: She talks." Taking a moment to take a breath before she agitated Miles unintentionally, she then added, "Your mom's going to go off on you about the fact she and Jarrett were an 'afterthought' since they weren't told until a day after."
"What? Allowing them unrestrained access to the Chief Deputy's office isn't enough, you want them to test their luck and try something else? Because trust me, _they will_. Especially given that they're little brains are still technically working with some knowledge of their teenage ways," Luke warned. She would know firsthand just what this duo was capable of. "If you want Miles to give into the cuddles, you'll have to allow her at least one visit to the aforementioned morgue and labs. It's practically written already all over her face....Sky would very much _not_ like to join in on that part of the field trip."
It was at times like these, when she saw just what lengths Keagan was willing to go to in order to keep hold of Miles as she continued to work, that she wondered just _what_ was it about her assignments before that made it so seemingly easy for her to leave? But that would be a question for another day. "Would you like me to leave? I know you've no shortage help if you need it."
KEAGAN
"Okay, I get your point.." Perhaps the family had let Lyra get away with too much that the girl was a Hurrnado through and through. With that thought in mind, she decided that it may be a good idea to notify her mother even if Lyra already leaked the news. Using a photo she took of the four of them, she quickly sent it to Ianthe. "Let's try and quell one issue first.."
Keagan sighed, already feeling weak at the argument. It was expected that Miles would literally do the opposite of what they're told. "As long as they don't touch anything, I'm sure Nikki would love to give Miles a tour. Sky can stay with me if she doesn't want to go. Just.. don't touch anything, don't let Miles touch anything." She gave Miles a little bounce with her leg, "Okay? Don't grab anything in sight like your sister and we're good."
The Chief Deputy looked up from her file and actually hesitated. "I feel bad if I make you stay at my office of all places, but unless.. you want to help keep an eye on the babies?"
LUKE
Luke gave the older woman an unimpressed look. "Please, as if there has ever been a point in time in which I wouldn't want to help with these two," she said, already walking over to make the swap so Sky could stay with her while she and Miles went off to find Nikki and do some 'minor' exploring. "I told you I'd always have your back where the girls were concerned even before they were born, and I don't intend on waiting until finding out I'm _also_ responsible for them being here to go back on that. Even in the slightest." She dropped a quick peck to the woman's lips as she hoisted Miles back up with her. "Gotta keep it PG for the kids. Last thing I need is to have them go back to normal and then be surprised with some random song they co-wrote about parental trauma via PDA."
KEAGAN
The happy squeal Sky did when she was passed off to Keagan just had her chuckling softly. "Hey baby girl." Almost immediately, she showered her kiddo with kisses, which only resulted in more squeals. She then leaned up naturally for the kiss, slightly disappointed that it was so short. Sky let out yet another squeal from seeing her parents kiss. "I... think a song will be written regardless though." She sighed, knowing all the random songs that they've done.. that weren't released.. *yet*. "Are you visiting the lab? I'm less worried because Miles is less.. handsy but make sure she doesn't ..touch anything in there." While she was concerned about what the two might get into, Sky was distracting her so much when the baby started cuddling into her.
LUKE
"Seems someone was jumping at the bit to take advantage of her what her sister was clearly just tolerating. Man, I wonder who she gets that soft, cuddly personality from?" Luke would normally watch the teasing in public -much less Keagan's _work_ - but the children being between them made her a bit braver. "As long as they're nothing like _mine_....I uh, I think it'll be fine...it _should_ be fine..." She and Miles hadn't even moved a step away and the two shorter members of the crew already seemed to be in their own little cuddle bubble. The taller pair both turned to face each other at the same time, with only a shared nod as they began to head out. "Okay then, well we'll leave you guys to your _hard work_ and we'll go ahead and goexploreandtoucheverythingwelayeyesonkaybye." She was already half-way out the door when a sharp babble made her double back briefly.. "Binky," she gave of explanation.
NIKITA
Once Kyle and she were 'dismissed' from the Chief Deputy's office, much to her dismay, she had to return to her lab to finish up the reports she was working on. All this so that she could go visit the babies again once they wake up - hopefully. "T-they were just so cute.." She gushed again as she looked up from her microscope. "I just want to hold both of them, o-one on each side and just give.. give them the biggest hugs.. But.. I.. I don't think Miles would like that..." She chuckled softly before returning to the microscope, only to jot a couple of words before looking up again and the sound of the door opening. "Ooooooh b-baaaaby!"
LUKE
It wasn't terribly hard to find where she was meant to be going. The building itself wasn't huge -not like the police stations she'd been in while in Philly or Jersey city anyway- and everything was pretty clearly labeled. A bright smile took hold at Nikki's response to seeing Miles. It would always warm her heart to see how so many people genuinely cared for and wanted to have the girls around. Knowing the twins would always have a network of people to rely on had made the idea of moving back to Fallcrest an easy one in the end. _And_, it was also the driving force behind wanting to keep BH productions homed in town even as their popularity grew.
"We got a little restless, and while Sky is more than happy to just cling onto her mom like a ginger koala, Miles and I would very much appreciate a more educational look at things."
NIKITA
Nikita wasn't surprised at all about how a certain twin was glued to her mom. When was that girl *not* snuggling against someone? The shifter was confident enough to say that that kid was never left alone at any point in time since she never *seen* Sky alone, which was an amazing feat of its own. "E-Educational look? " Going back to the topic at hand, Nikki looked around her lab, wondering what she could or could not show. "I... Well.. Um.." She chuckled, "I.. I don't know if it's all that interesting.. Most of my time is waiting for test results." She motioned over to a small machine that was spinning a few test tubes in a circle.
KYLE
Kyle wasn't entirely sure if a civilian was really meant to be anywhere near this lab -let alone an infant- but, no one had bothered to question why most of her own time was spent in a lab that wasn't her own -once her work was done, of course- so she was not about to cause any ripple effects by bringing that up right now. Besides, as Nikki proceeded to guide the pair around the lab, she caught sight of the baby using some gestures she recognized as American Sign Language. "Huh... my mum taught me British Sign Language when I was a baby because she noticed I was still pretty nonverbal when I should be at least trying to speak." It was spoken as an observation, with her inflection not really giving much of anything away on her thought process behind said observation...as usual.
NIKITA
Nikita was pretty sure that if Luke made it all the way to the lab meant that Keagan gave permission - more or less. Surely Keagan knew they were here.. right? The specialist focused on explaining what she could about things in her lab before Kyle's comment got her attention. Honestly, the sight of Miles signing to her was incredibly adorable because her hands were *tiny*. The more she watched the kids do any sort of activity, the cuter she thought they were. However, understanding that Miles was not like Sky, she was not about to go crowd the kid. "Did you w-want to see a close-up on one of these samples?" She walked over to one of her screens and swiveled the monitor nearby towards them. "This...This is the s-sort of things I look at everyday."
LUKE
It took a one-time explanation from Nikki for Luke to be able to make heads _and_ tails of the reports that were currently out in the open, and the newly triggered Paladin found herself looking immediately away. They were almost certain the reason Keagan found their wandering around relatively harmless was because they weren't meant to actually _understand_ any of the confidential case material...A quick exchange of knowing glances between herself and the tiny in her arms let her know that Miles may be a baby, but the kid had the same thought.
Kyle's comment came as a welcome 'out' -of sorts- as Luke glanced over with a small smile and said, "Yeah, that was actually kind of similar to why I decided to learn ASL along with the girls back when they were this size the first time around. I myself was actually prone to selective mutism and didn't really start to develop proper speech until I got sent to the school's speech pathologist in school. Figured this would give the girls a leg up just in case, and it actually turned out really well....though I think Sky only uses it with Miles now to discuss 'secrets' and whatnot." Turning back to face the other two, she almost burst out in laughter at how focused Miles was on the screen and every little word Nikki mentioned as she described each aspect on the screen.
NIKITA
"That's .. that's really cute." She could imagine the twins just interacting with each other through sign - and was almost giddy all over again because now the twins had little baby fingers. Looking down at the baby, she chuckled softly at how much Miles was concentrating on her screen. Honestly, she always welcomed those who were fascinated with her research. To most, one rarely knew what they were supposed to be looking at. They just wanted results so it was always refreshing to explain in detail - well, enough details that wouldn't give away integral information. Her bosses would have her head if they found out. "W-What else did you want to see?" She asked the baby.
LUKE
The immediate sign from Miles after Nikki asked after what she wanted to see next, had Luke shaking her head and shifting her to sit properly on her hip. "Nope," she said, signing back for emphasis more than anything as Miles' hearing was hardly an issue being a wolf...or at least part wolf...? "She signed 'body'" Luke heard coming from Kyle, to which she could only nod and then turn back to Nikki. "And that is our queue to wrap-up this lovely field trip. There are many things I know Keagan would forgive me, but having let Miles actually witness a dead body that is likely an open case...probably not at the top of that list." There was a sound of contempt that came from the youngest person in the room, but all it did was pull a chuckle from the elders. "You can grumble all you want, Stip. If we're going to take a trip to Kyle's neck of the woods, you'll need better motor skills." Luke looked up to glance between the two others and said, "Thanks guys. She's been itching to scope out this place since she was originally this size, so I'm sure even if she didn't everything she wanted, she'll be more than happy to infodump on whoever she manages to get."
KEAGAN
With Sky latched onto her, seemingly content with just being cuddled, Keagan managed to fly through a good chunk of her work for that morning. Not wanting to impose on Nikki (and Kyle) for too long, the Chief Deputy figured she should go grab the visitors so people can go back to their work. "A conversation will still be needed even when you have those motor skills back." She commented, having caught word of the conversation near the end. There were times when she doesn't know who out of the two was a better babysitter. At the very least, they weren't showing a dead body to a baby regardless if it's a physical change only. "Let's head home, Braxton came over so Tomi's also there." As if it was a magic word, Sky started to wiggle about which surprised no one.
It had been a hectic morning to say the least. Not only had they babies not slept solidly through the night, but they also did not wish to go back to sleep once Julia and Leo’s alarms went off for work. Between the two, they did manage to get them changed, dressed, fed and settled along with a quick breakfast in for themselves, before Jules had to head for the hospital.
Now, it was nearing lunch time, and Leo was wrapping up a full staff meeting with Emmy in a carrier at her back, and Levi in one resting on her front. The tiny boy was sound asleep, but she could feel Emmy doing _something_ with her hair. Honestly, as long as she was content, Leo didn’t much care. Turning to the room she asked for questions before dismissing the meeting. Of course, not everyone left. “Yes?”
Thyra
During the meeting, she had a feeling that her boss wasn't in the best moods however, Thyra could not help but focus on the two babies she was carrying with her. "Your- Um." She pointed to the hair but gave up on that and walked right up to Leo to at least try to dry the hair a bit from.. Embry chewing on it. "Maybe we should get Emmy something to bite on." She suggested before letting the kid grab her hand.
"They are so cute." It was natural instinct to just coo at the babies. "I just want to pinch her cheeks but I also don't want to make Embry cry - or bite me." She joked before playing a little tug-o-war with the kid with her finger. "I've got most things handled, so if you want to just hide in the penthouse with them, no one will question it."
Andy
Andy had managed to walk in as everyone else was filing out of the meeting room. It had been made pretty clear that her services wouldn't be required all that much down at the station pretty much as soon as she walked in, but she'd hung around a bit just in case. As she made her way over to the remaining duo and the tinies, she grabbed one of the straws on the long table, and unwrapped it before offering it to the kid as a trade-off for Thyra's finger.
"Yeah, no. Made hybrid supernaturals aren't the best of ideas in my experience," she said in response to the idea of a fully-powered baby werewolf biting the shifter. "Oh, I'm sure Leo appreciates your offer so very much, but she likes micro-managing just a little more."
Thyra
Thyra's face lit up even more when a certain someone walked into the room. "Andy!" She greeted, waiting for her finger to be freed before immediately giving the Head of Security a tight hug. "If Leo's going to be micro-managing with two babies on her, I don't know how much work is going to get done. Surely everyone's going to be distracted by them." She, for one, was going to be.
Her attention returned to Andy, "I thought you were going to be at the station today? Not that I'm complaining because I do appreciate you being here instead very, very much." One could easily tell by just the fact that their boss still was there with them in the room but Thyra did not let go of the other.
Leo
"Well then I would hope everyone is also going to be too distracted by them to realize the gap in the salaries," Leo shot back smoothly. "I hire only the best and babies is all it takes to derail my well-oiled machine then I'm not going to compensate anyone for that, now am I." Obviously, it would take quite a rather _severe_ lack in work output for her to actually dock anyone's pay, but it never hurt to remind people she was aware of the power she could wield -even if the one that forgot more often than not was herself.
"My guess is that I'm not the only one who took her babies to work with her," Leo noted, before making a face and saying, "Thyra, honesty? Right in front of my babies??"
Thyra
She looked up with almost an understanding look, "Ah, I would have thought Luke would have them since she can't go into work." One would also point out that Keagan's on vacation but Thyra knew by now that not much could keep the Chief Deputy from working. "Leo, we're just hugging." She chuckled, "It's not like we've never done so before."
Easing back a little without actually letting go, "Well, I suppose we-.. I should go before our boss here docks my paycheck." Thyra teased before quickly leaning back up to kiss her girlfriend on the lips. "Will... you walk out with me?" She asked Andy, sneaking a peek over at Leo and back.
Andy
"If my brief encounter with the Chief Deputy is anything to go by, I'd say that much like our boss here, it'll take quite the feat to keep her away from her babies," Andy noted, eyes managing to avoid said boss. Or rather, her current companions. She'd managed to hand Embry the straw without looking directly at her, but even that was enough to show how bright she'd appear.
From the corner of her eye she managed to catch as Leo waved them off, and gladly took the offered respite as she walked Thyra back to her office. "Thank you," she said as soon as the door to the manager's office closed behind them.
Thyra
When she made her way in, she spun around and waited until the door closed before wrapping her arms around Andy again. "Hmm? For what? For wanting you all to myself?" She joked before rested her cheek against the taller woman without saying anything more. The shifter could tell that Andy had been avoiding the babies - which was most likely why she returned to the hotel sooner than expected. After all, she knew the security could easily find herself something to do at the station even if Keg was there.
Andy
As soon as Thyra’s arms were wrapped back around her, and the shorter woman’s head rested neatly against her chest, Andy closed her eyes. She shut out her main sense and as she nuzzled into Thyra’s hair, she let the others take over. The strong and steady sound of the woman’s heartbeat humming in her ears like a song, and the scent that was uniquely the shifter engulfing her sense of smell. In that moment there was only Thyra. “Thank you for knowing what I need if that’s changed drastically since the time you were duty bound to do so.”
Thyra
Leo probably had a feeling this was going to happen the moment Thyra left with Andy but still, the shifter made no movements to break this embrace. "We may have met because of our duty, but it's not because of it that I care about you." She smiled, "Do you think Leo's going to actually dock my paycheck if we stay like this for the rest of the day? Because I really want to."
Andy
Thyra’s words resonated not just physically as they were spoken somewhat against her chest, but emotionally as well. Her parents made it clear when they opted to let her ‘die’ rather than continue to claim her as their child that their love _had_ conditions. “Why?”
The question was out before she could stop it but, now that it was Andy felt there was no point in taking it back. “As cliche as it sounds, I’m quite _literally_ not the same person you knew before. And to that point, I was absolutely _awful_ to you when I first got here. You’ve witnessed first hand what I’ve become- Why do you still care?”
Thyra
Thyra must admit, she did not expect that question at all. She listened as Andy list out the reasons. "You're still my Andy."
She squeezed her arms tighter as her eyes looked up into the other's. "I love you because you're you." She hummed as she swayed from side to side as she pondered her next words. Sure, physically, the witch was no more, and Andy had gone through so much too. "but.. honestly, there is nothing in the world that would ever make me stop *caring* about you." She chuckled, "I won't lie, our reunion was a bit rocky, but that was to be expected."
Andy
It was the possessive nature of Thyra’s remark that made the difference. Because Andy knew, without having to ask, that it wasn’t a means for her to claim ownership -like her father and grandfather might do- but a means to emphasize how she understood there were layers and facets to Andy as a person but they all still made up a person Thyra _wanted_ to care for. A person the blonde wanted to _love_.
When the shifter hugged her tighter, she reciprocated. Letting out a soft sigh Andy finally spoke again as she almost whispered into Thyra’s hair, “Oh to be loved by the likes of someone as beautiful as you, inside and out, is surely one of the universe’s greatest rewards…and worth every trial it’s taken me to get here.”
Thyra
Thyra blushed at the flattery words, "When were you such a romantic?" She smiled, wanting to stay in this position forever. Would Leo actually fire her? Perhaps. Pulling away enough to look up at the taller woman, the manager let out a sigh, "When is your shift today? I personally don't want to budge from this spot, but alas, I would like to keep my job. One day, Leo's gotta schedule us for the same shift.."
She then remembered, "Do you think you'll ever need to look after Levi and Emmy when they're still babies? It's probably a verrrrrrry small chance with how much everyone's been attached to their kids, but you never know when they need a babysitter... Should they call for Kala instead?"
Andy
The brunette could only smile half-heartedly at the question, wondering how romantic her words actually were versus how much Thyra herself was romanticizing them, given that the blonde was truly the romantic of the two. "Uh, I don't actually have a shift at the Radcliffe today. I was meant to be at the station. So...I won't tell if you won't...?"
The thought had already crossed Andy's mind many times over in the time between her first meeting with the babies and now. "I'm sure they'll do their best _not_ to need anyone to watch them, but Leo and Julia are still full-time working moms so...it may come down to it. I would _prefer_ that they keep Kala as their default stand-by, but I do understand that it's actually part of _my_ job description."
Thyra
"Would it be selfish of me to ask if you want to keep me company?" She chuckled but eventually released Andy from being captive in her hug. "I'm kidding - You basically have a day off. I'm not going to ask you to purposely stay at the hotel - where we are majority of our time already."
"Well, if Leo does call you instead, you could still get Kala to help or me.. but yeah, I think they'll probably want to spend all the time with the kiddos as much as possible - maybe we don't have to think about it altogether. I also have a feeling that the babies are all going to get together at some point...so there is that."
Andy
"I personally would have zero complaints," she replied, but didn't push to keep the shorter woman wrapped around her. Andy may have the day off, but Thyra certainly didn't. "It's not like I have anything else on my 'to-do' list. I mean, I there is a reason why I happily agree to three full-time jobs..." Keeping busy was her best coping mechanism as of yet.
Almost as if on queue, Leo barged into the office as she held Levi out at arm's length. It didn't take heightened senses to know what the issue was. "Oh my- wow. Uh- both? At once?" Her boss nodded, and Andy busied herself clearing some space on Thyra's coffee table. "Brings a whole new meaning to 'in the middle of some shit' ya know."
Thyra
Her eyes snapped to the door to see her boss walk straight towards the coffee table. Thyra guessed that it was because her office was the closest but she did not expect it turning into a change room right off the bat. Once Andy cleared off her stuff, she grabbed the essentials and the changing pad and set up the work station.
"Are we missing anything? I feel like we've got everything." Thyra's office was one of the few locations they made sure had a few of baby things in case of emergencies."
Leo
She was aware that it may have come across as panic, which Leo was completely fine with, but the entire chaos she created was more out of the desire to _not_ have to be the one to change the diapers in the first place _while_ simultaneously ensuring that the Manager's office didn't become the scene of some workplace sex because honestly, not cool. "Yeah, I think the only thing missing is the desire to actually open the 'packages'. I mean if they smell this bad _through_ the diaper.... Hey Andromeda, any chance that the smell will overwrite your desire to eat them long enough to do the honors?"
Thyra
"Won't you eventually have to change the diapers yourself?" She asked Leo, "Unless Julia's the one always on diaper duty " Her nose cringed at the stank seeping from the baby and immediately, she stepped closer to Andy. "I think we should.. hurry up, Levi looks like he's about to cry." She pointed at the kid on her coffee table. "Literally, this might be where your speed skill is going to shine." She smilled as she wrapped her arm around the taller woman's waist again - because she can't seem to keep to herself.
Andy
Andy wasn't sure when things went from 'keep the vamp away from infants at all times' to 'vamp is designated diaper changer', but she had to admit that seeing Levi on the brink of tears was enough to make her put her own issues aside and take to handling the 'business'. She went ahead and retrieved Emmy from Leo's back, and laying both babies side-by-side, she made quick work of getting them cleaned up and back to comfortable in no time. How she managed to do it all with Thyra latched onto her like a koala, that was a mystery for another day. "Okay, I think they're much happier now...can't say the same for the person who has to deal with the aftermath in their bin."
Thyra
"I'll have cleaning come by to pick up the trash, and maybe invest in one of those trash cans where it allows you to put a filter for the smell." If it meant that the kids were going to be in her office a lot more often, Thyra would get herself a designated bin for the diapers if she had to. With her arms wrapped around Andy, there were less chances of her being accidentally bitten by the kids as much as she wanted to play with them. At least until Emmy and Levi were a little older again. "Look at them, now that they've got clean bums." She chuckled at the smiles the babies were giving them. "I want to pinch their cheeks but I don't think they'll let me." Already, Embry made a noise that she guessed was a 'no.'
Leo
Leo was nothing if not happy to see smiles back on her babies' faces, but had little time to savor the moment as her phone pinged with a reminder. "Oh, I have a lunch meeting with one of the board members I need to get to," she said, before glancing down at the babies and then up at the pair. "Considering that I'm almost ninety percent sure that not much clerical work was going to be done here today, I'll be leaving these two very special packages with you for the next hour or so. Andy, please don't eat my children and Thyra, please don't smother them. I trust you can strike a balance between the two of you." She quickly bent down to give kisses and say goodbyes to each baby before standing back up and saying, "Good luck" as she made her exit.
Thyra
Thyra almost beamed at the idea of being left with the children for the next hour or two. She did give a small pout when warned not to smother them - which she was not doing. She was simply showering the kids with *love*. "We'll make sure your babies will be fine when you pick them up later." The moment their boss walked out the door, Thyra give the two bundles a group hug. "Ughhhhh, you two are so cute." Though she was still hugging the babies, she turned her head enough to look up at Andy. "How are you doing?"
Andy
Andy was less amused by the surprise babysitting gig, but she _had_ just mentioned such duties were still part of her job, so it wasn’t like there was much point in complaining. She did however manage a small glare at the warning not to eat the children.
It was all worth it though to see Thyra so immediately happy being snuggled up with the two littles. “I’m alright. Focusing on the overpowering scent emanating from your trash can as a distraction.”
Thyra
“…Does that mean we won’t be cleaning out the bin until the end of the week in all the places where the babies might be?” She teased before her nose wrinkling at the scent. “We should invest in those bins with the filters - or an incredible amount of Febreze.” With that, she actually went to grab the spray bottle she had around and sprayed in the direction of the trash. Unable to help herself, she picked up both kids - one at a time - and started slightly bobbing up and down with them. “You two cannot get any cuter, I swear.” She whispered.
Andy
"It's definitely an option, but I think _my_ tolerance for it might not become the biggest issue..." Almost as if to prove her point, Thyra immediately followed up with suggestions on how _not_ to have the smell linger. Rolling her eyes at the display of spraying the trash can, she just shrugged as she watched the blonde proceed to then pick up the babies. "I suppose it'll just be an intensive form of exposure therapy. I mean, I managed to grow to be pretty alright around Levi at his usual age within a couple of weeks, surely I can handle some babies for- uh...we have no idea how long this is going to last, do we?"
Thyra
"Not that I know of - if someone does know, word hadn't gotten to us about it. Would it be bad if I hope this gets to stick for a little while, not long because I'm sure the kiddos want to go back to their actual ages, maybe. If they get stuck like this, then it's like what responsibilities? What adulting? But they also need to be supervised the whole time." She chuckled at the sound Emmy made, "Oh? Are you agreeing with me? Or are you complaining that your babysitters literally became babysitters?" She gently tickled the baby's side as she spoke.
Andy
"I mean that makes sense, we don't really have a horse in this race," she reasoned. There was a small shrug, though she made zero move to close the distance between her and the three babies in the room even a fraction of an inch. "I suppose most parents would hope for the same. They're looking at the opportunity to take on parenthood from a young age, but this time with the knowledge and experience they've gained along the way. For others it's a second chance at seeing their kids in a way they never may have thought they would. Like, look at Leo alone. She loves Emmy and Levi with all her being, but it had to be at least a little bit of a bummer that she missed out on things like first steps and such."
At the noise coming from the older baby, Andy couldn't help but smirk as she said, "I think she's more upset that her girlfriend is still the same age and hasn't been around as often since Leo scared her off."
Thyra
Gently caressing the baby's cheek, she smiled at those blue eyes looking back up at her. "I'm glad you kids didn't lose your memory when you regressed. Hopefully you get to remember the time you've spent with your parents this time around." She spoke softly as she wondered what it was like to experience childhood all over again - except you aren't. "Leo is definitely loving this whole situation." She was very happy for her boss and Julia for that very reason.
"Where is Evan? I haven't seen her around in a while." She saw those little blue hues glow up at the mention of her girlfriend, followed by a sound that Thyra could only assume that it was to prompt Andy for an answer.
Andy
Andy opened her mouth to answer the question, only to close it as she was immediately interrupted by the slightly bigger tiny human in Thyra's arms. Making a face at the girl she said, "You are _way_ more bossy as a baby than you've ever been as a teenager." After another noise of complaint she held her hands up in surrender and said, "I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Evan's been working with the rest of the FC MENSA chapter to do both follow-ups on those that had to be provided with the serum and to continue informing people that were listed in Old Man Grey's ledger that they were likely the victim of _something_. She's also been working with Jack and the Paladins to try and get as much information as they can on the whole baby-gate thing. Sorry Tiny, but you picked a girl with a pretty nifty brain, so you have to share."
Thyra
The shifter could spend the day just watching Andy interact with the baby. It was true that Emmy was a lot more vocal as a baby but she couldn't help but find it adorable, although the explanation did earn a pout. "Yeah.. Your girlfriend is very smart so we need to borrow her brains to get everything settled. Hopefully she will get some time to spend with you." That is.. if Leo was going to allow that. She had a feeling that the parents were also part of the reasons why she hadn't been around. "In the meantime, you're stuck with us for the next little while. Your brother...." She looked over to the younger baby, "...is drifting off to sleep." She chuckled as she reached over to brush his little cheek with her thumb. "You guys are so tiny.. Look at Levi, his head is the size of my hand."
Andy
"That can either mean you just have small hands or he has a massive head," she stated flatly, earning another round of accusatory babbling from the older baby. "They're just facts, Tiny. Though I take you're decision to defend your brother's honor as a sign that _you_ are going to be fighting nap time as well as me." It wasn't until she was reaching for the pacifier clipped to the girl's onesie that Andy realized how close she'd allowed herself to get. There was a stutter to her movements as realization caused hesitation, but she pushed trough and picked up the pacifier to gently place it in the baby's mouth. Though the girl continued to make some noises, she did take the binky and seemed to begin nodding off too. "Well, we'll see how long this peace lasts."
Thyra
She visibly melted at the sight of Emmy's eyes drooping - and that Andy was giving the kid the pacifier herself. The baby made it more amusing when it was clear that she was trying fight against the sleep, and obviously losing. "Oh baby..." She chuckled softly as she gently stroke the kid's head, urging her to fall sleeping. When she believed they finally did, Thyra stood back up and went back to Andy to resume her cuddles. "It wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked, "I don't want to jinx it so I'm not going to say anything."
Andy
Andy wasted no time in using the opportunity of Thyra stepping in to ease Emmy to sleep to take at least five steps back. There were at least ten different thoughts all trying to take center stage in her mind, the one that won out was how _happy_ Thyra looked with the babies. How easily the woman took to them, and how her own humor seemed to make it to where they easily took to her as well. This of course led to the obvious thought of: what if Thyra wants children?
Luckily the blonder herself was back in her arms before _that_ can of worms could pop open. Wrapping her own arms around the smaller woman she hummed in response. "I don't believe there's really such a thing as 'jinxing' things where babies are concerned. Kids just unpredictable little humans by nature. I'm sure once they've recharged they'll be ready to keep us on our toes until their mom comes back."
Thyra
"Then we should take advantage of the peace and quiet we have right now before they wake up again." The good idea would be to do what she's actually supposed to do, however the shifter liked her current position very much. "On the other hand, I sorta want to move the kids back to the suite.. because we bought them so many outfits - we literally could have a fashion show. Like that overall! I want to see one of them wear it. It'd be so cute. Of course, they'd have to be awake for it and I don't want to interrupt their nap."
Andy
The vamp listened, arching a curious eyebrow at the suggestion they take advantage of the reprieve, and then arching it even higher at the fact they weren’t going to use it to change sleeping babies. “Okay, so we can get back to the suite with little to no trouble if I speed us there, but if we’re not doing a fashion show and we’re clearly _not_ going to be doing any daily work…how _exactly_ are we ‘taking advantage’ of this time?”
Thyra
"...I'm taking great advantage right now." Her arms tightened as she said that, "I'm getting very good quality Andy time and what better way to spend the peace and quiet we have now?" Her eyes playfully narrowed, "Did you actually want to do something more.. uh.. productive? You know what? One thing at a time, let's get the babies to their cribs."
Andy
Andy was glad to not have to actually answer that rather pointed question, as it was rather open-ended and honestly quite suggestive for what Thyra normally sent her way. Instead she smiled, and with great care vamped both babies and their newest 'nanny' into the proper elevator to access their suite. As the doors opened, she eased back into average walking and gently led them all into the nursery. "I'll settle Emmy, if you take Levi," she offered.
Thyra
"Okay.." Not wanting to wake Levi up, she whispered as softly as she could as she walked towards his crib. The height of the crib was too high for her, however, she managed to get Levi down without waking him up.. and without falling in herself afterwards. "Aww look at him!" She whispered with giddiness. The sight of the babies getting settled comfortably was too cute, her hand just unconsciously brushing over his little cheeks. "I don't think these two can be any cuter." She eventually pulled away to go back to Andy.
Andy
No sooner had the words left her own mouth than regret immediately begin to spread through every fiber of her being. Regardless, she didn't want Thyra to be distracted from her enjoyment of all of this, so she went ahead and did as she had stated. With great care -and a lot of self-restraint- she carefully picked up the baby girl in her own hands for the first time, and did her best to focus her eyes on the crib itself instead of the almost blinding glow being emitted from every single line the baby's vascular system right now.
With some effort, but nothing too jostling, she was able to get Emmy settled down and without waking her. Stepping away with purpose, but not with haste so as to not draw attention to her obvious retreat, Andy watched as Thyra continued to look at little Levi with nothing but adoration and awe. "I'm sure once you get them into a few of those outfits you picked you out for them, you'll be proving yourself wrong."
Thyra
When Andy mentioned about getting the kids into the outfits, she twirled around to meet Andy's eyes - feeling excitement all over again. Oh the anticipation to get the kids all dressed up in the little outfits they got them. Leaving the kid alone to sleeping, she slid back to Andy to take her hand and leading her out the room. "They're going to be so grumpy when I do so.. Let's hope they get plenty of rest before then." She's hoping they'd be in a good mood enough to let her change them that many times.
"SO." Her arms slinked around the taller woman's waist again, "How are you holding up?" Thyra felt that she may have asked Andy one too many times whenever she was around the kids, but she truly was worried if her girlfriend was feeling uncomfortable because of the kids.
Andy
"I don't think you'll have too much trouble from Levi, if any really. Dress-up is his favorite game to play and Julian is bestie for a reason. Emmy, on the other hand...you should hope that Evan happens to drop in at some point before they wake up," Andy stated. She could practically feel the question coming as soon as Thyra's arms wrapped around her. Andy was sure the fact she was physically tense didn't help matters. "I'm fine," she reassured, though who she was reassuring was up in the air. "These are just growing pains for whatever the hell I am now, just like we both had all sorts of other growing pains as a witch and shifter growing up. All shall pass...eventually."
Thyra
"Hmm, then it's very likely we're going to get a slightly grumpy Emmy. I haven't seen her in a *long* time - I think Leo is actually happy about that." She chuckled before nuzzling into her girlfriend, a very satisfied smile on her face. "Mm.. Eventually." Though she wasn't completely convinced, she trusted Andy and let the topic drop. Pulling away, her hands reached out for the others and guided her straight to the couch. Cuddling while half-sitting/half-lying down was better. "Should we watch a movie?"
Evan
Evan had managed to keep herself busy enough at the library during the day, and in the ‘Meeting of the Minds’ -as Quinn took to calling it- the rest of the time. She’d hardly had time to sleep and eat, let alone pay the hotel a visit. But, with the weather keeping the library slow, she managed to slip back downstairs so she could shimmer to the Avraham suite.
As she solidified behind the couch in the living room, she simply took in the cuddle-fest as the women both pretended to pay attention to the movie on the screen. “Ugh, you guys are disgusting. Get a room,” she grumbled before heading into the nursery, where she could already hear little babbles.
Thyra
Without moving too much, the shifter looked over to where Evan had shimmered in, almost surprised by her appearance because it was as if she heard them talking about her earlier. "Oh yay, you're here!" She smiled while totally ignoring Evan's comment about them. "Give Embry all the cuddles please." She looked up at Andy, "Gotta make sure she can last the whole fashion show session. Evan, how long do you have? Because I do hope you'll help us with dressing up the siblings." She called out the latter in a slightly louder volume.
Dee had, thankfully, been rather quiet on the fact that she’d come home find her and Dylan asleep on the couch. Well, really just the fact that she’d found Dylan still here at all, honestly. Instead, her priority had been for her the mermaid to give the babies a diaper change, feed, settle them back down, and work out a plan for how they would work together until this thing blew over.
As it happened, Fernanda would watch them herself during the day on Dee’s dayshifts and would watch them overnight on Dee’s night shifts and vice-versa. And the be best way to get this done was to work from home. So as she got the trio settled into their large playpen, she went to answer the door, already having a feeling who it would be. Swinging it open all she said was, “We could’ve had this meeting via zoom or even just a phone call.”
Dylan
Dylan only smiled when the door opened, revealing the mermaid. Her mood had been an all time high even when she left the barn house to get herself presentable - one could not be seen wearing the same things twice, especially within the same week. Although it wasn't a surprise, it did not sit well with her to know that their meeting was going to be via zoom.
"We could." She said as she walked in, only to be met by a gaggle of babies. "But I would rather have it in person." Omitting that this one of the very, very few meetings she looked forward to in the day. "Are you trying to get rid of me, Salazar?"
Fernanda
The mermaid had to admit that it was nice to be met with a _genuine_ smile from Dylan -as opposed to her overly saccharine 'I'd kill you if I could get away with it' one- even if the admission was made only to herself. In silence...for now. Instead she returned the smile and stepped aside as the woman made her way and -Fer could've sworn- almost immediately in the direction of the babies.
As she closed the door, the mermaid rolled her eyes. Turning to face Dylan as she flatly stated, "Yes. That is exactly my master plan. I am aiming to get rid of you, hence why I opened the door to my home and then stepped aside to let you in. You have now walked right into my yeeting trap."
Dylan
When she got near Julian, she pulled out a Burberry baby blanket and laid it on top of the kid - not exactly tucking him in with it. It was unfathomable to not have *something* luxurious just because they were babies. "Then there's no problem with having our meeting in person." She grinned now that it was verbally confirmed that she wouldn't be kicked out.
She walked over to the take a seat herself. Even if they didn't talk about work, that was fine with Dylan. The half demon simply enjoyed the peace and quiet they have, and not have people badgering her about contracts and all.
Fernanda
It seemed like her eyes were going to get their workout in today, as she once again felt them roll of their own accord at the sight of the blanket. "Honestly, it's nothing short of a waste of money. The girls are already making their way over to see what the fuss is, and Julian's still too kind to not share his new 'toy'. If you wanted to burn the bibs for a little drool, I'd hate to see what you'll try to do with this blanket after it becomes a chew toy for three babies and three pets."
The mermaid took her own seat on the living room floor, her laptop setup within arm's reach of the playpen. Glancing up, she brought out her tablet as well and asked, "What topic were you looking to start off with?" If the half-demon was looking to use their meeting as an excuse, Fer certainly wasn't...that she'd easily admit.
Dylan
"Darling, it was just something I picked up while shopping." She waved her hands as she watched the two girls making their way over. "It's his, so he can do whatever he wants with it." She said nonchalantly, though she now wondered if she should have picked up 3 of them so that all of them had one. "It's clearly of good taste and choice that they all would want it."
Her eyes fell to the mermaid on the floor, wondering if she was serious about discussing work - "I suppose we could go over the agenda." She sighed as she also took a seat on the floor, leaning on her elbow on the coffee table. However, unlike the other, she didn't bother with her laptop. "It'd be more fun if we don't talk about work though."
Fernanda
"All three were also fighting over one of the dog's chew toys not five minutes before you knocked, so make of _that_ what you will," the mermaid pointed out. She could already tell that it would be rather pointless to try and reason with Dylan that babies were simply that, _babies_. Taste was a literal thing to them, and associated with whatever they managed to get into their mouths.
Dropping her eyes to her tablet, she pulled up the agenda and without bothering to look up asked, "So am I to understand that Dylan Waldorf went out of her way to pay me and three babies a visit under the guise of a personal work meeting but, was really just looking to make a _personal_ call?"
Dylan
"So I really should have gotten them one each." She smiled, as if that was the only solution. "Darling, it's just a blanket - maybe it'll survive until they revert back to their actual ages." As an exaggerated gesture, the half-demon even crossed her fingers. "And it's fuzzy." As if that was a good reason to keep it.
Dylan kept her eyes on the mermaid with a smile on her face. "I wouldn't say I'm here for the babies exactly." As if that was ever going to be a thing she'd admit. She didn't want to admit that the kids were even growing on her in their usual forms, much less as *babies*. "Must we talk about work?" She reached out and held onto Fernanda's tablet at the top with just a thumb and index finger.
Fernanda
"Do you know how much work it takes for the farm to produce enough profit to afford _one_ of those blankets? It's not about the item, it's about learning the value of a dollar. If _you_ can't be bothered to care about cost or the fate of the blanket, at least pause to consider what the person who worked to make might make of just handing their work over to children." Even as she finished her statement, Fer was already resigned to the fact that her pleas would fall on deaf ears.
"Well if you're not here for the babies, and you're clearly not here for work, thank I'm left to assume..." she trailed off as her tabled was lowered, before she glanced up at Dylan with a mischievous grin. "...that you're here to help me get the fuzzy boys ready for a walk."
Dylan
Her brow arched as Fernanda went on about the blanket, which did have her stunned a little - and confused. "Darling." She started once she felt the other was done with her piece. "It's a baby blanket, who else would it be for if it's not for literal babies? It's just a blanket - not like I went and beyond and got the duvet option, which frankly, I should've now that we're talking about dexterity."
Her brow dropped back into a frown, "What?" Her eyes lowered to the furries nearby. "They have a whole field to run about, I doubt they actually need to be *walked* - so no, you know I'm definitely not here for *that*." She snorted as she leaned back away from the coffee table and shifted her weight onto her hands on the floor behind her.
Fernanda
Fer just pinched the bridge of her nose. "Just, no more getting things for the babies with a price tag over twenty dollars," she sighed. Getting Dylan to understand what the value of a dollar was would have to wait for another day...or preferably a time when three babies weren't her priority.
The mermaid scoffed, already getting up to gather up the harnesses and leashes, as well as the strollers for the babies. "They still enjoy getting to see the sights beyond that. Besides, the babies are overdue for a stroll of their own, getting some fresh air, and hopefully tiring out enough for a nap."
Dylan
The look of horror that washed over her face at the sounds of getting *anything* less than twenty dollars. However, Dylan wasn't going to comment any further with how tired Fernanda seemed to be getting. Somehow, she still was willing to listen to the other and stop from getting anything for the gremlins. Reasons that she was unwilling to deal with at the moment.
When the mermaid was actually following through with it, Dylan just sat there and watched as the other got ready. "...Seriously?" They literally just sat down too. "If they need fresh air, we can open a window." She muttered but still got up anyways. "Wait, *beyond* that? How far are you going??"
Fernanda
The mermaid busied herself getting the boys ready, then handing charge over to Krylon of the other two while she worked on getting the strollers sorted. Once ready, she went ahead and moved over to the babies, tiny winter jumpsuits for each of them at the ready.
As she began to change them, she glanced up and said, "Yeah, seriously." One baby dressed and seated, she moved on to the next. "You do realize there are _four_ cardinal directions right? We don't have to _through_ the farmlands themselves to reach something else." Second baby down. As she finished with Julian she said, "I thought we'd hit the Queens. If the kids are still awake they might enjoy a treat...from _me_."
Dylan
Dylan watched as Fernanda got the babies dressed one by one. She was not about to say that the kids actually looked cute in their jumpers - she will *not*. On the other hand, when Julian was ready to go, the half-demon did move to lift him up into her arms so she could fix his little hood. Was she being biased? Perhaps - not that it'd be a surprise to anyone.
"I don't know, darling, there's a lot of land around here before we reach anything else." She spoke nonchalantly, focusing her eyes on the baby. "You.. are so tiny." She muttered as she observed Julian a bit more. With that, she walked over to the stroller to strap him in. It seemed that those winter ~~heels ~~ boots were a good investment with the number of times she had to be walking around in this place.
Fernanda
Fernanda managed to keep her remarks at bay when Dylan made a beeline for Julián and even managed to keep quiet when she brought the land around them. _But_, hearing her cooing at her cousin about how tiny he was, that was just too good not to highlight…in their own ‘special’ way of ‘communicating’.
“Awwww, as cute as is it is to see you be amazed by Julie’s current size, tiny is usually the default setting for most babies,” she said with a bright smile. Her tone was overly cheery, but clearly her words were dripping in sarcasm. As Dylan returned the boy to the single stroller she began to push the double out the door, the leashed furry babies leading, and said, “He’s the lightest, so I’ll assume he’s safe with you.”
Dylan
"It's just.. strange when they weren't this size just days ago." Her face may express how much of a tedious task this was - especially to need to walk a distance with these babies, but Dylan still pushed Julian's stroller.
Dylan didn't know if she was thankful that it was no longer summer, but the half-demon wasn't a fan of the cold either. "Honestly, we should invest in treadmills for the animals." She muttered under her breath. "How is this walk even beneficial for the gremlins? They're not even the one's walking."
Fernanda
"It's beneficial to the _babies_ and the pets alike, simply because it keeps me from being stuck in the same place while you make it your life's mission to test my patience." Fernanda took a step, before turning to face her and adding, "Which, incidentally, also makes it beneficial for _you_. Open air, a nice walk, keeps my head clear and makes it far less likely I'll decide you need to disappear." The mermaid, of course, meant more so in the manner of Dylan _leaving_ the farm, but she felt the possible threat of death might be something worth keeping out there. Made things fun.
"Come on, you can't possibly be complaining already though," she noted in a far more serious tone. "Surely your stamina can take a little light walk into town..."
Dylan
"So you're saying that it's only because *you* get to move around that it's beneficial for everyone around you." Dylan couldn't help but laugh at that - until the mermaid decided to ~~threaten~~ warn her that there will be consequences if she continued to press her buttons. "Oh? Disappear how? Will you be using those so-called resources to make me disappear? Such a drastic decision."
That tone of hers had Dylan straighten her back. It was a tease for sure, and Dylan shouldn't give in so easily to it, but the smirk on her face said more than enough. "Wouldn't you like to know what my stamina's like?"
Fernanda
"No. There was never an emphasis on it being 'only' beneficial for one specific reason," she was quick clarify, "And if you know how much a loathe having my words twisted and then an attempt be made to weaponize them against me in the workplace, let me just make it clear that I despise it being done even more so in my personal life." It may have been a means to tease the mermaid, but it was best to make certain things clear and established sooner rather later. "Perhaps." Whether this was in regards to using her contacts or her agreeing it was drastic, was left up to Dylan's interpretation.
"I have no such curiosity," she replied flatly, "But I suppose the question will be answered by the time we reach the bakery regardless."
Dylan
Dylan did know just how much the mermaid loath it which was why she only gave the other a playful shrug, backing off for now. As fun as it was to press someone's button, the day was early..ish. Instead, she took a look around them as they walked. Surely her brother and especially Nox would not believe she was actually walking so far on her free will. With babies, no less.
"With how far this barn is from everything, it's going to take us half a day just to get there, and another half back." Was she being dramatic? Always. But she she was still pushing the stroller. "Perhaps I should have invested in a e-scooter." Surely she could still push a stroller while riding on one. Taking out her phone, she started scrolling to see what she could order from the *Manhattan *since they were visiting the sister bakery.
Fernanda
The mermaid knew better than to expect an actual apology, but it was enough that there was a pleasant silence that followed. The sounds of winter were in full swing and it was honestly a joy to hear as the babies all cooed and gurgled in joy to the sights.
"I'm sure the fact that you manage a way to complain about just about everything has probably proven to be an attractive quality in the past -because otherwise I don't see why you'd have kept it as a habit- _but_ I assure you, that it is not attractive in the least to present company," she pointed out, before taking a quick look at the woman's phone. "You so much as take a sip of alcohol, and you're on your own the rest of the day. I prefer clear minds around the babies when not in the safety of home."
Dylan
Dylan was not so narcissistic that she didn't know when to stop messing with the younger woman. And so, she obliged and stopped complaining - for now. Instead, her eyes rolled and showed the mermaid her screen. "Food, darling. Substantial food." While she could admit that the Queens had a good selection for pastries, the half-demon didn't have much of a sweet tooth. "You act as if I can't live without at least a glass of wine." Returning her attention to the screen, she continued to scroll, "Did you want anything as well? Since we're heading in that direction anyways." She asked as she added a couple things to her cart.
Fernanda
The mermaid simply looked her dead in the eye and replied with a direct, "And can you?" She continued to push the double stroller, happy to have the boys keeping pace on their respective leashes. The question made her smirk as she found she couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease the other back some. "Oh? Is Dylan Waldorf suggesting we have a lunch date now?"
Dylan
"How rude. I can have a little more self-control than that when I choose to be.." An angry mermaid was a scary mermaid. Dylan had definitely come across worse, but she was still finding herself obliging to most of the other's requests. "Would Fernanda Salazar be willing to go on a lunch date with a Waldorf?" She didn't look up from her phone, "Besides, if it were a date, I could do a little better than the Manhattan while being accompanied by animals and toddlers."
Fernanda
“It’s not rude when the question is merited based on the display of past behavior,” she reasoned without missing a beat. “Besides, you clearly just said the self-restraint would be demonstrated at your whim. How am I to know when you’ll be in the mood if it benefits my babies?”
Fernanda gave her a curious look at the question. “I have to admit, based on your behavior up until now, I would’ve expected a more forward response, _but_ I do greatly appreciate that it has been made a request instead. _And_, as such, I would love to join you on a lunch date….but obviously all my kids are included, furry and bald alike.”
Dylan
"And do you see me drink a glass of alcohol every single time? No~" She pointed out before letting the latter question be left unanswered because 1. she was not going to admit that she didn't want to be kicked out of the barnhouse *again* and 2. she was not going to admit that she's been behaving.
Her eyes did leave the screen at that because she did not expect the other to agree to it being a lunch *date* albeit bringing all the kids and animals along. "Would you really?" There was genuine surprise in her voice when she asked again. It wasn't often to see Dylan Waldorf hesitant but the mermaid was constantly surprising her.
Fernanda
"Just because something doesn't happen _every single time_ doesn't negate that it has happened on a _majority_ of occasions," she swiftly pointed out. "Besides, I don't know why you're suddenly so defensive about the matter, you're normally nothing if not a giant braggart about how you can have more alcohol than anyone at the farmhouse and still not be drunk. Has this suddenly not become a cool thing?"
If she had any hesitations, her resolve was immediately worn away by the genuine surprise in the woman's tone as she asked for clarification. "Of course I would! You've been exceptionally less of a pain in my a- _neck_ than usual, and honestly I rather like this new version of you. You should let her out more often."
Dylan
"That seemed to have gone out the window when your go-to drink was that last one you served. You drank that up like it's water. As much as I hate to lose, seems like my tolerance has nothing on *yours*." She said it matter-of-factly.
With how Fernanda was explaining, Dylan didn't quite know what to do with that description of her. New version of her, and also that she was *less* of a pain in the ass, she honestly had no idea what that meant. She figured that there was some sort of difference since she was actually found around toddlers - something she was thankful that her brother and Nox was not around for. However, this was not the time to be sorting all *that* out. Instead, she just gave her phone over to the mermaid. "You'd have to actually choose the meal first if you want to go on that lunch date."
Fernanda
The mermaid made a face at her and said, "Oh excuses. All that tells me is that you've not been allowing variety into your drinking and now you have consequences."
The silence that followed spoke volumes more than Dylan's actual words ever had. And even though she intended to archive every bit of it, there was really no time in this current moment to parse it all and tray to decipher a meaning. Instead she just chuckled when she was finally told to choose a meal. "Oh come on? You technically asked me out. So pick something, and impress me."
Dylan
"I just have a refined taste." She rolled her eyes. "Not everyone needs a shot of that each day."
Retracting her hand, she looked back down at her phone. It wouldn't be the first time she ordered for someone else - although most of those times, it was just because she wanted it as well and could care less if the other person liked it. With Fernanda, it was a different situation even if she had a feeling that she'd be find with whatever she chose. Dylan Waldorf being nervous? One would never have imagined it. "Very well." One should never back down from a challenge and with that, the half-demon started ordering a few things she deemed acceptable. "They should be ready by the time we get there, whenever that may be." Would she ever stop complaining? Never.
Fernanda
"I don't think it can possible be _that_ refined, if you're over at your brother's clubs every other evening," she remarked without missing a beat. The mermaid held zero against the staff of either establishment, but she knew from conversations overheard between her cousins and the other scoobs that, at least according to Dallas, the patrons tending to leave much, _much_, to be desired.
"If you're already going to be complaining before the lunch date even starts, do not for a second think that I am above retracting my acceptance to join you." It was the only warning she'd be offering.
Dylan
"Au contraire, my brother has quite the collection at his bar. however, it is not my fault the people in this town do not appreciate." She quipped back. Dylan wasn't oblivious about the type of people coming and in of her brother's establishment - it's not like she was there to socialize with the guests anyways.
Dylan was not going to push it any further now that they were almost there. (But honestly, that was a lot of walking.) "Would you look at that?" She feigned surprise, "We're *there*!" The overwhelming aroma from the bakery just hit her in the face the moment she opened that door.
Fernanda
"I stand behind my original statement, and I'm sure you'll stand behind yours, so I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree. Besides, it's not like taste isn't entirely subjective by nature anyway," she pointed out. It was best to highlight how pointless turning this into an argument would be.
"And you survived the entire trek completely unscathed!" The mermaid teased. "Only one tiny hair out of place," she added before reaching up to tuck said hair behind the woman's ear. Smiling at her handiwork she said, "Now, what tasty treat are you looking to completely ruin our appetite for lunch with?"
Nox
They were on their break from having to stalk one Hartley Goodwin. Honestly, they had no idea what their boss saw in that teacher but there was nothing going on at all with her. Hartley did not lead an exciting life at all. If they were keeping an eye on her in case something happen, Nox was pretty damn sure nothing is ever going to happen. The most exciting thing was when her brother visited.
Wanting to cure their boredom with a good treat, Nox made their way onto the bakery when they spotted a very unfamiliar sight. Was that *Dylan* with *babies*?? Feeling rather giddy, Nox made quick work to get to the door in record time. "Why helloooo~" Their eyes went from Dylan to the baby she had with her. "Dylan, you never told me you've got kids. Does Damien know? Oh god, they're cute. *Dylan*."
Oz had gotten the text from her sibling to meet at the bakery not five minutes before, and was luckily not two steps behind them when they decided to approach Dylan and the children. "Nox, it's not polite to approach people's babies without their consent," she grumbled through gritted teeth as she not-so-gently pulled them back further by the arm. "Apologies. They tend to get a little excited when around something that shares about the same braincells as they currently seem to have."
Dylan
If she was smiling at the slightest actions Fernanda did to her, her reaction was the complete opposite when Nox came into the picture. Immediately frowning at their presence, her eyes focused solely on them even when their sister tried to apologize on their behalf. "Oh, I'm well aware.." If only her glares could kill - or at least scare Nox off as much as Damien did. Whether it was conscious or not, Dylan pulled the stroller towards Fernanda and shifted herself so her body was between the siblings and the family. "Nox, if you make a scene or do something more stupid, I'll kill you."
Fernanda
"No you will not," came the very adamant and defiant statement from the mermaid now standing behind three strollers and a demon. "At least in front of the babies, and certainly not within the walls of Hunter's shop. Besides, I'm sure Nox is smart enough to know that his paychecks aren't actually fully funded by two clubs in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, and if they don't I know that Oz most certainly does. So, to make a long story short, _everyone_ will be on their best behavior, or I guarantee that I will personally see to it that _death_ be the least of your concerns."
Nox had no idea that Dylan's mood bombed the moment she saw them, so as oblivious as ever, they continued to grin as if nothing's amiss. That and it wasn't the first time she ever threatened them. "Yeah, Dyl, no talks of death in front of the babies!" They gave Fernanda a weird look because of course the clubs weren't Damien's income. If it was even possible, the demon got even giddier. "Dyllie! Are you sulking?" They were going to give the other a poke in the cheek but their hand got smacked by said woman. "Owwww, okay.. okay.. geez. You are definitely hangry, aren't you? We should get you food."
Fernanda
It was the mermaid's turn to take a step forward and stand between Nox and Dylan. This town was small enough that through Kala and Dallas, she knew Oz and understood they were doing their best to contain their sibling. However, said sibling was as oblivious as ever, and was very likely to look a landmine full-on and still choose to sit on it. "Nox. Knock it off. You're welcome to try your luck with Dylan and her patience on your own time, but I will _not_ have you putting my children at risk by continuing to poke the sleeping bear while in the same room. Stick to your business or I'll have to ask Hunter to ask you to leave and honestly I'd rather spare my energy and save that favor for something much more rewarding."
Dylan
Already fed up the second his face showed up, Dylan reached out and gently pulled Fernanda back towards her and the babies, switching her attention to the mermaid. "Darling, let's just go get those treats you were talking about for the gremlins. I'm sure Oz here knows what to do. Besides, I don't want my food to get cold because of their idiocy."
Fernanda
She could feel the tension begin to ease in her posture as soon as Dylan's hands were on her. It had honestly been so long since she'd had anyone that made her feel secure and like they had something sturdy to lean on, that the small gesture of having Dylan pull her in towards herself and the babies, was enough to take her anger down from a raging inferno to a simmering annoyance. "Oz, thank you for attempting to intervene and Nox," she fixed him with a steely gaze, "I would recommend not underestimating me because then your responses just become patronizing and that would damaging to you and your employer _many_ different ways." Of course she knew the clubs were a front. There was very little that _wasn't_ a front where the Waldorfs were concerned. She was just glad, that in this moment, Dylan's concern for her and the babies didn't fall on that list.
Dylan
Seeing that the idiot finally backed off - with the help of their sister dragging him out of the bakery, Dylan leaned in to Fernanda's ear, "It's quite a sight whenever you get all fired up like that." Whether it was towards her or towards another, it always did bring a grin to her. Leaning back, she walked around one of the strollers and pulled Julian into her arms before walking over to the display. "...They all look disgustingly sweet." She spoke as if she was in a conversation with the baby while her eyes glazed over all the colourful pastries, some themed for the season. "This is why I ordered from the Manhattan instead.. Substantial food."
Fernanda
The mermaid felt herself begin to calm down as Oz managed to corral her sibling out the door, which proved beneficial to Dylan because instead of turning her scathing words on the demon, the blonde just wound up rolling her eyes as usual at the woman’s antics.
Opting to not fan _those_ flames, she turned to pick up the girls instead of responding to her comments. Though she did give her a look of offense on Hunter’s behalf at her remarks on the pastries. “Excuse you, Hunter happens to be the only baker in a fifty-mile radius that provides options for all major dietary restrictions, which means if you used your eyes to _read_ the menu and the labels instead of just for _judging_ you’d find something even _you_ like.” Vindication came in the sounds and look of approval Julian sent her way.
Dylan
Dylan turned to Julian and booped his little nose when he started babbling. "I see to have offended the fans of these treats." Her eyes looked back at the displays and gave out a sigh, "Well, we are here for these gremlins - did you decide on what you're getting them? Or shall I just buy out the whole store? Perhaps I shall." She hummed as she slowly turned in a circle to see what all that would entail. "We'll take everything."
Hunter
Hunter was normally the one working the back, coming up with new treats and also complicated ways to make them. If she was ever to give Chocolate Guy a run for his money, she'd need to up her game. That being said, she wasn't a recluse like Sage either. Working the front gave her the chance to flex her people skills, after all. As she had made her way to the front, she smiled at the girls in her friend's arms, and was about to smile at the baby boy when it seemed things took a turn.
Of course, before she could even say anything, Fernanda had come to her defense and now she was faced with the proposition of having the day's inventory bought out. "Uh...Well, I don't think _anything_ in mass quantities would be healthy for a baby. I mean, like, eve if it's carrots. Because seeing as how your opinion on my work is clear, they would be the ones enjoying the bulk. Besides, these are best fresh. No need to stockpile. I'll start the kids off with a complimentary round of fruit puree to get them something nice," she offered.
Dylan
Her eyes rolled when it looked like another person was stopping her from 'buying too much'. That really did seem to be the theme around here - one she was *not* a fan of at all. She turned to Fernanda, considering that she would know what the babies want. If anything, she was here to foot the bill, and to grab the food she ordered earlier. The food will have to wait since Julian still hadn't chosen want he wanted yet. "It'd be more convenient if we deliver everything here home." Anyone could take their time choosing what they want then. Maybe even for her to sneak a treat without anyone noticing. "But considering *that* won't be happening, I suppose we'll have to start with that." She said, giving the usual dramatics.
Fernanda
Her patience had already been worth rather thin by Nox, and at this point she had no idea why after they'd spent most of the day -day_s_ really- doing so well, Dylan was choosing now to revert back to her attitude of 'privilege'. The mermaid knew it was a front, and though she could somewhat understand why it may be useful in a board room full of old white men and, even understood that it was usually a means to tease Fernanda herself, it was honestly downright repellant when being used as underhanded remarks against not just someone in customer service, but a _friend_ of hers at that.
"No, it would _not_ be more convenient to buy out the store's entire stock, it would be _wasteful_. Because once home, and the kids have had their pick of the treats they could possibly manage to eat, the rest would go where, exactly?" It was a rhetorical question, so even if Dylan bothered to take a breath to answer, Fer was not in the mood to allow one. "_However_, if you really feel that flaunting your wealth by buying out the goods is something that is absolutely necessary to your survival, you're more than welcome to do so and donate the remainder to some of charities around town."
Dylan
Her mouth snapped shut when Fernanda interjected, clearly annoyed with how Dylan was behaving. However, instead of commenting on anything to further piss the mermaid off, she opted to just give the one on the other side of the counter a look, "I guess we're setting for the few then." The half-demon was definitely not fond of being scolded in public, and if it had been someone else, she'd handle it differently. However, this was Fernanda Salazar.. and she was also carrying said mermaid's cousin, so she shall behave. Thankfully Nox wasn't around to see this otherwise god knows what stupid comment they would have said.
Deciding to switch her attention elsewhere, the half-demon walked off to a nearby shelf as if to see what else this bakery had.
Hunter
Hunter had remained quiet once she'd said her piece, not wanting to really get into anything remotely resembling conflict with the brunette, and honestly being far too scared to interrupt the blonde. She waited until it seemed they'd worked things out between them before simply looking over at Fernanda and saying, "I'll just go ahead and bring a round of the usual to your table."
Dylan
Dylan was not going to test her luck any further so she just concentrated on looking at the other pastries with Julian until the cashier spoke about bringing things to their table. "I suppose my order should be ready by now." She muttered mostly to herself before moving the stroller back towards the other. "Shall we eat now?"
Fernanda
If it wasn’t blatantly obvious that the mermaid was unhappy with Dylan’s behavior, the fact she kept direct eye-contact with her as the older woman asked about their lunch and _still_ chose to say nothing in response and instead turn to address Hunter with a polite ‘thank you’, and genuine smile as she paid…well, that ought to have done it.
The blonde opted to remain quiet as she proceeded to strap the girls back into their strollers only glancing back at Dylan to ensure she’d done the same with Julian before leading them next door. It wasn’t until they had been seated, she’d had a nice chat with Sage, and they had been left to their meals that she finally acknowledged Dylan again. “Care to let me know what we’ll be consuming or would you like to _pay_ someone to do it for you?”
Dylan
She wasn't so self-centered not to know what the mermaid thought about her behaviour ever since the siblings came and left. It was even more apparent when the other didn't even bother to reply to her question. While she was constantly disappointing her father, somehow this felt.. different .. and possibly worse.
And of course Fernanda wasn't going to make it easy for her since she spent the entire time they were at the table speaking with Sage instead. The half demon also refused to look over to the babies because she was *sure* they were giving her some sort of look. One had never focused on her phone screen until today. "Did the chef not already explain that all to you?" Dylan picked up her eating utensils before returning her attention to the other.
Fernanda
"And we're done," was all she said before she began to stand. Making quick work of putting her coat on and getting the kids ready, she managed to them all settled just as Hunter was making her way in with the bags of treats. Luckily the tall blonde didn't hesitate to smile and agree to help her with the babies back to the farmstead. "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Enjoy your meal with a hefty side of passive-aggression, and don't worry about returning to the farmhouse. I'll be sure to email you the rest of the paperwork and save you the arduous trip."
Dylan
Her hands stilled for the briefest moment before setting her utensils down with a sigh. If the other was leaving, then there was no reason for her to stay either so she got up and dropped a few bills on the table. Her eyes caught sight of Julian and naturally reached out and fixed his hat. When she was done, the half demon straightened up and started for the door herself - not without pausing enough to give Hunter a glare.
There were many things about this that was pissing her off, but Dylan would not be able to say what specifically. All she knew right now was that even the presence of the other was irritating her. She was so annoyed that once she was outside the establishment, she didn't even bother calling for a ride or someone to shimmer her away. The youngest Waldorf was willing to *walk* home because she was not in the mood to run into anyone - especially her brother *and* Nox.
It was an immediate change in sense that had the Paladin immediately orbing over to her youngest charge. Which turned out for the best, because as Steve had been in the kitchen fixing a snack, she managed to arrive just in time to keep a rather sturdy ceramic plate to come crashing down on the- "Oh," she let out just above a whisper. "You're a wee babi..." Setting the plate down on the counter, she bent down to scoop up the little wein and said, "Well, that certainly explains the change in how you 'read'. Let's get ye to your sister- nope, wait. She said not to interrupt her. Let's go wait in the living room."
Which would be where Ren eventually found them when she came back downstairs. Glancing up at her most temperamental charge, from where she lay with the infant on the couch, Jack grinned and said, "Oi, I think I found something that technically belongs to ya."
FLORENCIA
Ren had finally emerged from her room after being cooped up with Kieran ever since they got home. Coming down the stairs, she was just going to slip by but then Jack caught her attention. Her eyes went from the Paladin to the baby in her arms, and letting those words sink in. "You well know that I do not have a kid - wait, did Kieran do so- " Her words were cut off when she took a proper look at the child.
"Steve?" She went up to the Paladin and took the baby into her arms, almost naturally bouncing on the spot. "Kier! Something happened to Steve....?"
KIERAN
After emerging from what had become their little decompression routine after work, Kieran had the intention to head towards the home gym. Not being on the force anymore was not going to be her excuse for not working out. Besides, she found that it certainly helped her in the long run, be it the exertion or the endorphin release. She could faintly hear Ren and Jack already arguing, but that was nothing unusual.
What was unusual was Ren calling out about Steve, which in turn had the seer rushing down taking the stairs two at a time to see what the problem was. She stopped short when she came up to Ren _holding a baby_. "When did that happen?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
FLORENCIA
"*How* did this happen?" She carried her sister over to her girlfriend, "She's a baby, Kier. A baby. My eighteen year old sister is a baby." That somehow earned an incoherent sound from said sister. "Oh you think this is funny, don't you?" Another sound. "Do you think we can reverse this somehow...?" She was more panicking because what if it was permanent. However, in the middle of her panic, a scent hit her nose.
"......Are you fu- Are you serious, Stevie?" She groaned as she lifted the baby in the air and immediately recoil with disgust. "Oh.... Jack.. I don't suppose you can orb over a diaper right now, could you?"
JACK
Jack had remained on her spot in the couch, mentally holding a conference with the other Paladins while Ren went through her usual stages of addressing a crisis. The yelling bit was the least productive, and the one Jack had become a pro at working through on her own. The request for a diaper, had her orbing off and coming back with a baby bag of supplies. "Yer mum keeps like three of these in the basement at all times in case she comes across a patient that needs some essentials before heading to a shelter, and I'm going to just stop explaining and hand this over to you. Best of luck."
She turned to the most level-headed of her charges and said, "The other Paladins and I believe that this is likely in relation to the latest seal breaking on the Nexus. The good news, it means that whatever this is, however long it lasts, it will _end_. All kickback magic is temporary. The bad news is, it means the wards around the Nexus failed at some point."
AVERY
The wolf had been in the bathroom when she heard all the commotions outside. Something about a baby.. and her girlfriend. Coming out of there, she went to the living room and spotted said baby. "Uh.. What is this?" She looked at the baby in the witch's arm. ".. Is that.. Maite...?" Her eyes widened so much that one would think they would just pop out. "Is my *girlfriend* a baby?! Oh no, that's going to get me arrested." She joked as she walked over to poke the baby in the cheeks. "Oh my god, those pictures did not do you justice, my baby girl. You look *absolutely* adorable."
She would ask if she could carry her but by the way Ren was holding her, it didn't seem the older witch was allowing *anyone* else to carry her anytime soon. "Uh.. should someone go check that out? That's bad news for sure."
DIEGO
"Jack! Kier! I have a hypothetical question," Diego called out as soon as he walked through the front door. Kicking of his slush covered boots and removing his coat and scarf, he continued talking, "So like if, let's say, by complete accident -_theoretically_- one of the runes around the Nexus was like _smudged_, maybe -just a little- but only for like a second or two and then immediately redrawn proper...would that like, have any _significant_ affect on things?"
As he finally made his way into the living room proper, he realized all eyes were on him and was about to ask why when he noticed the _actual_, living child in his sister's arms. "¡Ó Díos! Kier! Did you really make a test-tube baby?! Like, Ren's been scared you might try it now that you get to play mad scientist, but I never thought you'd actually go through with it....She looks just like Ren too- what?"
FLORENCIA
She had let out a groan almost the moment she heard his voice echo through the house. Somehow she had a feeling that Diego had something to do with it now that he had posed the hypothetical question. "What did you do, Diego?" She frowned as she walked right up to her twin brother and held up their baby sister. "Stop it, you seriously don't recognise Maite?!"
However, with that being said, she looked over to Kieran, "....You didn't make a lab baby for real, did you?" She asked... just to make sure since they were on the topic. Turning back towards her brother, the fire witch held the baby back into a cradle. "*Why* did a rune get smudged to begin with??"
DIEGO
When his sister rocked right up to him and questioned if he recognized the youngest of them or not, Diego actively squealed before clasping a hand over his mouth. "Stevie? How did-" he stopped mid-question as the realization dawned on him and he clasped _both_ hands over his mouth this time. Looking from the baby to his sister, to Kieran, to Jack, and back. All about three times in total.
The only thing that got him to talk again was the look of offense clear on the seer's face when Ren suggested she might actually believe her capable of hiding a build-a-baby workshop from her. "Ohhhhhh-kay. So, in my defense, I was actually out there making sure that the wards were still up and operational. I know with the holidays just around the corner it was getting busy for most other witches and demons to take a look so I wanted to be helpful....but I forgot that water doesn't just make up snow, it also seeps into the ground to make mud, so...when I went to check the last rune I thought it would be the easiest thing to just use my powers to move the water, so the snow, but that also moved the sludge beneath, and distorted the rune, this brining down the ward bubble entirely for like a second....or four...so babies huh?"
FLORENCIA
She motioned with her glare and a swift shake of her head, indicating for him to explain already when he suddenly cut himself. To think her own brother somehow 'wiped' away the rune even if by accident. "You're sure that .. the barrier's back?" Was she doubting her brother? Maybe. Ren had more faith in Kieran's rune drawings than his after all.
"Thank god our parents aren't here...." She bounced their sister in her arms when she saw her tiny little hands raised towards her. Ren smiled softly and held a finger over the kid, who then grabbed it. "You better hope she changes back soon because you're going to explain to mom why Steve's back in diapers. "Do we need to bring in a crib? We are not letting her sleep in *your* bed, Di, you'll crush her." She walked back to the couch and took a seat, laying the kid down on her back. "This is.. so weird."
KIERAN
Her face still very much sported the look offense at the thought that Ren assumed she was capable of hiding a possible test-tube baby from her, but she simply walked over to Jack and said, "Jack and I can go grab my old crib from the manor. I'm almost certain mother isn't using it anyway. On the way there, we can make a pit-stop to verify the barrier is back up and fully functional, though I think if it weren't we'd somehow know already."
Walking over to the sitting witch, she looked down at the baby from over the woman's shoulder. "As adorable as she is, I don't think you want to tempt the fates by letting her go commando much longer," she teased. "We'll be back in a few."
FLORENCIA
Ren gave an apologetic look when she saw that her girlfriend still had the look on her face. While she did believe that Kieran wouldn't keep anything from her - because that's what they promised - Ren really felt that a lab baby was possible with how smart the woman was. "Almost certain?" She looked up almost curiously, "What.. would she using it for..? Or who..?"
She leaned in to give Kieran a quick kiss before rolling her eyes. "Okay.." She sighed as she got out the necessary things and set them out. The fire witch definitely appreciated how much calmer Maite was compared to them because that just made getting her into the diaper far quicker and easier than she thought it would be. "That's a good girl." She whispered softly once she was done.
DIEGO
"Oh! You don't know? Kieran's got a brand new baby sister...of the canine variety," he responded only too giddily. "Adaline was feeling that the manor was a bit too massive with just her by her and the usual staff of fifteen all on their own, so I suggested she get a dog." He shoved his arm, cell phone in hand between the two witches to show off the pics of the Pomeranian. "She set the pupper in Kieran's old room, so it wouldn't surprise me if she also decided to repurpose the crib."
The look of 'murder' on Kieran's face was not lost on him as they orbed away, but Diego knew it wouldn't go past a look, so he just smiled and waved. Turning his attention to his sisters, he snorted and said, "She's a baby not a pet, _Flor_."
FLORENCIA
Of course, that woman got a Pom. "Since when were you such uh.. good friends with Adaline?" She frowned. Never did she think Diego would be exchanging pictures with Kieran's mom. At the same time, it was.. strange. "Of all the rooms she has in that manor of hers, she used Kieran's room?" Surely there were other unused rooms in that place, maybe even a spare guest room.
She gave her brother a scowl before ignoring his comment and continued to coo at her sister. "...Was she always this small?" Perhaps it was because they were also smaller back then that Maite didn't feel like this but now, Ren couldn't help but think she was even more fragile than before.
DIEGO
He shrugged but his brow did furrow as he tried to find the answer to that question himself. "I don't know, actually. It just kind of happened. I felt that it was a little sad that she only really had Kieran now to talk too since mom is still very wary, and you were likely to set her on fire if Kieran wasn't around so...Maite and I, being the coolest people in the fam, have just kind of been checking in on her. She wasn't the best mom, but she's trying now and it's mighty hard to try something when everyone around you is already telling you you can't."
Feeling his answer had turned a bit too serious -and personal- he instead focused on Ren's question about their youngest sibling. "Maite's always been the smallest, though I suppose being full grown adults this time around does put her tiny-ness into a new perspective- is she just going to stand there all night?" He interrupted himself as he gestured to the youngest Rendall peeking from behind the sofa, only her eyes and up visible, said eyes glued to the baby.
AVERY
It was bizarre seeing her girlfriend turn into a baby and it did nothing but highlight the age gap between them. From the group chat, only those who are twenty and below were affected... Yes, that gap was very obvious. Not to mention, there were still a few scoobs who haven't turned but were still younger than she was. "Oh man.." She mumbled to herself as she watched the twins fuss - well, one was fussing, the other not so much - over their youngest sibling.
The wolf flinched when Diego suddenly looked her way. Honestly, she wouldn't even mind if she stayed in this very spot the whole night because Maite was so small.. and so fragile of a baby that Avery didn't know quite what to do. "..... Maybe..?" She actually looked a bit sheepish but still, she emerged from her spot and walked closer towards them. "..I don't know how I feel.. about my girlfriend being a baby.. I mean, she's real cute.. like boop, i want to pinch your cheeks cute."
DIEGO
He glanced back over at Avery, his look far more sympathetic now. “Yeah…I suppose when you put it like that, it’s bound to be far more complicated territory for you than us. We’ve always seen her as an ankle biting gremlin, this is your first glimpse,” he said.
He also figured that Steve and Baby Rendall over there were past the ‘platonic’ stage of their romance by now, and it must be trippy to go from _that_ to a literal baby. “Indulge in the cute, and take it one day at a time,” was the best he could offer. He would toss in a joking warning about keeping her hands to herself, but she already looked like she’d puke if he did.
AVERY
The wolf continued to stare at her itty bitty girlfriend, and that feeling of unease simply grew the longer she stared. "...She *is* really cute though.." She whispered softly though she still hadn't actually approached the baby, or was it because Ren was holding her? "I don't know, Di.. This is waaay trippier than you'd think."
Avery actually let out a shuddering breath, trying to take this all in. Unlike the other three, she was not handling this as well as she could. "She's also.. so.. so small." If she was scared of hurting the witch prior to this, boy, did that amplify by a thousand folds right now. "And most of the gang's like that too.. Oh man, everyone's a baby... My niche! She's a baby too."
DIEGO
"Ey! There's a silver highlight or whatever you call it. You get to interact with your niche as a baby without being a kid yourself. You get like, the genuine aunt experience. You get to be her Luke!...but like, before it turned out Luke was actually Sky's dadperson," he suggested. His own words made a thought occur to him as he then added, "Erin and Evan! You can call them and see how thye're approaching the whole 'my girlfriend is now a literal infant' debacle. Surely they'd have a far more relatable input than either of us," he said indicating himself and his twin. "For sure they'd have better input than Ren, anyway."
AVERY
"Do you think she'll even recognise me? How does this baby thing even work?" She looked over to Steve and finally built enough courage to walk right up to Ren. "...Does Maite recognize me?" She asked softly as she gently poked at the baby's hand. "Or are you going to cry because you don't know who I am." She was almost whispering. "Because that... is a whole new level of rejection I would have ever gotten.......We are so creating a support group for this.."
JACK
After an adventure and a half, the Paladin materialized back in the home just in time to hear the wolf's question. As her charge began the process of sorting the items they'd returned with, she made her way down the stairs as she called out, "There's no reason why she shouldn't remember ya. From what the we've been able to sus out in the Paladin mental-group-chat -or _hive mind_ as some have called it in the past- there's been no adverse reaction from the children to the people they know. So far, it seems that though their brains have obviously biologically reverted back to infant capabilities, their memories are fundamentally the same. I mean let's face it, they'd kind of have to be. Baby Steve would _have_ to recognize Ren as her older sister, otherwise half the facial expressions she makes would have the kid terrified, no?"
FLORENCIA
The witch watched as the wolf walked up to them. She turned her body so that Avery can take a look at her sister a little better. At Jack's explanation, however, Ren had to look up with a glare. "Are you saying that I'd be terrifying to my own baby sister?" If she wasn't holding said baby, she might have actually went up to smack their Paladin in the arm. "I'm going to go up and see how Kieran's doing with the unpacking." She scowled as she headed upstairs with the baby - standing by the door of the room so that she wouldn't actually get in the way.
KIERAN
The witch had immediately taken to sorting everything they’d brought back. She figured she’d have at least enough time to set up her old crib by the time Ren came up with the baby, but seeing as how Jack rushed _downstairs_ …well she wasn’t exactly surprised to see her time was cut short.
Glancing up at the pair, green eyes brightened and she immediately smiled at the sight of how soft Ren was around baby Steve this time around. “Well you two certainly seem to be getting along far better this time,” she teased. “Clearly the same can’t be said about you and Jack..”
FLORENCIA
She looked down at her sister who was alternating her attention on both women. "She's my baby sister, of course we'd get along." She mumbled before readjusting her hold on her sister since Maite started shifting into her. "Jack seems to think that if Maite didn't recognise me, she'd cry." Her eyes rolled in disbelief.
"Anyways, how's the crib? Do you need help?" She looked over at the crib. "You used to be in that?" She asked softly.
KIERAN
"Well, in all fairness to Jack, if she didn't recognize you, that would make you stranger. And most babies don't do well with strangers, so.." She trailed off as she began to bob her head from side to the other, causing Maite to giggle and follow her lead by rocking her upper half to and fro as well. "It is such a welcome change of pace to have the Nexus magic give us something terribly cute instead of something just terrible," she noted.
At the question she turned her attention back to the furniture and said, "I've got the general outside framing done. Still have the bottom slats and the new mattress to put in- Oh! You guys can start digging through the stuff we bough, like the sheets and pillows and things." The softer question had Kieran looking at the crib in a slightly different light. "Yeah...dad actually built himself." Her tone was soft, but the tinge of sadness was still there.
FLORENCIA
The witch scowled slightly. She refused to think that her own sister would be scared of her regardless. But that scowl went away the moment the baby started to giggle, and a smile widened when she saw that Maite was trying to mimic Kieran. "Thank god. I do not want another day being stuck as a halloween costume - or have berzerkers invade town again." She complained.
Her eyes softened when she learned that the crib had such meaning to it. Without saying anything, she leaned in for a soft kiss to the older woman's cheek before giving her hand a light squeeze. "I had no idea he knew carpentry." Though she still wasn't the biggest fan of Kieran's parents, but him building the crib was a nice gesture. Letting go of the other, Ren went over to pick out the sheets and pillow they were going to use. "Should we run everything through the wash first?" She muttered as she took out a set.
KIERAN
She nodded emphatically and said, “I genuinely don’t my blood pressure can take any other major anything for at least the next three months. Also, I think my brain needs a break after everything we had to do to clean up after Old Man Grey.”
Kieran was more than appreciative of the gesture. “That man was full of surprises until the very end, and apparently even after,” she replied. It really did feel she learned something every week. She turned to look over at the items, stretching out a hand that then waved in the general direction of them. “All sanitized. So is the carpet, by the way, if you wanted to give her some room to roam…and no, I will not be doing our actual laundry with magic. You still have to use the washer and dryer.”
FLORENCIA
"I'm.. not going to say anything more because I feel like it might just jinx it." Ren gave a wry smile, "The old man seems to have flipped the whole town upside down and we can't even get him to pay for it." Her eyes rolled. One could think he got off lucky since he was killed before the town found him.
She pouted when Kieran told her she would not be doing the laundry the same way. "Fiiine." She whined as she brought over the sheet, waiting for the crib to be set up before laying out the sheet but since she was holding the kid, she couldn't tuck it in as well as she hoped. "Oh this is cute." She chuckled, not expecting the characters on the sheets.
KIERAN
As she continued moving about placing in the final pieces she said, "Yeah, please don't. Let's just count our blessings and not look a gift horse in the mouth." She let out a low whistle and said, "I don't know about lucky. From what Evan was able to see when she had to to go do her due diligence as the next-of-kin, he may have stepped on the very last nerve of the wrong person."
Taking a step back she could only raise a brow as she watched Ren struggle with the bedsheet. "Yeah, I figured she might like them. Also, just a suggestion, but you may be able to win the wrestling match you've got going with the mattress right now if you use _both_ hands. You know? Maybe let the baby down or hand her over?"
FLORENCIA
She rolled her eyes, "He's lucky because he suffered once and that was it. There are plenty of people who probably wanted a piece of him." While she wasn't an advocate of *torture* methods, Ren still believed there was more to be done since he affected so many lives regardless if he personally had beef with said person or not. "Thank god Evan Jr didn't turn out to be like him."
She looked almost offended by the idea of putting her sister down. "No, I will not." She laughed as she held the sheet up to the other instead. "I wanna keep holding her." Ren was already rocking on her feet as if the kid wasn't already pooped out already.
KIERAN
“I think the sentiment of wanting everyone who was wronged to get their pound of flesh is bordering on something that would ultimately be against the Geneva Convention,” she noted. Ren’s proclivity towards anger may be placing blinders on her current view, but her suggestions were increasingly nearing something that would, in practice, be literal torture. “Yes, we’ll she did have her mother for the most important years.”
Green eyes looked just as offended as the witch was _denied_ the opportunity to carry the baby. She took the sheet nonetheless and made quick work of fitting it in place. “She’s pretty much about to pass out, so you’re going to have to put her down anyway. We’ll discuss the multiple ways you’ve affronted me tonight later.”
FLORENCIA
She grew quiet when she saw Kieran looking at her.. which was then backed up by her words. Ren was in trouble because she didn't think before she spoke. Begrudgingly, she went over to laid her sister into the crib before tucking her in carefully, making sure she's comfortable and won't get cold overnight.
While she could probably say something, something told her that being quiet might be the best way for now - until Kieran addressed her again. Instead of going over to her girlfriend, Ren lingered around the crib, fiddling with the frame as she waited.
KIERAN
Kieran watched as Ren set the baby down, and the little girl almost immediately drifted off. Then she waited for the witch to turn back around....and waited, and waited. When it became painfully obvious that Ren was either avoiding any further conversation or was waiting for Kieran to point out where the metaphorical puzzle piece had to go -again-, the older witch just sighed and went to get ready for bed herself.
For all the progress she felt they'd made recently, it still felt like they were always taking four steps back because Ren still refused to confront anything and would rather be told what the misstep was, which in the end always left Kieran wondering if Ren even understood why it was a misstep to begin with.
FLORENCIA
The slight panic she felt when Kieran got ready for bed instead of starting the conversation. When she saw the older witch was in bed, Ren got in as well. With a small surge of courage, she shuffled in close enough to wrap her arm around the older woman's waist. ".... I'm sorry." She apologized softly as she nuzzled into the back of Kieran's neck.
The fiery witch knew she messed up somewhere - the obvious one was related to Ren hogging her younger sister.
KIERAN
The older witch knew she didn't have it in her to actually _stay_ mad, but that didn't mean she couldn't be upset for a while after. Even as she felt the fire witch slide into bed with her and warp herself around her, Kieran's gaze didn't budge from the spot she'd chosen on the wall across from her. All she did, at the woman's apology, was ask, "About?"
This far along, she needn't elaborate. They'd discussed many times over that apologizing without knowing what it is that you're apologizing for, renders the apology moot.
FLORENCIA
"...For hogging Maite, instead of helping you make the bed.." Ren had meant it jokingly since she didn't want to let go of her sister just to make the bed. With that being said, the fire witch would have happily given Kieran the kid if she knew that the other wanted to hold her right that moment.
She fell silet again because it was mentioned that it was 'multiple' times so the witch ahad to think back again. ".... Was it also because I said that you might have had a lab baby in the works?"
KIERAN
Kieran just let out a deep sigh and said, "At this point, it's honestly more about the fact that when you do something that's upsetting, you're quick to say the words 'I'm sorry' but don't bother to take the time to realize _what_ you're sorry about, which means you go on without knowing or acknowledging what you did wrong or why it was wrong."
She turned around to face the younger and said, "But yes, it's also about the fact you thought I'd keep a lab baby from you."
FLORENCIA
She laid there as she mulled over those words, though it was sidetracked when Kieran brought up the lab baby again. "I mean.. like.. you're obviously smart enough to create one if you wanted to.... and I don't know.. Maybe you were waiting to see some sort of results to actually happen before letting anyone know that this could actually be a reality?" She hummed, "... but then, because it's a baby we're talking about so I suppose you wouldn't *not* bring it up - at least the idea of creating one - especially when it's about making a family... "
The more she spoke, the more she felt like maybe she should just.. *stop*. After all, they had been working to tell each other everything. "....Are you upset .. because we said we won't keep secrets from each other anymore.. and here I am.. saying that you're keeping a secret?"
KIERAN
Kieran looked her in silence for a moment. "So, are we really just going to completely skip over the problem that I, as has become the norm, practically spoon-fed you so that you could -I don't know- at least pretend to address it...?" Another sigh escaped her as she said, "I know sometimes we all get sidetracked, but there's big a difference between 'ooh I saw something shiny' and 'ooh I'm going to actively talk about something else', because Florencia Maria Velazquez you are _not_ oblivious enough to have accidentally focused on the _wrong_ thing, you simply chose to focus on the _easier_ thing."
She turned back around settled into bed proper. "I don't think we're getting anywhere soon and we'll have to be up in a few hours to check on the baby. Might as well get some sleep."
FLORENCIA
"Kieran.." She called out when the other turned back around. It was clear from the voice just how tired Kieran was with her.. bullshit. "No.." She answered quietly, "We.. *I* shouldn't skip over it." She made a face as she remembered Kieran calling her out for taking the easy way out... It seems that she took a lot more than she realized from a certain parent than she'd want to admit. "I might.. not know every time when I put my foot in my mouth, but I know I've done something that upset you and.. I know that I shouldn't do it again." She fell quiet again as she thought back to the events earlier.
KIERAN
She let out a an exhausted sigh, but didn't feel up to turning around just yet. "Look, I genuinely don't think this is conversation that is getting us anywhere, and I would hate to say something I regret later because I spoke out or frustration, but I don't know whether I'm just not being clear or you're not listening to what I'm actually saying here. I'm aware that _you_ are aware that I'm upset. I know that _you_ don't want a repeat. The _problem_ lies in the fact that you never actually know what it is that you do wrong, and you always end up waiting for someone to tell you what it was. Maybe, doing a little work and trying to figure it out on your own once in a while would be a more effective way of helping you with not doing those repeats."
FLORENCIA
She wasn't going to push it if Kieran was adamant that this issue wouldn't be resolved tonight. The only thing she felt she could do at this point was to give Kieran her space, figure out what else she did wrong tonight.. and just think before saying anything in the the future - the latter being a bit hard to do since the witch knew she was pretty impulsive.
Instead of replying, the younger woman fell quiet as she just stared into the back of her girlfriend.
KIERAN
Kieran held out for all of five minutes, before turning around and wrapping an arm lightly around Ren's waist. "Please stop boring holes into my back. It's bordering on creepy and that's an adjective I'd really rather never have to use to describe you," she muttered. "We can come back to the conversation later, but I also don't want us to go to sleep like two strangers forced to share a bed, because I saw that too much with my parents and honestly, disagreements come and go but if they're really big enough to disrupt the status quo? I don't like to think about the outcome that usually leads to."
FLORENCIA
The moment Kieran flipped over, Ren felt relief wash over her. She managed a soft chuckle when she was basically called a semi-creeper just for staring. "That is definitely not a compliment for your girlfriend." Her voice just as soft considering the time of night. "Honestly.. I'm just glad you turned around." She admitted before shuffling in closer enough to put her face against the older witch's chest, wrapping her arms even tighter into a half-hug.
KIERAN
Kieran shifted a bit make the fact they were now sharing a spot, on the rather spacious bed, more comfortable. As Ren settled into her usual position, Kieran just placed a soft kiss to the top of her head and whispered, "I swear I can practically feel my hair going grey because of you." She closed her eyes waited for Ren's breathing to even out. Things could wait until tomorrow...or whenever the baby decided nap-time was over.
While Devin wasn't the most expressive person in the family, it had been incredible and almost unbelievable that she got to spend some quality time with *both* her daughters. Octavius clearly enjoyed it far more than anyone else in the family, beaming at everyone at always. It was also nice to see how attached Peyton was despite not having her feelings reciprocated to the same extent - but let's be honest, no one can possibly match the level of the Dawsons. Even Devin couldn't.
So when they were over at the ranch, Devin had expected.. a somewhat peaceful time. What she got instead, was 3 babies suddenly taking place of the children. The scene itself just rendered her silence for so many reasons.
One of which was that she literally sees the baby she left behind so many years ago. "This..." She rose from her seat and picked up her eldest daughter the same time as Oct picking up Peyton. "What is this?"
IZZY
It took everything in Izzy not to punch Brax in the arm when be he replied 'That's a baby' because, no shit that was a baby. Instead she just looked at him like he'd grown a second head until she saw the penny literally drop in his mind. Walking over, she scooped up Sean as Octavius scooped up Peyton and she gave her brother a quick once-over. "Well, at least they appear to be relatively healthy and unharmed otherwise..."
She trailed off as a thought suddenly hit her and she quickly handed Sean over to Brax as she exclaimed, "The twins!" and rushed upstairs to the nursery.
BRAXTON
Excusing himself with Sean, he followed Izzy up the stairs to seee how the twins were. It was honestly a good thing Izzy had the brain cells most of the time. "Oh.. they are real tiny." He actually let out a chuckle as he hovered a finger over one of the babies and letting her grab onto it with the wee strength they had. "Ohhhhhhh, do you think this is happening to the other people?"
Almost on cue, his phone pinged. Pulling away from the baby, he quickly checked his phone and spotted the group message. "Oh.. I think all the kids are affected." Then he raised the phone up to his mouth to record a voice message, "Is Tomi a baby too?" He asked.
IZZY
Just as Brax was catching up to her, Izzy had made her way into the nursery and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her beautiful girls still in their cribs, if only -as Brax put it- very tiny. "Oh, I'm just so relieved to see that they're still _here_. If whatever caused this managed to shrink legal adults back to infants, I was terrified to think what it might do a pair of barely two year-olds."
She listened as Brax read the message and recorded his own, a thought suddenly occurring to her as he hit send. "Brax, honey, this means we're going to probably be dealing with a set of near newborn twins _and_ the Tornado Twins just as they begin to start walking....we're going to need baby-proof this entire place twice over, especially if we can't figure out how long it's going to last."
DEVIN
Octavius and she was just in awe at the pair of babies that were just cuddling against them. Devin did not hesitate to wrap her arms securely around her oldest daughter when she felt her lean against her. While her husband was always beaming, the smile he sent her way did suggest he knew how she was feeling. Not that she wanted to be biased with her children, but to have Amaryllis be in her arms again. That was quite the feeling to process.
Taking them upstairs, she appeared in the doorway. "How are the twins?" She asked since she couldn't quite see with the two adults blocking the view of the crib. However she could smell the younger set of girls and noted the shift in their scent as well. "Oh. They're even tinier." Somehow, she didn't expect that. "I'm assuming that this doesn't happen that often." She had heard stories about Fallcrest, but to experience a magical accidental like this was very different.
IZZY
Izzy couldn't help the bright smile at the sight of Amaryllis looking so clearly comfortable in her mother's arms. After all this time, she'd only ever seen the girl look this relaxed around her brother and knowing the story behind the duo, it had Izzy's already emotional state needing a deep breath to not become a mess. "Yes, sorry. They're okay. They're jammies and diapers are a bit loose now, but at least we have plenty of supplies to tide us over, and to go around of course. We're already risking a lot with three undiapered infants," she laughed, already moving to grab things from the drawers.
As Brax took on the task of trying to wrangle Sean into a diaper as he tried to escape over to Ryllie, she picked up her phone when the group chat dinged. Glancing up at Devin she said, "This specifically? No, but mishaps with magic have kind of become par for the course whenever the Nexus has a seal broken. According to the group chat, the Paladins think that's the most likely root of all this."
BRAXTON
"Babies.. are probably one of the best things that came from a seal being broken." He snorted as he laid back down onto the ground once he got Sean sorted out. Watching him crawl over towards Devin, Braxton only let a chuckle. "I might go pick Tomi up soon..." He was already excited to see his baby girl but he should at least get the current kids in the house sorted out first. "...Do you think Sean is going to cry if they take Ryllie home?"
Braxton rolled over to his back and looked up at the ceiling, thinking about the things he might do after picking Tomi up. "I might also grab more things along the way. Now that we have so many babies, we are going to run out of supplies real fast." He chuckled, "From the looks of things, only the kids got affected. My sister is still fine, but her girlfriend isn't."
IZZY
"We were just talking about post-seal break shenanigans a few days ago," she mused aloud, briefly distracted by Brax's sudden decision to mimic a teenage girl working on homework as he laid on the floor. If he stated kicking his feet she might have to call Col... Her attention, however, was immediately drawn away as she watched her now _baby_ brother make his way over to the other woman. A sad smile crossed her face, but she went over to pick him up before he tried latching onto things.
Seeing as the tiny ginger began to immediately reach out to the girl, Izzy glanced down at Brax and said, "It's probably about as likely as Skylar crying when you go pick Tomi up, so best of luck bargaining with Keagan," she replied as the man rolled over. "But much like anything else with a baby, he'll get over it."
DEVIN
When she spotted the red haired baby crawl towards her, Devin felt sorry for the other considering that she was very tempted to bring Amaryllis home with her. Of course, she wouldn't if the others said no - and she also wasn't sure how upset Ryllie would be despite her current cuddly state.
"If both babies don't want to be separated, then I suppose there won't be other choice than to leave Amaryllis here with you - I hope it won't be too overwhelming since you have 3 - well, 4 from the sounds of things, in one house house." Surely they all understood how exhausting it could get simply with one kid, much less five in total."
IZZY
Izzy glanced up at Devin once again, knowing full well the feeling of having to be separated from your kids. True, Sean and Tomi were quite older when she'd left for Philly, but it had hurt all the same. She couldn't fathom what it would be like for the blonde to see a fresh opportunity with the baby she missed out on only to have to already leave her behind.
"Ideally, I'd love to have Ryllie stay here with us for the first bit, if only for her own comfort of being in a place she knows and is comfortable. That being said, the ranch has plenty of extra rooms and space if you and Octavius would like to stick around here as well? I mean, it's not like it wouldn't be nice to have another two sets of hands to keep track of everyone."
OCTAVIUS
He had followed after his wife whilst holding their younger daughter. At the sight of the sisters together as babies simply warmed his heart and he could not stop beaming all the way up the stairs and into the room. What better time than now for Devin to bond with the daughter she never thought she'd ever see again until now. It was great yet slow porcess so far, and Octavius had to admit that the other being a baby now might be a very good stroke of luck.
"If you don't mind, we would love to stay! Babies all around." He grinned, wider when Devin looked over his way. "It's a good idea. The more hands the better, and Sean would be less likely to cry if Ryllie's around!."
IZZY
"Of course I don't mind," Izzy replied with a smile of her own. "Believe me, if the idea weren't appealing I wouldn't have offered. Besides, I do genuinely think that keeping Amaryllis in a place she's comfortable and has called home for a while now is much more conducive to all three of you being able to bond with her more."
Sparing a glance to the Beta that was still laying on the nursery floor, she looked back up and said, "And it would also ease my mind a lot to know that while I'm at work caring for other babies, mine are being looked after by more than just my new _rug_."
BRAXTON
The man was now on his back raising the kid up and down in the air, swaying side to side. "Yeahhh, you flying kid!" He chuckled. How he missed this - not that he didn't do the same with the younger pair of twins, but having Sean, and hopefully Tomi be petite size again? Surely this was a blessing because everyone was almost getting a second chance to do things right.
Eventually, he set the kid back on his chest and wrapped his arms around him. "Peanut, I forgot how small you were." He grinned before looking up at Iz, "I am more than willing to be the new rug if Sean is going to be down here chilling with me."
IZZY
The giggles that filled the room were nothing short of the sweetest sound she'd heard in a while. There would never be a question about how much she loved and cherished similar giggles from her younger girls, but Sean was basically her first born and there had honestly always been just _something_ about him that made it to where his happiness just radiated.
At the mention of his size, Izzy just looked at the baby endearingly. "Yeah, we're going to have to pick up stuff for him when we shop for the minis. As nicely as their diapers and onesies fit the kittens, he's basically swimming in his," she noted, before rolling her eyes at Brax's antics. "Rugs can't pick up babies from their friends' homes..." Rugs also didn't really _help_ with babies either so, she was wary of that offer.
BRAXTON
"This is why I said the van would've been a good idea because we can fit all the car seats." Not that they would have predicted this situation but at the very least, they would all fit in one car instead of taking two. "Oh man, I forgot Peanut here was smaller than everyone until that growth spurt." He chuckled as he did his best at making Sean's outfit.. less loose-looking.
At the topic of picking up his daughter, Braxton looked up at Izzy. "...Do you think Keagan's not going to let me?" He frowned as he sat up carefully with Sean in his arms and then fully got up from the floor. "I hope I get to spend some time with Tomes..." He looked down at Sean and walked right up to Izzy, "Look at him. Oh my god, his little baby hands are trying to grab onto my shirt."
IZZY
The nurse looked down at him with a furrowed brow. Not only had the topic of vehicles not been brought up but, they’d both had their respective trucks long before being back in the same town…? Izzy opted to just blink and let it go. There was enough to process as is.
“Well, he _is_ known as the ‘runt’ of the pack for a reason,” she said, not that she was ever too keen on that title. Not the least reason being that their own father had given it to him. Shaking her head slightly she chuckled at the man. “I meant more that if you were a literal rug, obviously they don’t drive. I’m sure that Keagan of all people would be more than understanding of you wanting a bit of a second shot at the baby days,” she reassured before practically melting again at the sight of Sean grabbing onto Braxton. “He _has_ always been a Stage 5 clinger…”
BRAXTON
"Peanut of the runt. Well, Bean of the runt. Sky was not happy when both Sean and T outgrew her before they even reached highschool." He grinned, "Ugh, loook at him... Look at *them*. Now I'm real excited to see Tomi and the rest of the babies. They're all going to be tinyyyy.. I should set up a kids area at the gym..."
Braxton smiled at the idea of getting to spend time with Tomi. This time being very different from when Tomi was still a baby.. and not reverted back by magic. "Do you think they'll remember anything? Or would they forget everything once they ..uh.. grow up again."
IZZY
It took one look to get him to drop the ‘runt’. This ma had the unique ability to make her regret speaking in less than ten seconds sometimes…”Ooh we should try to get them all together for at least one picture. Not to be biased but, they were already a group of very good looking young adults. I don’t expect they wouldn’t be equally as cute as babies.”
She furrowed her brow at his sudden desire for a kids’ area. “You already have one? Luke was in charge of it until Sky outgrew it, but it’s still there. Aves is also in charge of the kid drop-off, where people can get the kids watched while they workout…how long has it been since you did your own paperwork?”
The last question made her pause before admitting, “I don’t know. I would err on the side of caution though, and just assume they will.” Izzy reached over and took Sean from him. “Now go on, go get our missing twin.”
BRAXTON
It was clear as day just how giddy Braxton was on his way to the car. Leaving the kids with the Dawsons, he drove them over to the not-mansion cabin. He prayed that he wasn't going to be met by an upset Sky or Tomi. The last thing he wanted was for Tomi to bawl like the world was ending. "Okay.. okay.. Here we go.." He steeled his nerves as he gave the cabin door a knock... Only to be met by.. Not-Keagan which was all he could ask for.
When his eyes laid onto the sight of his baby girl being cradled, he visibly melted. She was exactly how he remembered but now that he was aware that he made this? That was another wave of emotions. The amount of wariness he had when he held her in his arm was far more than he needed to be but the baby was so small that he felt like he could just.. accidentally break her.
Braxton could not keep his eyes off of the baby even when they were on their way back. "Iz.. she's so small!" As if he hadn't already said this a million times at the cabin, and during their trip back to the ranch.
IZZY
Izzy would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little wary of possibly being denied the chance to take Tomi back with them. After all, they themselves had just agreed to host the Dawsons in a bid to avoid splitting up Sean and Amaryllis not fifteen minutes ago.
She had been pleasantly surprised to find her baby girl so well looked after already, and though there was slight noises of complaints when Erin had said her goodbyes, it had worked out well.
As they made their way back inside the house at the ranch, she looked back at him and said, “I was more surprised to see how comfortable she was with Rikke. Tomi’s always been the least fan of ‘new’ people. I guess maybe it’s their Paladin-charge bond? Do you think that will have Rikke orbing in if she’s upset?”
BRAXTON
He looked up for the first time at the question, "Maybe..? As her charge, she might have felt it - like, 'this person is safe' sorta vibe?" He shrugged, "Then we better not upset T too much." He chuckled, "I'm not entirely sure how the whole Paladin bond would feel, but I think Rikke would be able to differentiate the different levels of 'upset', right? If not, then I guess.... we should prace ourselves for a visit..."
Braxton went to the room where Sean was in but then stood by the door. ".....Would it be a good idea... to put them together right now... He might cry." He joked before actually stepping closer to the kid. "Look who we got, it's your sib!" He whispered softly as he showed at an angle, Tomi in his arms.
IZZY
She nodded at his words. He wasn’t the most eloquent, but his point made sense. “I’m sure with as much experience as she has, the woman’s bound to have system right? I mean, I can’t imagine she’d have been in such good spirits with _two_ of her charges being infants if she _didn’t_ know how to tell when a cry could be ignored….but I still think we should arrange to have Erin and Sky visit at some point soon…just in case.” It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Rikke, it was just the idea of someone randomly materializing in her home that was odd.
Being mindful of the baby, Izzy smacked him in the arm at the crack her brother’s expense. “Bold of you to assume he hasn’t already senses she’s here and won’t cry if you _don’t_ bring her in,” she noted. Izzy could only watch as the baby boy immediately zeroed in on his sister and began crawling over.
BRAXTON
"The more the merrier?" He chuckled, "Ooooh, they could have a baby sleepover! Well, maybe we should have more cribs in here, just in case they do come.. all of them? Doesn't make sense to leave out a baby. Baby huddle!!!" He lifted his daughter into the air, up and down a few times before going back to cradling her. "Oh, it looks like someone wants to play with you." He crouched down so he can set Tomi down carefully onto the floor. "Heyyyy here's your sister."
He smiled as he watched the babies interact before taking a seat again on the floor. "I need pictures of you two. More pictures of you too!" He took out his phone and started snapping away - making a few boomerangs, and taking a few short clips. "Ugh. Izzy.. my heart."
IZZY
“Friendly reminder that Erin won’t fit in a crib, so maybe we’ll want to confer with someone who has actual experience in renovating rooms before we make changes…or at least get a second opinion.” As irritating as Brax’s impulsiveness could be, the sight of Tomi and Sean immediately making their way to each other was far too lovely to _not_ take her focus.
Sitting on the floor beside the Beta, she pulled out her own phone and began to snap pics all around. Even the younger girls got in on the fun once they were up. “I always wanted to have a daycare’s worth of kids running around, but I guess crawling will do.”
BRAXTON
"Well.. if we made it... bigger, it might?" He joked, "And the ones we've entrusted to help build most of things are.. well, babies themselves. Kinda hard to ask them for a second opinion." He wiggled his brows, knowing full well there were others they could ask. "We could ask Luke - but she might renovate the place and turn it into Not-Mansion 2.0. I mean.. Although.. There is a space for one.."
He grinned as he showed his phone to Izzy, swiping through the pics he took himself. "And this isn't even the whole pack. Oh man, wait till every babies together in one place."
IZZY
“Okay, _babies_ hardly ever want to be in a crib, I highly doubt a college freshman does…although the way Erin is around Tomi and Skylar…I suppose I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided to pull a _you_ and just share a crib with them…” Izzy listened to his suggestion before saying, “Well, we may need to consult with Luke and Keagan about other things regardless. Tomi is fine now, but she may not be tomorrow, in the bright light of day.”
As she scanned through the pics Brax had taken, Izzy couldn’t help the clear look of utter adoration that crossed her face. “The fact we get to see these kids as littles all over again? And get to do it with no interference from deadbeat dads? I just can’t.”
BRAXTON
"Have you *seen* them be apart? Because I haven't so I think it's best to make some room for erin, and the 'rents in case they all want to stay over. It's going to be a party." He grinned, "I hope Tomi's going to be fine...." it'd break his heart if he can't calm the kid down the next day if she did decide to cry - Hell, maybe he'd cry too.
"Yeah.. To think we've been given this opportunity." He smiled as he already made one of the new pictures his wallpaper. "No deadbeat dads." He agreed as he looked over at the kids, still wrapping his mind over the fact that he and Kimi made that kid. Hopefully he won't mess up either.
IZZY
"Well, for the time being let's worry about how we're going to arrange these kiddos for sleep _tonight_. We can always sort out future sleeping arrangements later," she said, already looking around the nursery. "It's not really the best idea to have babies share a sleeping space before a certain age, but I think we can manage with the older bubs. The kittens can share one crib, the tornado twins the other, and I think I still have the mini-twins' basinets in storage, so they can sleep in those in my room...What was _your_ plan for sleeping?"
It was almost immediate how much happier Sean was this time around. He'd always been a happy baby, and more so when Tomi was around, but this time he had Amaryllis and it really seemed like nothing could turn his smile upside-down. Those four little teeth were on full display, and Tomi was even managing to be patient with Peyton and the minis..."They're just so happy."
BRAXTON
"The Dawsons are staying too right?" He was already excited for getting all the kids together. "...Should we have a divider for T and Bean? Because it's like 50% they'd sleep peacefully, 50% T might kill him." He joked before giving her a shrug. "Well.. It's like what you said, except I wanted to put all the cribs next to each other so they're sort of altogether - Unless you meant me.. I could.. take the couch unless.. you've got.. another suggestion..?"
"They are.." He smiled as he reached out to give one of the siblings a poke to the side. "And the plan is to keep it that way." The beta couldn't help but inch forward so that he could scoop the two pups into his arms. "Heyyyyyyy. I'm feeling left out here."
IZZY
Nodded, and simply stated, “Yes, hence the kitten comment. Because kittens are baby cats…” it was her way of calling him dumb without actually saying it. Looking between the babies she nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I think once they’ve fallen asleep I can manage to find a safe divider. Tomi may not intentionally try to hurt him, but Sean is still small.” She raised a brow as she listened to him explain his master design plan. “Okay, we’ll we can do that, though I did mean where you were planning sleeping _yourself_. The couch is certainly an option, unless you’re up for helping with feedings throughout the night…than I suppose you can share with me and the minis.”
Izzy could only laugh as Tomi immediately ’responded’ to the man’s complaints with a series of babbles that Sean then came in after to back up. “Sounds like they just put you in your place, sir.”
BRAXTON
"I think Tomi has a stronger grip now.. Or is it just me?" Brax wondered since Tomi didn't have her powers bound anymore. "Yeah, we'll definitely need a divider between them... Should we put Bean in .. I don't know.. baby hockey gear." He laughed, "Do they even make them in his current size?" His eyes widened when Izzy suggested he could share with her and the youngest. "..You wouldn't mind?" Those blue hues immediately softened, "Yeah, I'd be down to help with that.."
He looked down at the babies and decided to rub his scruff against the babies. "Are you guys complaining? Hm? Are you?" He laughed at the squeals before giving them a break.
IZZY
“Well I wouldn’t really know, given that you’ve been the only to hold her since Rikke hand her over so…” Was there tinge of jealousy? Hell yes. It wasn’t like _she’d_ denied him holding Sean. Speaking of which, “A divider should be more than fine. Tomi was never an erratic sleeper anyway, and I don’t see that having changed of she’s managing to share uh…_sleeping space_ with two other people.” It was awkward, to say the least, to even think about Tomi’s adult love life while she was currently a baby. Bless Erin….The question brought her back to the moment. “I mean, things have been going well and it would be something we’d ideally be doing at some point. As long as you can behave, I don’t see why we can’t do this one little thing to make traversing this sudden change a little easier.”
When he proceeded to go mess with the kids, Izzy just threw Octavius a look that silently said, “You’re the dad in charge”
DEVIN
As endearing as it was to see Braxton playing with the kids, Devin wondered if Izzy was going to be okay. Perhaps it was a good idea for them to be here with this many kids in the household. "We'll be in here so we can always keep an eye on them." Moreover, it sounded like Brax was more focused on playing with the children more than anything else. Perhaps, it really was a good thing Octavius and she were here.
Carrying over their daughters, she laid her down into the empty crib with her husband doing the same with the other baby. The moment Peyton was on the mattress, she was already reaching out for Amaryllis and Devin could feel her heart ache. That was just too cute. "I'm glad that we took this trip down here."
AYDEN
She didn't know what to expect when she got the messages about the youngest scoobs turned into babies. She could only assume that the parents weren't too upset over it, where as the ones *dating* them, like Avery.. who had sent a message in all caps about it, were conflicted. Knowing that Izzy was with Braxton, Ayden felt concerned to how they were handling it so she decided to head over for a visit - bringing food in case the adults haven't eaten yet.
"Hey." She smiled when the door revealed her best friend and she immediately went in for a hug. "How's everything going? ...Is Brax helping?"
IZZY
As wary as she may have been leaving the babies out of sight with just Brax, it was somewhat alleviated by the fact that Devin and Octavius would also be in the room. Also, she had a feeling she knew who would be on the other side of the door anyway, given that everyone else was pretty much either busy themselves or in this room. Taking the stairs two at a time, she never happier to be proven right as she saw her best friend and reciprocated the hug. "Hey yourself," she said before stepping aside, "Come in, come in. It's freezing out there."
She laughed at the question as she closed the front door. "Depends on how you define 'helping', but he's certainly much more eager to be more involved this time around."
AYDEN
Once she was inside, Ayden took off her jacket and hung it nearby. "It's times like this when I wished I got that innate body warmer you wolves have." She joked. "Mm.. I figured so I thought I might pop by to help out." Braxton always meant well, but Ayden did not trust him enough to know what he was doing. "Is he only playing with the kids?" Because that definitely sounded like something he would do.
Then it hit her that there were other voices in the house. "Oh, you've got extra hands around already." She mused although she had a feeling that they were busy with their own daughters.
IZZY
"It's great when we're out working on the ranch, but it can get a bit stuffy to still have to wear thick jackets to play things off around the town's mundanes," she noted, already walking over to the refrigerator to grab Ayden a drink. "It is very much appreciated, because as much as he claims to _want_ to help out more...I don't think that man can tell the difference between a baby's diaper and a sanitary pad," she deadpanned, before a thought occurred to her. "Speaking of such a mix-up, how is Avery dealing with her girlfriend being a baby? Erin seemed to be holding out well enough when we picked Tomi up but, I think that's because she had Lyra as a distraction?"
AYDEN
"I'm in my garage most of the time and I am so glad to have that HVAC system installed there. *So* glad." She chuckled as she followed Izzy over to the kitchen, grabbing a seat at the counter. "Well, getting him to do it - without help - is probably the best way to get him to learn." After all, Braxton always managed to pull through at times when under pressure... One way or another. "Well, she did send me this?" She pulled out her phone and showed the text message with all caps from the youngest Rendall. "I don't think she's.. dealing all that well, but apparently she sent home after a while since her sister in law brought the baby up to sleep."
IZZY
"And Irwin Co. is _exceedingly_ happy you thought of us to the do the job," she said, teasingly. Everyone knew that Izzy had less than zero to do with the contracting and construction company, although now with both 'heads' being babies...She shook her head. That was a headache for another day. "Yeah, that approach normally works with just about anything...but these are babies. So...I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
Setting the drink down in front of her friend, Izzy lent in to read the message. "Wow, I feel for her, I really do..._but_ I can't bring myself to say I wish this hadn't happened," she admitted with a grin. "I really never thought I'd get to see what my first set of babies would be like around my new ones, and they're getting along so great."
AYDEN
"Who else was I supposed to go to?" She pointed out - as if all the Scoobs hadn't already been getting the Irwins' to be their contractors for most of their renos. "I can always stick around for a while in case anything happens? Like how much do you trust Brax can handle it." She was.. half joking? Maybe. She honestly wasn't sure herself.
She accepted the drink with a small thanks before warming herself up with it. Both her hands pressed against the mug, welcoming the warmth coming from it. "I feel bad for.. everyone whom they're dating but so far, it sounds like all the 'rents are loving it right now. Especially with the amount of shopping that was done - or so I've heard." She could hear that Braxton was still playing with them in the room above and let out a smile at the giggles. "Never thought we'd get to hear those giggles again." It was one thing to hear Kimi and Tilly giggle, it was another to heard Sean and Tomi giggle like that again.
IZZY
Izzy made a face before a look of realization dawned on her. "Sean and Tomi _have_ managed to kind of monopolize the game in town haven't they?" she asked, more rhetorically than anything, but there was no small hint of pride as she said it. "You are a lifesaver, and honestly if we couldn't get you the opportunity of having Avery toddling around after you, I can at least share my brood with you," Izzy said, knowing already that for Ayden it was less about the 'helping' and more about the babies..though not nearly to Brax's level.
She nodded in understanding. "I know it can't be easy for the older members of the various relationships right now, and I do genuinely feel bad for them, _but_ I can't bring myself to wish that it hadn't happened," she admitted. "To get to interact with Sean and Tomi with some actual know-how, for Brax to get to relieve this stage _knowing_ Tomi is his actual daughter, and for Keg- Oh my god, for Keg was gone for so much of the twins' first year?? She must be over the moon!"
AYDEN
"It seems so, they're good at what they do, so I'm not surprised if everyone wants to hire their services - although, it might be a bit tricky to do so at the moment." She pointed out before her eyes gave a hint of sympathy. "I would love to see Avery as a baby again - but that kid is a menace at any age. It's just that she can be responsible for her own actions now that she's an adult." She joked as she thought about the younger years of that girl. "Taking care of 2 kids at a time is already a lot of work, I can't imagine having to take care of four."
Ayden smiled as she thought about their mutual friends getting the chance to relive the bits they missed out and could not feel anything but happiness for them. "It really is a blessing of sorts." She was positive that the parents were all loving this right now. "We should get the babies together soon - one big playdate like how we used to do it."
IZZY
Izzy thought about it for a moment and said, “Well, for the immediate future we can just use the holidays to our advantage, and if by some chance this lasts longer, we can figure something out then. Hopefully just nothing that would require dad coming back to town.” Just the thought of that man around any of the children made her physically shudder. “I used to say the same thing about Tomi, but it turns out no matter how old they get, they always find a way to loop you back in,” she said tossing her friend a knowing wink. If Avery didn’t have a legit criminal record yet, it was due in no small part to Ayden’s involvement.
She let out a dramatic sigh, dropping her head at the mention of _four_ babies, only to snap it back up with a huge grin. “I’m sure it’ll be physically and even mentally taxing, but I am so looking forward to it, Ayde. The matching outfits, the tornadoes and the minis, the kittens??” Izzy let out an uncharacteristic squeal. Well, uncharacteristic to _most_. Ayden, Keagan, Blake, and Kimi had heard it all. “Brax is already planning a massive sleepover upstairs. I didn’t have the heart to tell him Leo or Luke could probably host better.”
AYDEN
"..Let's hope we don't need to come to that." Somehow all the Scoobs had a shit father - although Tomi's bio dad didn't even know he was the dad until recently. However Ayden was not a fan of the rest of them, including Joe. "And it seems worth the effort since all the kids grew up to be who they are now." She may complain, but everyone knew she wouldn't trade Avery for anyone else. She may be a menace, but Aves was her menace.
"Quite the bundle you have here." She was genuinely happy for her friend who looked thrilled that all her babies are literal babies now. "Speaking of upstairs, how about we head up? I haven't seen the kiddies yet.. and I don't know how Brax is faring."
IZZY
"If I know Tomi as well as I do, she has all of the bureaucratic stuff so well-organized that I should be able to take a look over everything and get things sorted. If not, I'll just ask you and Blake for help on memos and invoices and whatever else," she said, the look on her face clearly stating 'I'm a nurse'. She beamed at the mention of the kids being worth the effort. "I wouldn't trade a single day with them for anything."
Without much warning, she reached out to take her friend's hand and effectively pulled her up the stairs. "I really doubt things are too bad. There _are_ two other adults in the room."
AYDEN
It didn't surprise her that Tomi had everything organized. After all, she was also why Braxton can find anything in his life. "Yeah, let me know if you need any help, I'd drop by - My schedule might be a bit more lenient than Blake's so there's that." She chuckled. It was a given that all of the Scoobs were thankful all the kids grew up well, none of them being assholes like certain folks in this town.
Letting her friend lead her up the stairs, Ayden peered into the room to see the Dawsons leaning against a crib where she assumed both their daughters were sleeping in.. and then there was Braxton who seemed to be.. bullied by the four babies - well, Tomi mostly, while the other 3 giggled. "Hey guys..." She greeted, already softening at the sight of them all. "They're as adorable as I remembered."
IZZY
Izzy just grinned up at her, somehow always reverting back to her teenage self around her best friend. "Your schedule is _always_ more lenient than Blake's where I'm concerned," she pointed, making zero effort to hide the smug tone in her voice. The irony of how similar to Brax she could be around Ayden was completely lost to her as she once again let her brain be overtaken by thoughts of her babies.
It took everything in her not to just burst out into laughter at the sight of a tiny girl clearly calling the shots over a grown man, and it was only at the reminder that there were two babies already asleep in the room. Not bothering to drop the shifter's hand, she pulled her in further and brought her down to the floor so they could get in on the baby action. "Oh, whose my tough girl teaching her sisters and brother how to handle this big oaf? Huh?"
AYDEN
The older woman playfully rolled her eyes, not denying nor admitting that she may have a soft spot for Izzy - something that hadn't changed over all the years. Even now, she was being dragged away by the hand without voicing a single complaint.
She gave a quick nod as a greet to the man on the floor and reached out with her free hand to grab the baby girl's attention. "Are we sure her goal isn't to make Brax cry?" She laughed as she poked the baby in the sides. "Glad to know she can still handle her dad regardless of age and size."
IZZY
"Oh, Tomi's goal is always to make Brax cry. It was a lesson she learned from her aunt Avery basically from day one, and if I'm not mistaken, Avery herself learned it from...someone," Izzy said offhandedly, as she made her own way back down to the floor so she could check on the younger girls. Both seemed absolutely more than okay to be left to their own devices of attempting to make Brax cry, but Sean was quick to lose interest in Brax as he crawled over to her lap.
"Aw, I can always count on my baby boy to seek peace...even if he can never seem to keep it around him," she cooed as she scooped him up.
AYDEN
"She must have learned it from you." She easily quipped, "Because I don't think I've ever made him cry." She looked at said man, who seemed to be trying very hard to negotiate with the baby. Wanting to hold one of them, Ayden reached over and carefully picked up one of the younger set of twins - and then the other who followed.
"I think it might be a good idea that I came over, with four of them.. plus the Dawson's two, that's a lot of babies in one place." Again, her eyes went over to the Beta - the one she felt like she should have a bit more faith in.
IZZY
Izzy simply looked over at her friend and stated, "Just because you did not witness the tears, it does not mean they did not exist." As a matter of fact, she was almost sure that if Brax wasn't so caught up being told-off by his own baby, he'd be tearing up at the sight of Ayden right now. Whether because she was on the outs with Col or because she was clearly _not_ on the outs with Izzy...that would be up for debate.
"Yeah, and Brax is already planning on hosting a get together for _all_ the babies, so I say you go ahead and just move in for the foreseeable future."
AYDEN
She met those eyes, looking genuinely confused by that. When did she make Brax cry? Moving her attention back to the beta, she was trying to recall the last time she did anything to him. "I.. don't think I've made him cry before?" She looked back at Izzy curiously.
The shifter started to bop the babies in her lap, which resulted in a series of giggles. "A get together for all the babies is a good idea, but I thought Leo and Luke were going to do that? Also, I can drop by more often, I don't know if you'd want me to be permanently hogging your couch."
IZZY
All Izzy could do was stifle a laugh at the irony as she recalled just how close Brax had come to crying in _public_ over the topic of Ayden....in the middle of their _date_. "I'm only here to spill _specific_ secrets of an unaware man, not all of them," she teased instead.
"I mean technically they haven't said anything, but that may be because Leo and Julia are getting to see one kid as a baby for the first time ever, and Luke has Lyra to deal with. Also, bold of you to assume anything's been done to your designated guest room since I've been away. Seany here has been his usual, kindhearted little self and left all rooms the same," she said snuggling into the tiny ginger and earning a giggle.
AYDEN
"To think you're keeping secrets from me *at all*." She teased back but didn't press on it. Maybe she'll ask Braxton on a later day about it to see. As far as she could remember, she hadn't made the man cry in all the years they've known each other.
"Knowing them, it might happen sooner than later." Not that she thought bad of Braxton, but the two women always had the children's interest at heart with almost everything they do. "Lyra's still in town?" This might be her longest stay since their family stopped living in Fallcrest. "Isn't it just a general guest room?" She chuckled, "You know, for anyone who visits and decides to stay for a *few* days."
IZZY
"A girl has to have some secrets otherwise where's the mystery? Where's the draw? What keeps them coming back for more?" It was all delivered with her best impression of a typical femme fatale...granted, as a wolf, she was a literal fatal woman so ...
"I'm sure the fact that these kids rarely go an entire twenty-four hours without seeing each other will have a lot to do with that," she mentioned. "Yeah, at this point I think she and Nix might as well just admit they've moved in with Luke and Keagan, but as we learned many a year ago, no one tells Lyra what to do," Izzy laughed, before rolling her eyes at her friend. "Gee thanks," she said flatly, "I _know_ what a guest room is and we have a couple of those too."
AYDEN
"Oh, you're trying to be mysterious now? Oh okay. Sure." She laughed, "Fine, don't tell me. I won't ask anymore." Her attention went all to the babies she had in her arms. "Okay, so they are living here now? That's weird because last I checked, Lyra did not want to come back into town - JJ already left, right? I think he was first to get out of here when they all came to visit. Anyways, at least Teg and Nix is in town. There are people to keep an eye on her so that the rest of us can have peace."
Ayden let out a sigh and gave in, "I guess that means I don't have to go back home and back a few things over." She pulled out her phone to send a text to her staff, telling them to watch the garage for the next two or three days.
IZZY
Izzy simply raised a brow as she shot her friend a sly grin in response. At the topic of the Lyra, Izzy’s eyes widened comically at the thought of the wolf. “I think we both know the only thing _actually_ keeping that girl out of this town was the free housing with her parents, and the fact that her family wasn’t here. JJ and Teagan were off in Philly, Luke and the girls were in Seattle, and Keagan was somewhere secret so… But you are right in saying that they’ll be needing all hands on deck with that one.”
At the sight of the phone, Izzy new her win was clinched. Grinning broadly she said, “Yay! We have another proper adult in the house!”
AYDEN
There was probably some joke in there about how Lyra didn't like the rest of them enough to stay, but Ayden knew it wasn't the case. "And now everyone seems to be back in town, at least for the next little while... And we have a bunch of babies." THis was really quite the throwback in a way but also a new experience since they had more friends and family around. Honestly, Ayden was thrilled for everyone for getting to experience this the second time. "
"And who is that?" She asked, switching her hold on the baby so that the kid was sort of standing with Ayden's help. "Col?" He was the first to mind since his brother was also here.
IZZY
"Yeah, I don't see anyone being too eager to leave with the kids being back to babies and the holidays being in full-swing, and there's also the fact that technically the Council and Guild found a way to keep anyone within town lines magically immune to Covid. That last bit seems to have flown under the radar, what with the hunters coming in two weeks ago and all, but I wouldn't be surprised if word got out and _more_ people made their way here or to any of the other sanctioned super-towns around the globe." Izzy paused before adding, "Oh, I only got the inside scoop because of my job."
The wolf didn't quite know what to make of her friend's response, so instead she focused on how to reply herself. "I was _actually_ referring to _you_," she said slowly, "Given that you literally _just_ agreed to stay...I would assume that Col is currently at the Rendall home with Aves, but it's nice to see that you still remember him."
AYDEN
"I'm glad that everyone's getting this chance. I wish I could see Keg's face when she found out her twins are kids again." Speaking of parents who was getting another chance, Ayden looked at the man with his daughter. To her surprise, Braxton was look up at the two of them with an expression she didn't quite understand. "Do you want to switch?" She ended up asking instead because she could not begin to understand what ran though Braxton's mind half the time.
"Hm? Oh. I just thought you meant there was another proper adult coming on top of me staying." She made a face at that last comment, "Is there a reason why I wouldn't?"
IZZY
"Oh, check the group chat. Luke's already posted like four reaction snaps, which in itself should let us know just how focused and engrossed Keagan is with the girls because otherwise she'd have done something about the pics," Izzy chuckled. The question seemed a bit random, but Izzy just figured everyone one wanted some time with everyone else, so she just smiled and took her girl as she eased Sean over -who seemed a little _less_ happy about the arrangement.
She shook her head and briefly contemplated where she was going to go with this, but ultimately just settled on, "Nah, I guess I was just being facetious. It would take more than a week of not seeing someone you normally see almost daily to forget them."
AYDEN
Her brows rose before doing just that - pulling out her phone, she went to the group chat and saw pictures of her friend *beaming* at her twin girls. "I don't think I've ever seen her smile so bright before." She joked before turning to see the somewhat disappointed kid in her own arms. "Oh, Sean doesn't like me I see. Are you upset with me that I pulled you away from Iz?" She laughed at the small pout.
She, on the other hand, was a bit confused with the responses she was getting. "Right..." is what she settled on since she didn't know how else to respond to that. Luckily, her attention was pulled away by a yelp coming from the beta. "Uh.. I think Brax needs help handling Tomi after all."
IZZY
Glancing at the pics over her friend's shoulder she said, "Man, even as babies those girls look nothing like Dicky. Bless their little hearts." It was an open secret that no one in the pack actually cared for Richard, but man had he earned himself a target with his latest stunts. Glancing over, she reached out to take the boy back as her own girl was off and gone to her sister. "Oh, he's just a little shy again...or possibly upset that his girlfriend is now on the opposite side of the room and out of reach."
"We'll have plenty of time to chat later," was all she said, before watching Ayden head over to rescue Brax.
BRAXTON
Braxton had been distracted by his daughter during the whole time - which ended up with Tomi baby-scold him even though he wasn't exactly sure what he did wrong, but he was forever thankful when Ayden swooped Tomi up to save him. Finally getting off the ground, he walked over to Izzy and gave her a back-hug and resting his chin on her shoulder so he could peek over at Sean. "Bean, you'll get to see your girl soon after she's well rested. I think you should focus on surviving the night with your sister - that is the challenge." He joked before reaching out to poke the kid in the belly. "Iz, T has been yelling at me this entire time, I think she's mad that I brought her here from Keg's."
IZZY
Izzy couldn't help but put her suddenly odd mood aside as she watched her best friend literally have to swoop in and play rescue. A small laugh escaped her as it seemed that even though Tomi was more than happy to rest herself against Ayden, she clearly still had a few choice words left for her dad, before she turned her attention to her new 'grown-up' and seemingly began to just fill her in on whatever the issue was.
She'd been so caught up in the sight of Tomi trying to babble her point across to Ayden, that she was almost surprised when Brax came around, this stubble prickling at her neck. "Oh no, you need to shave sir," was her first comment. "No wonder the kids ganged up on you, their skin is very sensitive right now and you are a walking steel-wool pad." Was there a specific reason she was suddenly prioritizing and pointing this out? Izzy was sure there was, but she'd rather not open _that_ pandora's box right now.
Sean seemed to fully understand and though he still looked like the saddest little pup, he did stop fussing and just settled into the crook of Izzy's arm. "Oh buddy, I'm sure you'll feel better once you're also asleep. Something tells me you'll be fine and the only one that needs to worry about your sister is Brax," she turned to face him, "I told you splitting those three up was going to be struggle."
BRAXTON
Had Tomi always been this talkative as a baby? Or was this because they retained some memory of their older selves and the girl had a *lot* to say about him. But that was long forgotten at the sudden complaint about his scruff; his hand automatically going up to it and ran his fingers over his chin. "... Is it that bad?" He asked without actually lifting himself off of her.
"I guess I could shave a bit more often now, but I thought you used to like them, T." He turned, only to see that Tomi was already engaged with a conversation with Ayden, who seemed to just smile and nod at everything that was being babbled to her. "...I'll shave more." He mumbled as he turned back to the Irwins, "I think we should get all the babies together as soon as we can." Is all he could say about it because he didn't want to impose on the cabin because he selfishly wanted to spend more time with his baby daughter.
IZZY
"Four infants attacked you as a result of you scratching them with that scruff," Izzy pointed out with ease. "Yes, it's terrible." Again, why she was suddenly finding fault in something as innocuous as the man's facial hair...was a question for future Izzy to deal with because right now there were other matters at hand that required her full attention.
"You're either misremembering or she's retained her likes and dislikes from now that she's older. I'm no witch, but I'd bet money it's the latter considering she _really_ laid into you earlier," she noted, before smiling at the satisfaction of him agreeing to shave more. "I think we definitely should...hey, do you think that they can still understand _each other_? Like in Rugrats, where no one understood the babies but they had drawn out conversations amongst themselves?"
BRAXTON
He didn't think his scruff was such a big deal that all four kids - and apparently Izzy didn't like, but if they wanted him to shave it, he will. "Yeah, I guess they all retained those - like how the Bean wants to be closer to Ryllie and all. I wonder if they have all their memories intact too? Because basically, we're looking at them being .. like their older selves.. but shrunken down, instead of completely regressing all the way."
He looked over to his daughter, to the other set of twins, to the Bean. "I'm guessing they understand each other - did you not see the full fledge conversation they had just a second ago?"
IZZY
Izzy thought about it for a bit, and then said, "Well, considering that Tomi currently feels like she's having the most in-depth conversation with Ayden, while her aunt is literally just nodding and replying with 'go on', I think they probably regressed at least a little." Glancing down at Sean and how he was suddenly enthralled with her necklace she added, "See, he outgrew his fascination with shiny things when he was seven."
Izzy nodded in agreement with the beta. "Yeah, I suppose it _would_ have taken some form of proper communication in order to coordinate the take down of full-grown Beta."
AYDEN
"Come on, baby girl." It seemed that whatever Brax did, Tomi was still not done complaining about. Although she didn't have a clue to what she was complaining about exactly, Ayden still tried to reason with her, "Your dad said he was going to shave, and we'll make sure that you get to see Sky and Erin soon!" She looked over her shoulder to the other adults, "..I'm sure they won't mind if we drop by?"
She joined in on the conversation about whether the babies understood each other. "She's got a point though. The mini twins seemed like they were following every word Tomi was telling them on how to deal with Braxton."
IZZY
"Wow...I, obviously, can't be certain of what the heck it is you did, but that kid is still going on about it," Izzy noted as she heard Ayden begin to do her best to try and bring the tiny new wolf's rant to a close. But it seemed to only somewhat mellow the kid out when Ayden mentioned Sky and Erin, and when the attention was put back on her and Brax, she simply nodded in agreement. "Yes, all the clean-shaven faces and, Sky and Erin time you could ever want. After one sleep...please."
Izzy's face lit up as she said, "Maybe we can ask the scoobs what the minis are like once they're back....though...I suppose that would require they remember all of this..." She trailed off as the penny dropped. "We should really watch what we say and do around them."
AYDEN
Ayden found it adorable just how quickly Tomi settled down when it was promised - moreorless - that she'll see her girlfriends soon enough. Poor Braxton - it seemed that nothing he did was going to placate her tonight. "Let's get you some sleep first." The shifter walked over to the crib and carefully placed the kid in there before tucking her in. "Come on, baby girl, otherwise you'll fall asleep when we bring you over to their place."
She looked back with a strange look, "...What.. can't we say? Because if you're talking about profanities, it might be a bit late for that?"
IZZY
Although Izzy did find it ironic how Ayden had come in and managed to get Tomi under control and actually in her crib, settled for sleep versus Brax failing to even get her to want to stop baby-assaulting him...she also didn't think now was the time to be pointing such things out. Not only was Brax's ego already bruised by the fact the kid was not having it, but she herself didn't want to unpack what it meant that Ayden was so capable with her most troublesome kiddo.
At Ayden's question, she just waved her off and said, "Oh Lyra made sure they all knew a plethora of those before they were even in pre-school the first time around. That's not the issue I foresee. It's more like when we used to have 'girl talk' around them before, because we were certain they'd not even understand what we were discussing....yeah, I don't think Sean here would appreciate 'girl talk' now."
BRAXTON
He didn't know how to feel when he saw Tomi listening to Ayden way better than to him. Maybe he deserved it since he hadn't actually been acting like a dad up until recently - *very* recently. It was a very mixed feeling watching it all happen before him, and there wasn't anything he could do since Ayden pretty much did the job with ease. However, maybe he'll get better luck with the mini twins.
Turning his attention to the youngest pair, he lifted them with ease in his arms. "Maybe if we put them all to bed, you ladies can have your girl talk." The kids are just about to knock out on their own anyways so it might be good timing to call it a night. "If you want, you can go clean up while I get these kiddos tucked in - The Dawsons are here, like I swear we're going to be fine." He joked since he was aware that Izzy probably didn't completely trust him to be alone.
IZZY
"Yeah, that's not happening." The words left Izzy's mouth before she even processed the sentiment. "I mean, not that I don't trust you all to handle things, but I like to be present for bedtime any chance my schedule with the hospital will let me. Besides, four of the six babies in this room, and every single adult in this house, have _superhearing_. Girl talk's not happening tonight," was the final word as she stood up with an already sleeping Sean in her arms, and began to walk over to Tomi's crib.
AYDEN
At Izzy’s immediate rejection of the idea, Ayden looked up just in time to see Braxton looking rather sheepish on his part. At the same time, it didn’t feel like it’d be a good idea for her to interject either so she kept quiet. However, the beta decided to surprise her even further when he came over to *her* and passed the youngest pair of twins to her before excusing himself to clean up first. Her eyes swept over to Izzy briefly before carefully placing the girls into the crib. “Hey, hey. You girls have your own.” She smiled softly as she made sure they’re properly tucked in with their own blankets. Once she was done with all of that, she glanced around the room. “I should.. go make sure I have everything I need for the night.”
IZZY
She wasn't blind to the fact that Brax had effectively ceded the act of putting the minis to sleep over to Ayden and made a hasty retreat, but she also hadn't been exaggerating when she said bedtime was special and she avoided having to miss out unless absolutely necessary. After making sure that Sean was properly swaddled in so he felt 'hugged' all night and would sleep till morning, she glanced over at her friend.
"Yeah, that sounds good. I should go check in on Braxton anyways," she said, "Make sure Tomi didn't give him a concussion." The joke felt flat even as she said it. After getting the Dawsons sorted out in one of the guest rooms closest to the nursery, she made her way to her own room where she figured Brax would be after cleaning up.
BRAXTON
Since he excused himself from the group, Braxton went straight to Izzy's room and started to get himself cleaned up as he announced earlier. During the entire time, he was thinking about what he did and said because somewhere in that time span, he must have done something wrong. That and Izzy must be feeling tired from the long day they had with four kids to handle. Braxton also made sure that he shaved since that had been the first thing they mentioned.
Even when he was done with his shower, the beta could not stop touching his face because it felt weird after having a scruff for so long. The breeze was just.. hitting his face and it was just so strange. "Oh, are the kids asleep?" He asked when he noticed that he wasn't alone in the room anymore. "Uh, I made sure that the shower and all are clean after I was done, so no random strands of hair anywhere." He grinned as he started folding the clothes he had on earlier.
IZZY
“Okay, gross on the random strands of hair, but thank you for keeping things tidy. With Sean being a baby but his personality being mostly intact, I think he might have an aneurysm at the sight of mess and the inability to fix it,” she mentioned with a slight chuckle.
It was an attempt to keep things light, but Izzy was nothing if not direct. It was the trait that kept her friendship with Keagan, Ayden, and Blake as strong as it was. They were all direct and suffered from massive R.B.F. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know I probably got a bit weird there for a bit, but I just want to make sure you know it wasn’t because of anything _you_ did. You’ve been as good a help tonight as our little Krav Maga girl has allowed you to. I really do appreciate that you’re more than willing to step up this time, and I’m sure the kids just need some time to settle all of their grown up emotions in their tiny baby bodies.”
BRAXTON
At the apology, Braxton dropped what he was doing to walk over and took her hands gently in his, "Well, while it.. uh.. it's a bit discouraging, but it's sorta obvious that there wasn't much I could do.. so I figured that I should just remove myself from the situation otherwise T wasn't going to sleep if she keeps yelling at me. Can't say I didn't completely expect it. It sorta is because I didn't do my duty as a dad before .. that, and she always did like spending time with Ayden and Aves when they were younger." He sighed, "I'm also an idiot, so while I really hope that I won't screw up, I feel like it's inevitable for me to mess up somewhere even if I do put all my efforts into it. Like, I still can't believe my gym is where it is today too."
IZZY
There was a pang of guilt she felt when he took her hands in his and began speaking. It only grew as he proceeded to state how he felt _he'd_ be the one to mess things up. Izzy still refused to address the 'why' behind it, and instead swapped their hands so now she was holding his instead. "Braxton Walker Rendall, that gym is the biggest testament to the fact that it's not a lack of ability, it's a lack of will that often causes you problems. Yes, Tomi's likely not happy about how you acted when she was younger, but on the flip-side of that coin, if you ask Luke she'd probably rave about what amazing brother you were. The difference was just what role you were _willing_ to take on. And since this time, you're clearly more than willing to be her daddy, she's going to see it soon enough. Just give her some time. She did _magically_ morph from a legal adult back to an infant just a few hours ago."
BRAXTON
The beta only smiled when Izzy reassured him - as she had done numerous times before since they were kids. Of course, there was always logic behind her words and Brax did believe in them, that all of this was going to take time which was something he already expected. However, it still felt discouraging to have your own kid yell at you as a baby and have her mellow out just a bit once she was handed off to someone else. "That's really all I can do right now, give her time." he chuckled before slipping his hands out of hers and set them onto her shoulders, then proceeded to turn her around in the direction of the bathroom. "Meanwhile, I think you could use some Z's, so clean up and stuff."
IZZY
She didn't fight him as he pushed her in the direction of the bathroom. Izzy desperately wanted a long, hot shower -even if she knew that what she needed to scrub clean would not be achieved in the process... "Alright, alright. Who am I to argue against my Beta," she snarked as she finally made it to the shower. Once in there, instead of halcyon she found the opposite, so it was far shorter than she'd planned for. Regardless, she took her time getting making sure her natural hair got everything it would need to survive the tugs to come, and getting into her PJs.
As she came out of the bathroom, she tossed her clothes and towels into the hamper in the corner of the room before picking it up and saying, "I'm going to go ahead and take this down to the laundry room and check in to make sure everyone else is sorted."
BRAXTON
When he was left alone again, he slipped into bed with his laptop. While office work was his least favourite thing to do, he figured that he should get ahead in order to find more time in his schedule to be with the kids. Considering that there were four kids to look after, he also wanted to make sure that he could back up his claim of being there for Izzy and them. The point was to *not* burden Izzy with all the work after all.
He had no idea how long it was but he barely gone through a few emails before she emerged from the bathroom. He looked up, almost expected the other to be coming into bed, but instead found her holding the hamper. "Oh, yeah. No problem. I've got a few things to work on before I sleep anyways."
IZZY
The pang of guilty returned at his reply, but once again she pushed it down and did as she said she would. The task took less than five minutes, but it gave her something to do that felt productive. On her way back from the laundry room, she caught sight of Ayden's truck out front, and so she went ahead and deadbolted the door and set the alarm. As she made it to the second floor, she checked in with the Dawsons to ensure everything was all right. She made a pit-stop in the nursery just to ensure all was still calm. She made it as far as standing in front of Ayden's door with a raised hand to knock, only to drop it by her side and shake her head. Whatever she'd unearthed _there_ could wait. Tonight, Brax was waiting and the least she could do was not keep him up too long.
Crawling into bed, she turned on the baby monitor on her nightstand. "I know we're likely to hear anything in the nursery much clearer just with our wolf hearing, but it's a comfort to know there's a backup. Now go on, put that thing away. We're going to be zombies if the kids don't sleep through the night, no need to add to it."
BRAXTON
Braxton felt that he hadn't focused like that since highschool because he managed to get through a few things in the short time Izzy was away and so, when she returned, he put away his laptop and slid in further into bed. The moment his head hit the pillow, he turned to his side so he could face her. "See I was thinking about this.. What if we ask if one of the witches could sound proof the place - except for the rooms with the babies obviously. So we can hear the babies, but we can't hear anyone in the other rooms? That way we don't have to be worried about uh.. the kids picking up on things they shouldn't listen to."
"But you're right, we can think about all of this tomorrow. Gotta get as much sleep we can." He chuckled before leaning in and give the other a quick peck. "Good night." He whispered with a dumb smile on his face. "...It's so weird now that I shaved..."
IZZY
Izzy just looked at him and said, "See, I told you that braincell in there works perfectly fine. Just gotta let it warm up first is all. I'll text Blake in the morning." She wasn't exactly expecting the quick kiss -not that it was anything long enough for that to show through- but she smiled at him after nonetheless. "If you think that's weird, you should consider what it's like for those of us that shave all sorts of other body hair. Sweet dreams."
It was the weekly movie night and while she would love to be the one cuddling with her kids but as always, Levi and Embry had other plans - Evan being that other plan. On the bright side, the siblings were bonding and that was already enough to land a smile on her face. A kid on both sides of the half-demon, Julia almost felt bad for the girl constantly being sandwiched between them.
Having them alone for quite some time now, she figured they were due for a refill on popcorn which was when she decided to take come out of the bedroom to take a peek. At first she thought it was the movie they were watching, but considering it was a Disney movie that they all re-watched many, many, *many* times - she did not recall babies crying at this point of the movie.
Coming in, one could not describe her surprise when she saw 2 babies sitting (?), or laying down on the couch. "...Leo?" She called out as she stepped towards the babies, "Obie, stop sniffing at them.." She gently pet the dog before completely pushing him away. "*Leo.*" This time a lot louder.
Leo
Considering her kids often decided she was the _second_ best demon in the room when the librarian was over, Leo had figured she could slip out to the small office she had in the suite and get a jump start on pending tasks. With any luck and she might get to spend the full weekend with her family -something Thyra might argue she could do at any time if she'd just let the woman do her job, but...
As entrenched as she was in her work, as soon as she heard her name called out, she shimmered back to the living room. "I'm here, what's wroooohhhh..." Leo trailed off as she noticed the babies, one looking barely larger than one of Obie's dog toys. "Uh..." was the sound of pure confusion until she realized the oversized garments they were wearing. "Wait...is that- are they- oh..." The last bit coming as just above a whisper as she knelt down in front of the babies before glancing back at Julia, "Our babies are _babies_."
Julia
Julia was making sure that neither Levi or Embry accidentally rolled off the couch. "Yeah.. they are.. but *why*?" Should they be concerned? Was this permanent? Why did this happen? The amount of questions that flooded her mind though she was easily distracted by the sounds of her children's giggles. Reach out, she brushed her thumb against those rosy cheeks of her oldest kid. "...You're as cute as I remembered.. a bit older though."
Letting Embry take hold of her fingers now, she looked over at Leo, ".. I don't even know who to go to to ask questions. Do you have any clue to how this could have happened?"
Leo
As Julia made her way to Emmy, Leo slid over to where Levi currently laid. “I didn’t know people could come this tiny,” she whispered as she removed the boy’s now very comically oversized glasses. Glancing back over at Emmy, she had swallow back a lump in her throat before even attempting to speak again.
“Uh, yeah. Questions. I can start by checking in the group chat and seeing if any other parents are facing the same. Maybe one will have an answer. In the meantime, I’ll send Jon and Andy out to get baby…uh…things and stuff and whatever…”
Julia
'Levi's also tinier than most." She chuckled softly at the sight of him. Reaching over and gently poking his cheeks, that too also earned a giggle from this child. "To see the two of them together like this.. I.. never thought I'd see the day." With that, Julia moved Embry carefully to sit close to her brother. In the meantime, Obie started whining so Julia lifted him onto the couch too, watching him automatically snuggle next to the older kid.
This was really tugging at every heart string. "..Yeah.. we'll need a lot - they'll need to get a lot of everything since we have 2 babies on our hands.." Their tiny hands and feets made it hard for the blonde to resist showering them with tiny kisses. "God.. just look at you guys.."
Evan
Shimmering back into the suite's living room with an armful of snacks, Evan immediately dropped everything on the spot, eyes going wide as she took in the sight on the couch before her. She'd left her girlfriend and her new bestie for only five minutes max as she remembered the snack haul she'd left at her place with all their favorites....and now in their place were....
"Babies..." she whispered.
Shaking her head to give her brain a jumpstart, she also took note of the fact that Julia and Leo were crying- _Leo_ was _cry-eeng_... "Uh, is that- are they- So I take it solids are off the table for a bit...?"
Julia
"Yep... babies." Julia didn't want to budge at all. "It just.. happened all of a sudden." She looked over to Leo, "Did anyone have any idea? ... Did it happen to anyone else? As adorable as this is.. This.. can't be a good sign.. or am I just being too pessimistic?"
It was almost comical how big the clothes were now that Embry and Levi shrunk. "Obie, grab that blanket for me." She pointed over to the fabric and the pup intelligently dragged it across the couch for the other. Then she made quick work to wrap the kids with it. Despite being wolves, Julia still didn't want them to feel cold.
Leo
"She's too young for you bro!" Was the first exclamation that came out of her mouth at Evan's statement, but there was hardly any seriousness in her face to back it up as the younger demon just rolled her eyes. At Julia's question, she glanced back up from her phone and said, "Paladins' prevailing theory is that it's related to the kickback magic from when the last seal was broken on the Nexus. Which means, much with other kickback magic situations, at least it won't be permanent or really have any lasting effects. We don't, however, have a way of knowing how long it could last. I mean, we were once stuck as our halloween costumes for several hours and then once stuck as the opposite gender for like a month...."
Julia
Julia could feel the younger demon rolling her eyes even if she didn't look in her direction. "So it's temporary." She mumbled to herself, wondering if that was a good thing or not. The fact that Embry was sitting in front of her as an infant was truly a blessing. She was sure she was about to burn a hole in her kid's cheeks by how much she's brushing against it. And when Emmy laughed and smiled towards their way, god, how her heart melted.
"I suppose we should make the best out of it?" She pointed her smile towards Leo. "Like.. a lot of photos will be taken on my part, that is for sure." She
Andy
It had taken a bit longer than she’d like to admit to get into a routine with her new duties, but after a week she was feeling things were hitting a stride.
And then her original boss sent a message that she and Jon needed to check the group chat and shop accordingly…the last part confusing her more than anything. That is, until she read the chat.
Now, she stood at said bosses door, after Thyra giddily volunteered to be her co-shopper over Jon and they managed to speed through the list. Entering using her pass, she trudged into the living room with all of their bags and a hotel manger trailing. “I think this is half the store.”
Thyra
When she heard about shopping for babies, Thyra volunteered to go because baby clothes were the cutest things. And she was not disappointed when they arrived at the penthouse.
"Oh.. my gosh." she whispered, clutching onto Andy's arm with excitement. "Look at them, Andy!" She was basically melting at the site of them and she hadn't even held the babies yet. While she would love to run over and play with them, she was wondering how Andy was holding up. "Annnd no we didn't get half the store, maybe one-third of it. The diapers and other essentials are on the way up - there were a lot of boxes. We brought up the rest."
Andy
Over the last year or so, Andy had grown to mitigate her bloodlust by simply shifting focus away from her sense of smell. It wasn’t one she relied on too often, and it helped to not feel like she was dying of dehydration out in the middle of a salt-water ocean. But there wasn’t quite as much she could do about her _sight_.
As she was distracted, it was easy enough for Thyra to coax her into doing exactly as asked and _looking_ at the babies. Why the more youthful the creature the brighter and more alluring their blood shone, she didn’t know. But it was enough to cause her to stiffen and force herself to remain rooted to her spot. “Yes,” she replied eventually, “They are rather captivating aren’t they…I think I’ll go ahead and give Jon a hand with the boxes.”
Thyra
She could tell by the way Andy stiffened that being around babies was.. going to be a challenge. So when Andy said she might just go help out Jon instead, Thyra didn't stop her. "I'll go with you. We bought a lot - I feel bad that we're getting Jon to bring everything up." She chuckled softly and gave the babies a small peck on their cheeks before getting up to walk out with Andy.
"How are you holding up?" She asked once they were in the elevator. "With Emmy and Levi being babies." She chuckled, "Something tells me that you're talking about a different kind of 'captivating' than I would be." She smiled as she looped her arms around the other's.
Andy
The vampire didn't even register she was actually going through the motions of breathing -even though it had no point anymore- until she heard her own sigh as the elevator doors closed. She felt like needed to catch her breath, but she knew that wasn't a thing, and the more she tried to fight it and make herself stop, the worse it got. So she caved and just took in deep breathes as if they had a purpose.
"I..." Andy trailed off, not really sure what order her words were even in for a second. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "I to keep a measured distance from kids. I think I briefly touched upon it once when Leo first wanted me to watch Levi for them...it's...it's a whole thing, but the most imminent one is the fact that the younger the living being, the brighter -I.E. more alluring- the blood call is. But it's okay, I doubt I'll be left remotely alone with either infant, and if push comes to shove you're clearly more than okay with watching over them so-" The elevator dinged and she was off at top speed, loading everything into the elevator at once in less than a minute. "Shan't keep them waiting."
Thyra
Thyra could only imagine that Andy saw everyone with heat vision, except blood veins. While it was understandable that Andy didn't want to be around the kids too long, Thyra was sad that she had to avoid them in case she endangered them. "From the looks of things, I don't think they'll need anyone to help watch over them. Did you see Leo?" She smiled as she looked up to see what floor they were on, only to see the elevator filled before she even looked back down when the door opened.
"....That speed must be so convenient. Is that everything?" She double checked all the boxes to make sure they didn't have to go for another trip down. "We should leave a small stash of supplies in her office later, who knows if she decides to go do some work with babies in her arms." She snorted as she turned around with a baby's outfit in her hands, "Oh my god. I thought [this](https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/S1b06523e1987442e8145e4786e8b791dN/Anime-Baby-Rompers-New
Andy
As she entered into the elevator herself and felt her cells literally settle into normal time, she let out a breath and hit the right button. "It really depends on the task at hand...and who you happen to ask," she replied cheekily, already doing her best to slip back her mask of easy-going detachment and snarky humor. Thyra was clearly having the time of her life right now and the last thing she wanted was to in any way, shape, or form, become the reason she didn't get to enjoy herself.
The thought immediately struck her that she might as well do all she could to let the woman enjoy the babies while she could, as obviously Andy wouldn't be helping her get any of her own for various reasons...but she immediately nipped _that_ in the bud. And instead concentrated on the bright orange _thing_ the woman was holding up. "I guarantee you that _now_ is going to be the _only_ chance you will ever get to put Embry into something like that, and no, not just because of the size." Just then the elevator dinged again, and Andy proceeded to pull out the shades she grabbed form the car. "Alright, let's get this sorted out."
Thyra
"... I can already expect the amount of work load I'll have to handle." She snorted. It was a good day when she could just stay in her office and do paperwork while answering emails because that meant that there weren't any trouble going on in the hotel. But they came oh so rarely because there will always be a guest who needed to 'speak with the manager'. But all that didn't deter her from her initial concern.
"I don't want to stay here too long if you're finding it hard to be around the babies." She took Andy by the hand. "We can like.. just drop off their things and go home too, you know." As cute as Embry and Levi were, Thyra didn't want Andy to be uncomfortable around them. She didn't know how much of a lightbulb they looked to the vampire, but surely, it was alluring enough that the other excused herself so quickly to begin with.
Andy
“I think it will all depend on how long this goes on for,” Andy noted. “I’m certain tomorrow will be a full day off for Leo, but I most certainly don’t see her stepping back for too long after. I mean, she did ask for a dual baby carrier so….Just, don’t be surprised if your boss micromanages you from between a baby sandwich.”
She smiled at the suggestion and simply said, “It’ll be fine. Consider this as the equivalent of bringing your recovering alcoholic girlfriend to a party. It’s up to the addict to learn control and resist temptation, not the responsibility of the world around them to suddenly go dry. I’ll keep myself busy, and if it gets too much, I’ll just say so. And for the record, you don’t ever have to leave a party early just because I do.” The last bit was added with a wink.
Thyra
"...She is definitely taking the babies to work as often as she can. I *also* have the feeling that she might get to take the babies to work more often than Julia could." She shrugged, "I guess I'll be keeping an eye on them if Leo needs to step out... Let's hope our meetings don't clash because you and Jon are next." She snorted. It didn't seem right to get their employees to help out either, not that it'd be a good idea because she didn't know how the kids would react to that.
While she didn't think Andy would lie to her, a part of her wondered if she'd actually say something. Still, she smile and gave a nod. "I know I don't have to leave early but I'd like to go everywhere with you." She hummed before the elevator dinged. "Where are we even putting all of these things?" She asked once they arrived.
Jon
He'd managed to remain quiet during the majority of the ride back up -due more than likely to the fact he hadn't had to witness the pair during the actual shopping trip as well- but as they neared their destination and the hotel manager managed that final line, he just couldn't hold his tongue anymore. "Have I told you recently how _nauseatingly_ enamored you two are," he stated more than asked, though the slight grin on his face made it clear he had zero actual problems with it. "You're almost as bad as my step-daughter and her 'best friend' except in their case they're both entirely oblivious to it. You both, on the other hand....well, let's just say we need to work on some restraint exercises for at least the big meetings."
Figuring he'd done his 'fatherly' duty and embarrassed the women enough, when the elevators opened he simply said, "I'm sure we can just set them up in the living room. The mothers are likely looking forward to getting to go through every little thing themselves."
Thyra
The manager made a face at Jon, not embarrassed by his teasing at all because Thyra did not care about how nauseating they were being. "Leo already doesn't let us be in the same shift." She chuckled, "So I don't think you have to worry about us being in the same meetings."
Once the elevator dinged and the doors opened, Thyra grabbed a box and moved it to the lobby. While Andy and Jon could handle all the boxes themselves, she thought she could contribute at least a little bit. After dropping off the box onto the ground, she wandered into the living room to see that babies were now changed and was .. playing with the dog? Playing was a strong word. The babies could barely sit up straight and the dog was letting them lean against him. "Ohhhhh, they're so cute! See, I told you the outfit was adorable."
Andy
Andy, for her part, simply smirked and said, "Oh, Jon's just jealous _his_ girl is on the other side of town for most of his shift. It's okay, we'll get you guys one of those Portal things that are basically a giant facetime screen." She proceeded to pull out her phone and mockingly gesture to the screen as if explaining it to someone who knew nothing about technology. Act like a dad, get treated like a dad. House rule.
When Thyra proceeded to pick up a box and walk out, Andy and Jon just looked at each other and shared an eye roll, because of course she would. If her build would allow it, she'd have taken more than one just to prove a point -much like Jon was doing. Andy sped through the majority and made sure everything was offloaded -twice- before heading into the living room herself. The shades did fuck all when it came to the bright-neon pulsing of the babies' circulatory systems, but she smiled at Thyra nonetheless and nodded. "Hey, it's a good thing you got them matching ones because it looks like they both really like the uh, things and stuff."
Julia
Hearing them return, she turned in time to spot them walk into the living room one after the other. "Is Serephina still at work?" She asked after hearing Andy tease Jon. "We've been on different shifts lately that I barely get to see her. When I do, she's usually hunting down someone for their reports. I do not want to get in the way of that."
Her attention returned to the babies. "I can't believe that they're almost the size of Oberion." Julia shifted from her spot and leaned against Leo. "Look at her hand, it's like clutching his fur." She tried to ease the grip a little so that she wasn't tugging on the dog.
Leo
She opted to keep an ear out for the group after the way Any had set off. She knew the risk towards the babies was practically nonexistent, but she couldn’t imagine it was a pleasant experience for the woman regardless. They’d managed to get the babies changed and settled by the time they all came in, Jon politely nodding and answering Julia, Thyra being engrossed with the babies and Andy…
Her own attention was drawn back as Julia leaned against her and then directed the attention to Emmy. Chuckling she reached over to help by offering the baby something else to latch onto. “Obie has always been her cuddle buddy, I highly doubt that’s going to be changed by something as inconsequential as her new size. My poor boy, on the hand, can’t even sit up on his own yet. Little man is living up to his nickname.”
Julia
"With how unfazed he is with her just leaning on him like this, I think he might be the least surprised about Embry and Levi become babies again." Her focus switched over to Levi who was just looking at them but unable to sit up. "Hey buddy.. What are you looking at?" She chuckled as she took his tiiiiiiiny little bitty hand. "Did you also want to lean against Obie?"
Looking at the two in comparison, she was positive that Obie might actually be bigger. Embry let out a sound which drew her attention back and she saw that their baby girl was reaching out towards her two mother. "Oh.. What's wrong baby?" Since she was seated closer, Julia lifted Embry off the couch and into her arms, "I think she might be hungry."
Leo
Leo went ahead and sought out the items she’d need before stating, “I’ll get a couple of bottles ready. With any luck and they’ll be down for the night so we can actually sort through all of this.” Having found the items she needed, the woman headed to the kitchen.
Muscle memory from her time helping with the younger fosters had her back within minutes. She handed Julia a bottle before scooping Levi up into her own arms. She reached out and grabbed a pair of bibs, handing one to Jules. “Don’t want to ruin their new fits.”
Julia
She took the bib from Leo and carefully got it around Embry, who seemed unwilling to wear it at first but then relented when she spotted her younger brother also sporting one. The baby had forgotten all about it anyways when she saw the bottle in her mother's hand. Julia carefully held embry in her arm as well before giving her the bottle. "Oh they must be very hungry." She smiled as she looked over to the brother in Leo's arms.
The shifter also came over and knelt next to her before unintentionally distracting the babies. "Did we get a crib as well? Because I think we need to have that set up because the kids might want to sleep right after this."
Andy
The current chief deputy took that as her cue and immediately went to pick out to of the boxes from the pile of things. “Just let me know where you want them and I’ll get them set up,” she said.
When Leo pointed her in the right direction she took off without question. Thyra was clearly enjoying herself and this little build would buy her some time away from the babies.
Granted, her speed had her coming back out with the trash before the babies had even finished their bottles. “Both cribs are set. We got matching sheets and stuff to make it easier to do laundry and stuff. I can set up the baby monitors in there too if you want.”
Thyra
She had noticed that Andy didn't step anywhere near the babies and was doing all that she could to be away from them. Speeding off to grab the rest of the boxes, and now volunteering to get those cribs set up. But because of that, the shifter thought her girlfriend would at least take her time with the cribs. Instead, Andy came out even before the babies were done with their bottles.
Getting up from her spot, she walked over to the boxes and got the monitors out. "I can set them up with you." It probably require two people to do the job but she wanted to be with Andy.
Andy
Seeing as Thyra had already gone through and picked out the monitors, there wasn’t much Andy could do except nod and agree to the help. “It shouldn’t be too hard,” she mentioned as she led them to the room. “Much easier than the hotel’s system for sure.”
Once in the room, the woman stopped for a moment and took off the shades. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closed her eyes and took a breath. Feeling a bit re-centered, she turned to face Thyra with a smile and said, “Alright, what’s first?”
Thyra
Once they were both in the room, Thyra turned around and snaked her arms around Andy's shoulders. "How are you holding up?" She asked, "Do you need anything?" The baby monitor could wait a bit. "We can go home right after this, yeah?" Lifting one hand, she brushed away the stray hairs in Andy's face and pushed them behind the ear.
"How many are there?" She glanced over to the boxes of baby monitors. "I heard the higher the better - are there any wall mounts? We could maybe install them like CCTV." She offered, pointing at the corners of the ceiling.
Andy
She had spent literal years in isolation, and even once she was 'free', there had never truly been the chance that she would allow herself to get close enough to anyone for her mood or state of mind to even be a topic of conversation. Yet here she was, back in the arms of one of the two people who had ever known her so well that really, answering with anything but the truth, just wasn't even an option. Her own arms came to wrap around Thyra's waist, that sense of being centered now also one of being _tethered_. _Secure_. "Well, it's not exactly the best situation, but I've definitely been in worse," she admitted, before shaking her head a bit. "I'll be alright. This right here is more than enough already. Thank you."
Glancing over at the packaging, she said, "There's six video monitors and two sound monitors. They do come with wall mounting equipment, and I think we both know I could probably have them up and the batteries in the receiver ready to hand over to the moms in less than five minutes, so why don't _you_ tell me what your plan was when you offered to help?"
Thyra
Her eyes travelled back to the vampire with raised brow, stuck in between feeling amused and disbelief. "My *plan* is that you take your time." She chuckled, "The babies aren't even finished with their bottles yet - and if they were, there's still a few things to do before they're brought into this room." She shrugged. "And maybe I wanted to spend a bit of time with you - and give you a break from having babies in the same room." Sure they could just get everything set up and then *leave* but Andy might insist that she stayed behind and Thyra didn't want that.
"Should we set everything up and leave? Because I'll be fine with that too." Pulling away, she reached over to grab one of the boxes to read the details as she subconsciously opened the box. "Well, I won't be the one trying to install the ones that's supposed to go up in the ceiling."
Andy
In a bid to try and keep the mood light, Andy asked, “Oh, and just how we’re you planning on getting me to do that? We’re you going to ask nicely? Maybe sabotage the process or provide a _distraction_?” The vampire herself was definitely trying to distract away from the fact she clearly had been speeding so much it caused some concern for the shifter.
At the mention of a break from the equivalent of human LED headlights, and a little alone time, Andy knew she wouldn’t be fighting back at all. “We can leave whenever _you_ feel ready or whenever the moms kick is out, whichever comes first,” she chuckled. Walking over, she took The opened box and began laying out the individual items. “I think I can handle the ceiling if you can handle to instructions.”
Thyra
"Would it not work if I did all of the above?" She asked back because.. she would definitely have done all three. "..Would you have let me do all three?" Andy could easily work around her so it really was a matter of whether or not she'd let her. "Maybe if I held you in place?" She shrugged.
The hotel manager grabbed the instructions and carefully looked through it. "Oh here's the screws for it." She passed the other the little packet. "How long is the power cord?"
Andy
Andy locked her gaze onto the soft blue eyes looking up at her with an emotion the vampire was still learning to classify, but simply smiled and said, "You could just look at me like this for two seconds and I'd be putty in your hands, and you _know_ it."
Taking the small packet, she got to work on the individual cameras first, opening the backs and reaching for a second package. "No cord. I figured it'd be a hazard for Leo to whirlwind her way around her babies and then suddenly trip over one. I got the battery operated ones instead, but since they aren't included I have to sit here and add them to each one." Though her tone made it seem like an arduous task, she was done with all of them by the time she got done speaking. "Instructions have any limitations on range or suggestions on positions from up high?"
Thyra
"But I always look at you like this?" She chuckled, "Does that mean you're just always putty?" She was sure the two mothers outside could hear their conversation right now but Thyra couldn't help it.
"Oh, did we get extra batteries? We should leave a few spares - not necessarily in this room though - for when they run out of juice." She scanned through the instructions to find the answers. "It looks like they recommend them to be 3 feet away - further if possible. "How far is 3feet?" She looked up and then around the room. "I think we can have one around here? And then one in the corner up there?" She pointed towards the two spots she suggested.
Andy
Andy fixed her with a look and simply said, “What do _you_ think?” As much as she made it sound like it was just a matter of being whipped, Andy knew it was more than that. She didn’t give into Thyra because she was powerless to do otherwise; she did it because Thyra made her feel safe and _willing_ to do so. Giving in, for Andy, was a _choice_.
“Yeah, while you were ooing and ahhing at all the outfits, I picked up like four packs, not to mention we keep boxes full of them in supply. “Three feet is about a full-grown Thyra, give or take an inch,” she deadpanned, but places the monitors where the woman indicated. “Alright, looks like the hardware aspect is set. We just have to put everything in their private wi-fi network, and it’s set.”
Thyra
The manager just beamed at the answer. She knew how much it meant for Andy to be willing to put her guard down, so there may be a hint of pride and giddiness to know that Andy felt safe enough to do so around her.
Her nose wrinkled at the jab of her height. "I told you, it's just that all of you are tall, not that I'm short." Once everything was set up in their place, Thyra took one last look around the room to make sure they're all set before giving her full attention back towards the other.
"So do you want to go home, or try again with the babies?" She asked, "Or we could stay here for a bit longer but they might want to come in eventually."
Andy
Andy rolled her eyes and tried to look annoyed at the hint of snugness coming from the blonde, but her the woman's smile was too endearing and she just turned around to do something else so her own stupid smile wouldn't ruin the 'aesthetic' of the detached vampire.
"Yeah, see the folks in this hotel are _hardly_ the tallest people in town, Peque. Some of them make even Jon look short, so I suppose you really didn't have much of a chance, huh?" she retorted with a mock frown. She let out a chuckle as she began cleaning everything back up so it was safe for the babies and there were no tripping hazards for the moms. "Well, we definitely can't hog a room that doesn't belong to us, but as far as the babies go, I'll leave it up to you. If you want to see if they're still up and up for another round of...whatever babies do, we can stay. I'll be fine."
Julia
The mother wolf had been doing her very best to keep herself focused on the babies and Leo. Anything to not hear the two flirt in their kids' room. One would think she'd get used to it after being around them for so long but she could *feel* the cavities forming. With a quick glance towards the room, she looked over to Leo, "I'm not sure if they're here for the babies." She whispered softly before looking down at Emmy who seemed to be struggling to sit up, or turn over. Julia held up the baby and the baby immediately leaned into the crook of her neck.
"Hey baby.." She whispered softly, "What's wrong? Are you getting sleepy?" She tried to peek but with the angle they were at, Julia couldn't quite see Emmy's expression.
Leo
"Oh I can guarantee you Thyra is. Andy is only here because it's her job. From what we've learned about her new powers, it can't be fun to be around a pair so young..." She turned Levi over on her lap and began the task of getting him properly burped but patting his back gently. Glancing over at the blonde duo she said, "Considering they just ate their fill, it is very likely they'll be ready for some sleep soon enough. Fingers crossed and they're both at the stage where they can sleep through the night or at least most of the night."
Satisfied when she felt the familiar rumble of a little burp, she flipped the little boy over to wipe the spittle from the corner of his mouth and then proceeded to bring him to rest on her own shoulder, much like his sister. "Come on, we can kick the lovebirds out and get to setting up a nice place for them to drift off in."
Julia
"Was Andy fond of kids in the first place regardless of her new powers?" She sighed as she soothed their baby girl's back, rocking her slowly which was deemed very effective when she could feel her baby being more still with each passing minute. "I think Emmy is already well on her way to sleep." She chuckled softly before giving her a kiss to the forehead.
Walking into the room, she smiled at the two women who were in their own little world no matter the place or time. "Don't mind us." She laughed, "We're just here to get the kids to bed - thank you for getting everything set up." She added before going over to one of the cribs to set the kid down. Embry for her part, started to twist and turn in attempt to get comfy. Julia could only watch with a big smile on her face. She never thought she'd get to see this afterall. "Leo look.. She won't let go of my hand."
Leo
Leo thought about for a fraction of a second before she said, “Actually, yes. She was always a big hit with the younger fosters whenever she came around. It’s why I was so comfortable entrusting her to watch over the kids even _after_ everything.” Feeling the even breaths of Levi, the half-demon chuckled softly and said, “Well she’ll be playing catch-up with her brother. He’s out like a light.”
Following the older woman’s lead, she too headed into the impromptu nursery. “Actually do mind us. A lot. Your help is appreciated but there are plenty of other rooms in the hotel for you two to stare adoringly at each other in,” she scolded, before turning to walk over to Jules. “She feels safe with you.”
Julia
Julia never questioned Leo's decision so if she trusted Andy even if the younger woman was somewhat struggling in the babies' presence, Julia should trust that too. "That also explains why you made her the babysitter." She hummed.
It was truly amazing how the two could be in their own world at any given time. Instead she just focused her attention to the cribs. It felt like a crime to pry Embry's little hand off of hers so she didn't. Hence why the mother wolf simply leaned against the crib and smiled endearingly at the kid. It was almost hard to believe that she once left this baby girl behind. "You really think so? Part of me thinks that she doesn't want me to *leave*."
Leo
As the pair bud their farewells, she returned her full attention to Julia. Her response was to be expected, as Leo knew full well how much Julia till struggled with a sense of guilt over having left Embry to the foster system. She also knew it wasn’t that could just be smoothed over with words, but she’d hoped that her reassurances over their time back in each other’s lives would have helped a bit.
Regardless, expected or not, the words still made Leo’s heart ache for the mother of her children. She reached out a hand to gently wrap around both the baby’s and Julia’s as she said, “She _knows_ you won’t leave. She wouldn’t have let you in as much as she has, while her normal self, otherwise.”
Julia
Julia mulled over those words, not because she thought they were untrue but there will always be a part of her who would somehow think otherwise. "You're right." She leaned towards the taller woman as her eyes fell upon the joined hands. If she were told she'd have this moment when she first stepped foot in the Avraham's home, Julia wouldn't have believed it. "Part of me think she might still be resenting me about it - I'm just thankful both of you allowed me back in."
It was without a doubt that they wouldn't harm Levi because he was just a kid but Julia was still grateful nonetheless. "Baby.." She let out a soft chuckle. "She's got .. a really strong grip." At that she could feel the kid's hand *tightening*. "... maybe this is a warning."
Leo
"Embry is as transparent a person as they come. Believe me, there was zero hesitation in letting me know how annoying she found me when we met and how much she'd rather shove pencils under her fingernails than have any sort of bonding time. If she still felt _any_ resentment towards you, you would _know_," Leo pointed out. The hunter still remembered just how much work it took for her to get Embry to stick around her during the first pride parade in town.
At the mention of the baby's grip, Leo took note and said, "Oh, that must mean they've kept their powers...hmmm...we may want to keep an extra eye on her. She still hasn't tapped into her witch powers, but as a baby who knows how much control she'll have."
Julia
"Yeah.. I remember when we met in person." Boy, she was ever so thankful Levi, who was ever the social butterfly, was around to break the ice. "Not sure who she takes after." She was just very thankful that everything worked out in the end. "But I still can't imagine her not liking you from the very start."
Her thumb brushed against the little digits as she thought about the strength the baby clearly kept. "... Did the girls buy any small stuffed animals? I think Emmy might need something to grab onto. Almost tempted to give her a strength grip with how hard she's holding on right now."
Leo
"Yeah...that was a memorable interaction," she said, though her focus in hindsight was the pleasant contact between her fist and that douchewolf's face. It took everything in her not to provide a sarcastic reply at the question of who Embry, a girl show spoke her mind and didn't feel the need to hold back her opinion, might take after... "Could just be her own personal flair," she said instead. Leo chuckled and said, "She _may_ have liked me, deep, _deep_, down, but that doesn't mean she wasn't annoyed. I mean, she probably thought I was just going to be another face that stuck around for a while and then shipped her off. I don't blame her."
Glancing around the room, she found a pile of stuffies and picked the one she felt would be the most 'robust' and therefore likely to survive the night. Handing it over she said, "I'm definitely already seeing why we've evolved to the point our powers have to be triggered by something and why we aren't all just born with innate magical abilities. Can also see why some parents may consider binding their children's powers if they trigger too young."
Julia
She made a face because she was *sure* they both found it memorable for various different reasons. Her ex-husband definitely didn't have a good time when he came home later than night though Julia knew he deserved whatever reckoning that came his way. At the topic of Embry thinking her time with Leo would end up like the other foster families just had her heart aching. This will always pick at Julia's guilt but she was thankful that the younger wolf was willing to open up to her. "And now she loves having you around - probably still annoyed though." She joked.
"...Do you think her witch powers will get triggered?" She thought aloud since triggering the wolf was vastly different from when a witch gaining their power. Her eyes fell to the stuffed animal that was already changing its shape at the spot where Emmy was holding it. "... She's not going to hurt herself, is she?" She reached in to give their daughter a small rub.
Leo
Leo shrugged at the comment and just said, "Like mother, like daughter." It wasn't like Jules and Leo had gotten off to the best start immediately either. Much for the same reasons that Emmy was hesitant to make any connections, so too was a teenage Julia. Though they were unfortunately kept from each other for as long as they had, the two would always be far more alike than they may ever want to actively discuss. Also, Leo knew she was just as annoying now as she was then so...
"I can't say for certain, but one of the things that made it to where Liam was as spoiled as he was from the start, _was_ the fact that his powers came in early. Granted, that doesn't necessarily translate to anything, but it was something else my parents could brag about....until I came along and with half my magic already presenting from birth. Scion genetics and all that jazz. _But_, being spontaneously changed from an independent teenager to a helpless baby could be enough of a catalyst to do it. May as well keep an eye out just to be safe." Looking down at the toy Leo said, "Herself? No. Some unfortunate other party? Perhaps."
Julia
She gave a wry smile despite it not being Leo's initial meaning. Julia was aware of how she was when she first met the Avrahams. Granted, she was taken in by Leo's parents which would have given a whole different experience in general. "Seems like she takes after me quite a bit." She commented, smiling softly at that.
"What didn't Liam brag about?" Her eyes rolled. "Well, I guess we should keep a look out for anything floating out of nowhere." She snorted. "I never did ask though, what sort of magic did Liam have?" For someone who seemed very likely to show off, Julia did not have much recollection of it. "Oh, you're right. Look at that grip." She laughed out loud at how distorted that thing looked right now. "Maybe she's letting out some anger we don't know about."
Leo
"Well, not like she can really take after anyone else the room, dear," she pointed out with a grin that was more of a mask at this point. Matters didn't get any better at the comment about what her brother _didn't_ brag about. "Well, considering his rather pertinent role in us having this conversation, at this very point, because of this very baby....That's for you to tell me, but honestly I think I could do without ever knowing."
Leo made a face at the question and then let out a breath as she reluctantly said, "Yeah, we'll want to keep an eye out for things being _set ablaze_ out of nowhere...Liam was a pyro...in any sense of the word, really." The woman let out a chuckle and said, "Oh she's definitely letting out some frustration there, but not all frustration is anger-driven...again, she was just a teenager only hours ago."
Julia
Julia had a feeling that she should perhaps drop the topic seeing that it was never Leo's choice of topic to discuss. It wasn't when they were younger, and it didn't seem to have changed now even though Julia hadn't be around them since. "Oh.. She might be a pyro? ... Maybe we should look at fire-proofing everything just in case?" She didn't even know when or *if* those magic powers would kick in, but it didn't hurt to be cautious about it. "Then again, is the whole ancestry pyros?" If there were more than just fire witches in the family, Julia felt like it was just a gamble of anything.
Julia gave her daughter's nose a light tap before resting both her hands on the barriers. "She might also be missing Evan, she did whine a bit when she shimmered out of here. But Emmy~" She shifted slightly to the side, "Look, Obie's here with you."
Leo
Leo shook her head. "No, mom's an air elemental. To which I did once ask her if in the end that didn't just work like telekinesis, and then she proceeded to remove all air from my lungs with flick of the wrist," she said, before adding, "But it was like only for two seconds. We can't blame lack of oxygen for my lack of thought most of the time." She hadn't thought about the moment in ages, and now having the ability to look back as an adult -and a mother herself- it was definitely not as simple or funny a thing as she may have thought. "I think it's good that my parents are getting to know the kids with proper supervision...and that they've dropped the whole insistence that we visit for the holidays."
She let out a chuckle and said, "Wow...did you just compare our daughter's girlfriend to her pet dog? Also, based on what she did to that stuffie, I would _not_ but Obie in there with her."
Julia
It really took everything for Julia not to comment on Leo being suffocated by her mother even if it's for 2 seconds. The only things she was ever thankful for, were that she got to meet Leo because of them and that she got to have Embry. They may be better now, but Julia was still not comfortable letting the kids alone with them. She also threw Leo a look, agreeing that it was such a relief that they weren't badgering them to visit as often anymore. "So there's two potential magic she might inherit." It was said aloud more as a note to herself.
A chuckle followed immediately after because of course, that was the thing Leo picked up on. "No, I did not but you're right. Obie, you need to stay out of the cribs." She looked down at the pup who was already trying to stick his nose into said crib.
Leo
"All things considered, the way magic has been evolving over time, I wouldn't be surprised if she managed to inherit both abilities, or something completely different that was a recessive trait from ages down the line. I think the Nexus being in play now has made it to where the restrictions that the more powerful supers, like witches and demons, have put in place no longer really hold much water. I mean, the Paladins aren't even tied to the Nexus anymore so...anything could happen."
Leo just grinned, knowing already that she would be letting the kids know about this as soon as they could retain information again. Walking over to Levi, she just smiled as she watched him sleep peacefully. She reached down and placed _his_ intact stuffie in a far corner of the crib, given that it was almost his size right now. "Well, at least we only have one baby to worry about...unless _you_ happen to have some non-wolf ancestors somewhere."
Julia
"That is true.. I guess I'm a little excited to see what the future has for her, for both of them. I missed out on her first full moon, maybe this is just me trying to make up for it." She admitted. Leo was right - anything could happen. Everyone did say that Fallcrest had enough surprises to last several life times. There was never a dull moment despite the size of the town.
"Uhhh, that I wouldn't know." She smiled, "This is going to be as much of a surprise for you and it will be for me." A tiny smirk graced her lips, "Do you think there's a chance I'll suddenly get some new power I didn't know about?"
Leo
Thinking back on the exact night of Emmy’s _first_ full moon, Leo had to tamper down on the anger that threatened to bubble back up. The mere thought that Leo’s own, biological father caused the girl to trigger… “I wouldn’t really say missed out on much, but to be honest, Evan would be the best one to talk to if you want details.”
Leo pulled a face again as she said, “I mean, technically, I think the guild’s working on a way to make it a bit less of a surprise…? As for gaining sudden new powers, need I remind you that the town’s wolf pack’s two token humans just turned out to be anything but?”
Julia
"Evan?" Somehow she thought Leo would be the one to tell her, or at least tell her to ask Embry herself whenever this baby effect was over. "Maybe once she drops by then. Or I can wait." Julia gave a shrug before shifting her thoughts to the two former token humans.
"I don't really know who might in my family tree; I never found out." More like she never gone out of her way to proactively find out. "...Isn't this exciting though? Now we have absolutely no idea if either kid have another set of powers."
Leo
"It's a long story, but I'll go ahead and loop you into the fact that Erebus and his lackeys were in town the night she triggered her wolf. Obviously, being that it was fer very first full moon, the likelihood of her remembering anything herself is slim, and I...can only recall up to a certain point. Enter Evan! Who has been saving our behinds and those of many in this town for ages but, people still try to compare her to her grandfather. I know the feel," she said making another face.
Leo furrowed her brow slightly and said, "I don't think Luke would've either, being that she was adopted as part of a closed adoption. Seems that unlike my father, the Bensons didn't keep a detailed a ledger of her birth parents...obsessively." She took a deep breath and said, "It is definitely something, I'll give you that. I mean, this could be one hell of a wildcard. Tomi! She's the descendent of a Scion, and how many generations did _that_ little surprise stay hidden for?"
Julia
"Erebus came into town?" That she did not hear about. Her eyes widened. That alone was not good news. She may not know him personally, but she heard enough about them to know that they would not get along, which was an understatement. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the rough summary of the night they had, "..... Did Erebus try to hurt the both of you?" She could only assume that said demon would have been in town solely for the Nexus because why would that man step foot in Fallcrest of all places.
"Luke and Tomi were really a surprise. Paladin, and half-demon, half-wolf? That's pretty impressive. How are they handling that anyways? I can't imagine what Tomi is going through.." Having her wolf triggered was already overwhelming on its own with the heightened senses. Julia could not imagine what it was like to add on other powers.
Leo
In all fairness to Julia, this conversation likely should've happened quite a while back. Instead of risking waking the babies though, she guided them back to the living room and took a seat in an armchair so she could face the woman. "Erebus and the Scions actually made it into town twice," she admitted. "I know, that's not a small thing to neglect to mention, but Emmy and I have honestly been so focused on everything positive that has happened to us since then that it really did just slip both our minds to mention it....and also, the first time isn't exactly a memory that Embry likes to go back to often."
Leo rested her forearms on her thighs as she leant forward, and clasped her hands together, a rare somber look on her features. "It was our first Halloween in town, as a family for me and her. It started off pretty great actually, she was dressed up as Supergirl and I was Wonder Woman...but things took a turn fast. The Scions came in wanting to begin the process of opening the Nexus and the first seal requires the blood of a Scion's own offspring..." Leo went on to explain how the magic released from the Nexus turned them into their costumes, buying her some time but causing Emmy to be overwhelmed. How the magic wore off at midnight, and how Evan had come in to help for the first time. "Emmy would probably rather tell you what she does remember about our encounter with Erebus the second time, but the first time is a touchy matter for her...because...she technically watched me _die_...And because up until then she had been oblivious to the supernatural world, she felt helpless as it all unfolded around her. Luckily Jon and Evan were there with her the whole time until I came back, but-" She had to stop as the lump in her throat finally refused to be ignored. Swallowing she said, "I know it's something that still burdens her....and I wish I could find a way to take it away, but I couldn't even manage to stay alive like a proper grown-up."
Julia
The fact that Leo didn't give a direct answer as to whether or not Erebus hurt either of them was concerning. However, she wasn't going to fault them for not telling her - she wasn't around then, and when they did reunite, lots of things happened since. "That would explain why no one ever said anything about it." How a wolf was triggered was rarely a good memory so she understood why Embry wouldn't want to think about it.
Julia's own blood froze when she learned that one of the requirements of a seal was the blood of a Scion's offspring. Her first thought immediately went to Leo but she held back on commenting since it was obvious that Leo lived to tell the tale...
Until Leo told her that she literally *died* and was then brought back to life.
".. You *died*?" The disbelief and pain in her voice of just learning that had happened. Her heart also ached for Embry for having to experience that when she didn't even know what was happening. The poor girl must have been so scared when her senses must have amplified due to the fact that she was Supergirl for Halloween, and then having to see Leo of all people die.
Her hands reached out and rested on Leo's, gripping them as a gesture for comfort and support. "That's not your fault, Leo and she knows that." She sighed, "I wish I had been there for the both of you.." Julia waited a beat before asking softly, "How.. have you been processing this? That.. That you died.." She almost cringed since there wasn't seem to be a way to ask this *and* she did not want to repeat the fact that it was her own father who tried to kill her.
Leo
All she could do was nod in response, knowing full well that the question on the matter was less one that required an actual answer and more one of needing to repeat it out loud to make it register. "Yeah...guess I only have eight lives left now," she joked, though there was little mirth in her eyes even as she did so. "I figured starting at the beginning would help make sense of her _actual_ first full moon a little more. Erebus essentially lured me out to the Nexus again, because the second seal required the blood of a Scion to open. He claimed that the blood had to be drawn in combat but I think he genuinely just wanted to get to finish what he started..." she trailed off a bit, before shaking her head and pressing on. "Emmy's wolf was triggered because she witnessed the fight between my father and myself and was probably overwhelmed by the fear that I wouldn't be able to come back this time if he was successful. Both of us woke up the next day, back at the hotel, no idea what happened until Jon mentioned an injured Evan shimmering us back. Incidentally, that's the night Evan got her scar. She faced-off against her own father, Azrael."
It was honestly a lot easier to just info-dump right now than it was to dwell too much on the memory of it all. So when Julia's hands found her own, Leo had to look down just to keep herself from giving over to emotion too fast at just how _real_ this made things. The question made her glance back up, and she just offered a wry smile as she honestly answered, "Uh...I have..._not_."
Julia
She had heard how cruel the Scions were but to hear that Leo had been sacrificed for their goal was just unfathomable - not to mention her daughter's girlfriend was also injured by another member. Julia could not imagine what it was like for Embry to watch all of this go down, on top of getting her wolf being triggered. "...Oh my god.." She expressed as there wasn't anything that could truly describe how she felt towards many elements of this.
It also didn't help to know that Leo, who needed to process things since they were kids, did not find the time to do so for this whole ordeal. Not that she wanted to ignore all that her daughter had experienced but that will have to come later - when she wasn't a baby.
Julia also didn't want to pressure Leo into anything so she smiled softly at the answer. "Understandable, it seems that things had been busy since then." She couldn't even begin to guess where they found the time to find *her* after all of that.
Leo
The half-demon could once again, only nod in response. There really wasn't much that she could say that wouldn't come across as empty platitudes or -in her case- inappropriate humor and sarcasm. She allowed for silence to take over for a moment, needing herself to let it sink in that what she just shared was, _in fact_, something that they had been through and not something they treated as a weird, Babadook.
"I've kept them busy," she admitted, when she finally spoke again. "The busier I stay, the less time I have to think about the past. It's kind of how I learned to function...." Leo trailed off, as the implication that this was also how she dealt with how their younger interaction went south was made. "It has been a bit harder to keep as busy as I'm used to though," she continued, "I've pretty much retired as a guild hunter. After everything that happened, I couldn't bare the terrified look in Emmy's eyes every time she saw me and Jon heading out, never really knowing if we'd be back. I couldn't do that to her....I still can't, as evidenced by the fact that I wound up in the gym with everyone else."
Julia
Julia nodded, understanding why Leo made the decisions she had. "I can't emphasize enough that I'm glad the two of you found each other. I'm.. also not surprised that you gave up being a full-time guild hunter just so you can be there for Embry - I'm sure she appreciates that just as much.. However, as amazing as it is that you always manage to put Embry before yourself, Leo, you got to take care of yourself as well."
The wolf was very concerned since Leo admitted that she did not even process with the fact that she *died* since it might end up biting them back in the ass as reality often liked to do. "... I, for one, am very grateful that they managed to get you back." Perhaps it was a selfish thought but Julia would have never thought they'd be here today if it weren't for Leo.
Leo
She was quite for a moment, as she listened to Julia. Leo scoffed a bit and said, "Yeah, I suppose I started training when I was so young, that by the time Embry came around, I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be on the other side of that coin. To be the one left behind while the person you care about goes off on some secret mission. I was reminded real quick though." She let out a wry chuckle before asking, "Is this the bit where you tell me I can't put the oxygen mask on other people if I pass out from not putting mine on?"
Leo glanced over at her and said, "Can't say I have any complaints about that myself. Of course, all credit goes to Evan -again- for being a walking version of the library of magic. If you didn't like her as Emmy's girlfriend before, I think she's earned some brownie points now."
Julia
Julia nodded when Leo spoke about forgetting what it was like to be the one waiting for someone's safe return. "That is pretty much what I meant, isn't it?" She chuckled. "You're just as important to Embry as she is to you. Only makes sense that you both are safe and sound if it can be helped."
She then let out a laugh, "You say that as if I didn't like her in the first place - but we're not talking about Evan, as thankful as I am for all her help. We're talking about *you*, don't think I didn't see you change the topic."
Leo
"I know, and you're right," she began, "But as the guardian, now parent, I just feel that it's up to me to just _be_ okay so I can be there for her when she needs it. Whether I have some natural caring instinct I miraculously got from my mother or whether it's the life-long training of 'others first, always', I couldn't say. Besides, it's not like it's had a noticeable impact on me. There's been no detriment to my work and I'd like to think that it hasn't affected how interact with those around me, especial the kids....I mean, I _have_ been alright with the kids, haven't I?" The last question was one she hadn't really thought about now, but as soon as it was in her mind the fear of having acted untoward either of her children and not noticed it...it stirred up a lot of old sentiments.
Julia
She waited until the ramble ended before speaking up again, "You've been more than alright with the kids." She reassured, "Weren't you the one telling me that Embry would be the first person to let you know if she didn't like something? Contrary to her initial opinions about you, I'm pretty sure you're her favourite person." She teased before going serious again, "Leo, I'm not joking when I say that both Levi and Embry love you. The amount of giggles from Levi alone could tell you that."
Leo
Leo listened quietly as Julia spoke, uncharacteristically managing to bite her tongue on most things she might've put up an argument for. Instead, she waited until the woman was done to move from spot on the armchair, to on her knees before the blonde, bending down to warp her arms around Julia's middle tightly as she rested her own head on the woman's lap. "I have two sets of parents and I know I _never_ want to be like three-fourths of the set, in _any_ way."
Julia
Julia automatically had one hand on Leo’s back with the other starting running through the woman’s hair. “I personally don’t think you’re anything like that - but I might be a bit biased in my views.” She smiled warmly at the sight, “Jokes aside, I do think you’re doing really well with the kids. That was never the issue.” The wolf pointed out again. There had never been any doubt that Leo would put the kids’ well-being first but the problem was that Leo rarely put herself first.
Leo
She felft herself relax into the other woman with each passing stroke through her hair, and touch down her back. It was enough to slow her mind down to a point where she could take in what Julia was saying and actually realize that her anxieties had caused her train of thought to be derailed. She was quite for another moment longer before muttering out, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to set up an appointment with a psych whose familiar with the supernatural world...maybe start learning to slow down and think of what something will do to me in the long run, and all that fun stuff that grown ups should do."
Julia
"I think that'd be a good start." She encouraged, "We can take it a step at a time. If it helps, we can even go to family therapy." Julia wants nothing more than to be supportive for the other. "Although we might need to wait a bit for Embry and Levi to revert back to their actual ages for that." Her fingers continued to run through her hair, "Whatever you want to do, I'll be right there with you, okay?"
Leo
Leo remained on her knees, but lifted herself up off the older woman, so that she look her in the eye. "Thank you," she began, earnest gratitude clear in her voice. "Thank you for my daughter. Thank you for my son. Thank you for being willing to form this makeshift, chaotic little family with me. And thank you for -miraculously- not having come to realize my obnoxious behavior was a detriment as time passed."
Julia
She reached out and cupped Leo's face, letting her thumbs brush over those cheeks. "And thank you for being you, for finding all of us, for being the one to bring us all back together - makeshift, chaotic little family and all. ." Her smile widened and shifted into a smirk, "I had some prior experience with your 'obnoxious behaviour' so I think it's safe to say that it's one of the things I do like about you." Moving her hands down to take hold of Leo's hand, Julia got up from her seat. "Come on, we should maybe let them sleep peacefully." As much as she would love to stay put and stare at the babies all night long, she didn't want to interrupt their slumber.
+Cut to Benson Cabin - Post Arrest of Ricky Benson
Skylar:
The wolf slept in, considering that she barely had any sleep ever since she found out her aunt was in the hospital and her constant worried state had her wake up a few times throughout the night. Even when she did wake late the next day, Skylar did not feel like moving from her spot. Instead, she just snuggled in further into her pillow and pulled the comforter up over her head to block the sunlight peering in from the windows.
Erin:
Erin and Tomi had been taking turns checking on their Sleeping Beauty because that pup was out as soon as her head hit the pillow. They’d had to tag team actually getting her under the covers.
Being that was well into the afternoon now, Erin used her turn to go ahead and bring up some food for the girl. As she set the tray down on the side table, she noticed the movement beneath the comforter and simply said, “I know you’re exhausted love, and you don’t have to leave the bed, but please eat something. You don’t want to be out of form on your next stream.” Not that witch believed streaming was a big priority for the girl right now, but it was a last ditch effort.
Skylar:
She flopped over the end of her comforter and peeked out to look at her girlfriend. "...You could join me in bed if you'd like." She mumbled, sleep still clear in her voice. The girl glanced over to the tray and begrudgingly sat up. "Babe.." she reached with her fingers wiggling, motioning her to come to her. Sky knew she had to eat eventually but the girl wasn't that hungry. "Let's sleep together. With Tomi, too. A group nap sounds appealing."
Erin:
Erin simply met her initial request with a raised eyebrow, and said, "Phrasing, princess." She then took a seat on the bed next to the shorter girl and said, "Come on, you know you have to eat. Tomi and I were going to give root beer noodles a crack, but realized there was just no way anyone but Luke could make that edible. So instead, she helped me whip up some bangers and mash, extra bangers."
Erin sighed and pulled out her phone. "I'll make you a deal, you start eating and I'll text her to come up. Otherwise, she's going to come in here, tell you exactly what I did, and then you're just going to whinge the rest of the afternoon that we're 'ganging up' on you."
Skylar:
"I'm down for either.." She chucked as she set her pillow up so she could lean back against it. "Okay.. Okay.. I'll eat something so that your efforts won't be wasted." She reached for the plate and took a bite, chewing slowly. It'd be a lie to say that she wasn't hungry since she just woke up when normally she wouldn't be deterred by that.
As she ate, her other hand slipped into Erin's, taking solace by her just being there. "..What time is it?" She asked despite making no movements to search for her own phone.
Erin:
"Oh I am very sure you are, you insatiable little minx," she teased. "But we'd most certainly want to at least ask Tomi what she'd be 'down for'," Erin helpfully pointed out. As she watched Skylar actually try the sausages and mashed potatoes, she reached for her phone to shoot Tomi a text to come up. A deal was a deal, and even if Sky tried to back out, she could do with the back up.
Feeling her free hand be taken hold of, she provided a reassuring squeeze. She looked up from her phone and said, "It's nearing three. Everyone's been doing their best to let you catch up on rest, but your mom made Tomes and I promise we'd feed you before she had to head out."
Skylar:
"Of course, yes. I wouldn't do anything without her consent, even cuddling." She focused on her food, taking a small bite after another but at a consistent pace. So far, she managed to nibble at least halfway before she looked up again.
"Mom went out again?" She asked, "Is she visiting the hospital?" And without her? Skylar was a bit bummed about that since she wanted to head back too. The wolf didn't think she'd sleep in for that long.
Tomi:
Making it up to the room, she was glad to see that Erin had managed to get Skylar to at least start eating something. She closed the door behind her just as Sky was asking about her mom. "Oh, Aunty K got a call from Sheriff Miller earlier. She said a work emergency came up, but that everything was fine and that if she wasn't back within the hour, we should try to wake you up and make sure you ate something."
Coming to sit on the edge of the bed, just behind Erin, she added, "She also said she'd give you as many details as she was free to, about what she did and where she was as soon as she got back. Oh! And she said JJ was in charge which made Lyra and Nix unhappy."
Skylar:
"Did mom eat anything?" Since everyone was on her case about not eating, Skylar would like to know if they were also on her mom's case as well since she did spend more hours outside yesterday. "So what did I miss when I was sleeping?" Surely it wouldn't be peaceful if JJ was made in charge when Nix and Lyra were still under the same roof.
"Oh, how was Braxton and them?" She remembered how concerned Tomi was about the beta and it slipped her mind until now.
Tomi:
Tomi thought about how everyone had continued to keep a wide berth around the woman even after the news of Luke waking up. She shared a look with Erin before saying, “We didn’t really feel it was out place to tell your mom what to do, but your uncle JJ did get her to eat something before she had to go.”
Tomi smiled as she said, “He’s good. Rikke was able to work her Paladin magic and get him sorted. Turns out he also had his memory wiped once, which is how he forgot that he’s my actual dad. As for Ayden, she left the med bay with Aleja and Blake so…I know she’s well, but I can’t speak to her being okay, ya know?”
Skylar:
She was oblivious that everyone had been cautious when it to Keagan since she would never get to see the "murder rage" side of her, at least it wouldn't be directed at her. "Okay.. least she had something... I don't think she ate either..." She mumbled.
"Oh.. how did he take it now that he remembers?" She hesitated now that her brain decided to go down the possibility of Tomi leaving the cabin because she wanted to live with her dad instead. That did make her a bit sad to think about. She enjoyed their time together and definitely gotten used to this lifestyle...
Tomi:
Tomi and Erin had already opted on sparing Sky the details of her mom’s mood before leaving. It wasn’t like the girl would ever believe them anyway.
“He apologized for having forgotten in the first place, which, not his fault to begin with and honestly I was just relieved to find out he hadn’t purposely lied to me.” Tomi let out a tired breath before letting herself drop onto Erin’s back, still looking at Sky over the eldest’s shoulder. “I think he was actually far more excited to learn my powers were triggered and then promptly got all mopey when I told him I wasn’t going home with him.”
Skylar:
The smallest of the three held her fork in her mouth as she thought this through. "How are you handling that? With wolf powers and all now?" Her eyes widened again, "Oh... Wait since you're triggered now, you'll have to shift too right? Oh... First time is ..Not fun..." She shook her head, "Not fun...At all.." she couldn't really say the other times are that fun either but having to experience it when you've never known it before? That was rough.
"...Will you move back though?" She asked quietly, already feeling very sad about it even though Tomi hadn't even said anything yet. Her imaginary wolf ears would be drooping.
Tomi:
Tomi smiled at Sky, weary as it was, in a bid to ease her. When Skylar began to show her kinship to Lyra in how much and how fast she spoke? Girl was nervous, concerned, or both.
“I’m still getting used to the heightened senses and being able to distinguish individuals by scent alone. It’s…trippy,” she said. “But Erin helped me practice with some of my demon magic so I could compensate and not end up too overwhelmed.” As she said the witch’s name, her arms found their way around her middle as she continues to rest there. A look of mild fear crossed her face at the prospect of her first turn. “I witnessed Sean’s first and plenty of James’ to know it’s gonna suck..”
The question was one she hadn’t really thought about. “I don’t see why I would. I mean, I love the fact I know Brax is my dad and I know I’ll always have a place at the Rendall home, but I moved out to carve out a space of my own, and I think I’ve managed rather well here.”
Skylar:
"Trippy... but way cool, right?" She wiggled her brows. It's what she's been telling Tomi since her own wolf was triggered. "Oh man, that's right! Wolf powers and demon magic. Tomes is like.. super OP now." She should really finish her plate before they call her out again for not eating, but was distracted by the talk of shifting. "Well, both Sean and I will be right there with you when it happens. Brax too. There's no way he'd miss his daughter's first shift.
Her imaginary wolf ears definitely perked up when it was apparently decided that she wouldn't move out of the cabin. "Yeah? You're staying! That's-" Sky tried to not look as excited as she felt - or at least, as much as she could show with her exhaustion still sort of there. "That's great! Brax is highkey moping then."
Erin:
Erin did do her best to stifle her laughter and Skylar's immediate reaction to the news that Tomi would be staying, and then her terrible attempt to backtrack. 'Tried' being the operative word, because after a second or two of slight snorting she just caved and full on laughed. If the sound of laughter in her ear wasn't enough of an indicator that Tomi found it just as amusing, the fact they were both shaking with laughter certainly was.
"Wow, princess, way to make it sound like you're hype over the fact Brax is currently moping because it means that you don't have to," she teased.
Skylar:
"Well, I might be." She set the plate back onto the tray and sprawled herself across the bed because she needed to be involved with this cuddle entirely. "Who wouldn't be thrilled to have Tomes stay with us?" Skylar pulled up the comforter enough to cover herself, and in turn, the legs of the other two girls.
Was she acting more spoiled today? Most definitely. Did she care? Not at all. Skylar might also be doing this so she could take her nap although it was a lot warmer than when she was sleeping alone a while ago.
Tomi:
The sudden pull of the comforter had both girls off balance as they were essentially dragged up onto the bed by the deceptively strong wolf. Tomi had to tighten her hold on Erin when she felt the witch begin to go in the opposite direction. When it was all said and done, she narrowed her eyes at the redhead and said, "Use your words! A simple well placed 'please' and 'thank you' will work far more wonders than being a little brat and possibly causing bodily injury."
Shen then just rolled her eyes and said, "All right then, where would the princess like each of her ladies-in-waiting this fine afternoon?”
Skylar:
Sky looked up with a pout. "... I want to cuddle please." She mumbled. Maybe she was feeling a bit ashamed after all after being called out by Tomi. "You aren't my ladies-in-waiting." She frowned, alternating her attention between the two girls. "I want my queens to be beside me, that's all."
"I should head over to the hospital later..." Her words drifted as she started to figure out what her plans were for today. Even if she wanted to snuggle in bed all day, she really wanted to visit her aunt again. However, would it be a bother? Everyone might say otherwise, but Sky didn't want to bother the patient too much if it impeded on her resting time.
Erin:
Glancing over at Tomi, they shared an eye roll at the dramatics but acquiesced nonetheless, each girl taking to one side of the redhead. Once they were all settled in, it was almost like they could put the night behind them. Almost. Because as long as Luke wasn't home, things just didn't feel the same. And if she herself felt that way, she couldn't begin to imagine how Skylar would be feeling.
Almost as if having read her mind, the smallest asked after visiting her aunt. "I think that's be a great idea, love. I don't think anything would lift Luke's spirits quite like you attempting to explain to your mother why the three of us will now be sharing one room..." she teased.
Skylar:
When the two women settled next to her on both sides, Skylar felt safer - not that she'd ever say anything about it. She was just going to pass it off as her love for snuggles. And while Erin was probably teasing her, her mind went in a different direction. "...Should we upgrade the bed then? What's it called? Alaskan King size? I heard that one's the biggest size out there... I think we've got enough room for that."
"...Ohhh.. a new bed frame would be a nice short project to do..." She hummed, "If we're all going to share one room, I think there's going to be a lot of redecorating in here too.. Oooooh~ This is definitely a new project." When their basement is still unfinished. "..But I think I'll wait until Aunt Luke heals before telling her the idea... Maybe we should start sketching how we want things to go..."
Tomi:
Tomi should've foreseen this the moment Erin mentioned sharing one room. "Okay, whoa, hold your wolfies there, red," she said with a chuckle. "I think we should start by actually letting the people we want to know, well, know. Then perhaps instead of trying to fit into one room, we can talk to Luke about maybe letting us have the basement?" she suggested.
She ran a hand through the girl's hair and said, "I know you really want things to take your mind of everything right now, and that's fair, but if we're going to this, we should take our time and do it right. Besides, trying to get half of your wardrobe and half of Erin's in this one closet was already a feat. More space would mean all three full wardrobes fit, and we all get a little more space for our own hobbies and stuff."
Skylar:
"Who do you guys want to know first? Aunt Luke is a must. So's mom. The bean will cry if he was the last to know. Uncle JJ and Aunt Nix would be chill." She pressed her lips together as she debated if they should let Lyra know first before a few others in town. "I guess everyone in the gang should know too."
She closed her eyes as she felt the hand in her hair. "It does make sense to move into the basement.. There's definitely more space down there than in this room... Luke could probably use another room up here." She hummed, "It's not like the scoobs can't still hang in the basement either afterwards..."
Erin:
Erin smiled at how soft, yet firm Tomi was with Skylar. Honestly, she could not have asked for a better partner in crime. She did chuckle lightly at the rambling Sky opted to go on, clearly more ready after some sleep to acknowledge they were all together than she was when they discussed it in the morning. "Okay, well I'll let you two sort out the lengthy list. Personally, I only have Maths and Key to tell, and it'll have to be a joint meeting. If either knows before the other, they're both equally likely to be offended," she chimed.
She hummed in agreement with both girls. "Yeah, it would definitely be nice to be able to set up my easel again. Besides, it could be another joint project for you and Luke."
Skylar:
"Ohhh Joint meeting..." Now that was an idea... then Skylar was imagining to just have everyone in one place and ... announce it. That could also be a dumb idea, but it will be efficient...? Her blue eyes looked up at the brown, "Mmmmm... Literally anyone who might come over to chill, I guess?" That was almost three generations of scoobies.
"If you want, you could also paint the walls if you'd like." Her eyes shifted to Erin, "Mural on a wall, or all of them if you want." Her brows lifted at the idea, "You mean, you don't want to be part of renovating the place and putting furniture pieces together?" "
Erin:
Erin's eyes lit up at the idea of doing some some murals, but immediately narrowed at the question of furniture. "I would be more than thrilled to do some murals on the walls once that aspect is ready to be addressed, but babes, I stick to three 'C's: I cook, I clean, I cuddle. I have zero qualms with admitting that there's not single butch bone in me. I mean, I was raised by two prim and proper Brits, I don't even think I could manage a bar stool from Ikea."
Skylar:
"Oh wow." She laughed giving a playful eye roll, "Okay, okay, we won't have you build the furniture. We don't want things to accidentally collapse for no reason.. We also have to figure out the layout of the basement. I think we'll have to add a lot more things now that it's going to be our room.. Like a door for starters.. and a proper bathroom... "
Tomi:
"Well, I volunteer my brother and our construction company to help, along with my learned abilities to budget and order supplies, and we probably have a contractor we can spare," Tomi said, "But I think the layout and design, and the actual hands-on stuff, is all you and Luke. I may not have been raised by two Brits, but I was raised by a pediatric nurse and a man-child so..."
She took a breath and then said, "But can we rewind for a second and go back to this 'joint meeting'. I'm not saying it wouldn't be an efficient way of doing things, but we'd definitely want to curate the list. Maybe have several smaller joint meetings instead? I mean, can you imagine the aftermath of our 'announcement' with both Lyra and Avery in the same room?"
Skylar:
"That's a good ideaaaaaaa!" Skylar was already excited to tell Luke all about it. It was successful in getting her mind off of things, but she would also have to wait until Luke was fully healed before lobbying ideas to her. "Okay, we can do that but you'll have to tell us if there's anythign specific you want so we can fit it in." The two of them managed to make the cabin to look the way it did, it shouldn't be too different with the basement.
"Aunt Lyra and Aves are going to be the last people to know... " It wasn't clear if it was meant to be a suggestion or an already made decision. "....I think there might just be 3 main groups .. Family. Friends.. Lyra and Avery."
Tomi:
Tomi furrowed her brow looking at the girl curiously, but still managed a soft smile. "That is literrally the same way I went about helping with the original renos you dingus. As per usual, demolition is all on you two alone. I know how much you like getting to smash stuff, hey maybe your mom will want to join in with that," she suggested, hoping Keagan would be able to release all of that pent-up rage she'd been carrying recently. "Ooh, Erin can help you guys out by actually drawing legible design plans, because the scribbled napkins you guys had last time may have worked, but only barely."
As she listened to the three groups, Tomi began trying to sort them out. "Okay, so we're going to get Brax, Izzy, Keagan, Luke, JJ, Nix, and Sean in one room, then later get the rest of the scoobs in another...without Lyra or Avery finding out beforehand...?"
Skylar:
"It's not.. scribbles. But fine, we'll port it over to the computer, or redraw it on paper this time." Now this was getting more exciting. Her mom could actually join in on the fun! Demolishing the cabin really was a good stress reliever and god knows how much everyone probably needed it at this point.
Skylar let out a sigh at the topic of Lyra and Avery. ".... They already think there's something going on, besides.. Gen 1 will know before them so maybe they'll help.. keep those two away while we tell the scoobs. We'll figure it out somehow.." She could already imagine the amount of energy the two of them will show together once they let them know. "Do we need to let them know?"
Erin:
"Or I could just directly work on a tablet and give you the best of both worlds," she chimed in. "Lately the only thing I've been using it for is helping Hunter with designs for goodies, which incidentally, now includes chocolate and candy work. Sage mentioned offhandedly that Hunter just had access to too much on youtube."
At the question of whether or not to let Lyra and Avery know, Erin blew behind Skylar's ear as a reprimand and said, "Of course you have to tell them. They're your aunts! If anything, they should be in the first group. Their quirks aside, they're your family and they're good people."
Ianthe:
She had sent each of her children to find out more of the situation, but the news she kept receiving were just getting worse and worse. And when she heard that Luke got hurt, Ianthe was out the door with Jarret and made their way to Fallcrest. This blasted town. Nothing good ever came with living here. The people? Great. They were amazing. They even got their little groups that went on for generations, but the chaotic hell that came with it? Fuck no. She had her family out of there for a reason - except Keagan. Keagan never wanted to leave this town and it was even harder to convince her ever since Skylar was born.
By the time she got here, it looked like things have calmed down just a little and the good news was that Luke made it through the night and was resting at the hospital. However, her first stop was the cabin - what a joke to be calling it a cabin. The size of was basically a mansion when she saw it. When she got there, everyone but the kids and the two adults in question greeted them.
Eventually making her way to Skylar’s room, she knocked on the open door and poked her head in with a smile, “Tiny, they told me you should be awake by now.” As if she didn’t hear her from all the way downstairs.
Tomi:
Tomi was in the process of sheepishly conceding that Erin had a valid point about their aunts, when the knock at the door came.
Thinking it’d be the Hurnado herself, she and Erin shared a look and immediately sat up and on top of the covers.
When the door almost immediately opened, Tomi let out a sigh of relief as she said, “Mrs. C! It’s so nice to see you! Skylar’s awake, but glued to her mattress apparently.”
Skylar:
Her eyes snapped to the door, also afraid that it was the Hurnado.. but unlike Tomi, her eyes widened. "Grandma? What..When did you get here?" As if to prove that she wasn't glued to her bed, the shortest of the group slipped out and scurried over to give the woman a hug.
"Oh, you know Tomi. This is Erin, Erin, this is my grandmother, Ianthe." It wasn't hard to miss just who Keagan took after oppose to everyone else. "I guess grandpa's here too." He's never too far behind. Wherever Ianthe went, so did Jarrett.
Erin:
The knock had been startling for them all, but as was becoming the usual, she and Tomi were on the same page in seconds with just a glance.
And thankfully, it meant her first meeting of Skylar’s gran went far more naturally and far less awkwardly. She got up to shake hands with the woman proper, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Skylar’s told me so much about you and Mr. Calvetti,” she said.
Ianthe:
She shook the young woman's hand, holding it as she observed the other. There really wasn't a first impression in the world that might annoy her more than Richard Benson's, so this was already starting on a good note. However, she steeled her emotions, not letting the kid nor her friends know what she's thinking. It wouldn't be the first time she was intimidating any friends of her family.
"I've heard about you too." She eventually smiled and released the hand. "A lot from Lyra." She tilted her head in thought, "Though I'll have to see what parts are true, what aren't." She was well aware that her youngest daughter enjoyed exaggerating certain things.
"I plan on visiting the hospital right after this, gotta check in with that impulsive kid of an aunt of yours." That beanpole really went after that Benson kid and got herself wound up in the hospital.
Erin:
As Tomi moved in for a hug and greeting of her own, all Erin could manage at that was smile and a shrug. "Well, if there's one thing I've come learn about Lyra, is that she's rather fond of hyperbolic commentary. It can sometimes take a little digging to get to the nugget of fact, but hopefully I'll get the opportunity to allow you to create your own opinions of me," she offered.
"Oh, Skylar was just talking about heading up to visit herself."
Ianthe:
"Good, then it's a plan." Grandma Ianthe waits for no one, and this time was no different. The woman already walked out of the room and down to where everyone else was to inform them that she and the granddaughters - and her two 'friends' will be going to the hospital. If other people wanted to come, they can drive themselves because her car could not fit that many people.
"Hurry up, you three! Otherwise, I'm leaving your asses behind." She called out before walking out to her car.
+Cut to Benson's Cabin after 2nd visit to the hospital
Skylar:
When she got sent home this time around, Skylar was in a very different mood than when she first returned with her mom. And it was such a relief to hear that Luke was doing much better now - enough for Sky to relax enough to not want to latch onto either of her moms like a koala.
When she got home, the first thing she did was go right to both her girlfriends - ignoring Aunt Lyra’s nosy stare - and mumbled something about having something to tell them. She was trying to avoid getting her aunt too curious but honestly, there was probably nothing in the world that could prevent that.
Almost beaming once they got back to their room, Skylar walked further in before turning to look at the both of them. “So.” She made a face as she thought about a way to say this that didn’t sound so abrupt. “It turns out... I’m not Richard’s daughter.”
Erin:
She and Tomi had managed to catch a ride back earlier with JJ, Nix, and Lyra. Ianthe had made herself more than clear once JJ and Nix had caught up to the rest them with little in the way of a reason for how the Hurnado managed to give them the slip. So they were all essentially dismissed.
The witch and the were-demon had managed to keep themselves entertained by continuing some magic training, but were more than happy when Skylar returned, and even more so to see that she was in such high spirits in comparison to her return that morning.
They both followed the girl’s lead without question almost instinctively knowing she had something to share. But they had very different reactions to what Skylar finally said. While Tomi exclaimed ‘I knew it!’, Erin shot her hand out to put a silencing charm on the room and said, “Warning please! Walls and doors aren’t exactly the most effective against wolf hearing.”
Taking a breath she then furrowed her brow and gave a very apt, “Wait, what?!”
Skylar:
Skylar let out a laugh when Tomi finally got her satisfaction on being right about this. As if she hadn't been pointing that out over the years - it was literally the first thing she noticed when she met Richard for the first time after all. "Yeah... I'm not his kid. So.. That's a good thing! I'm not related to the asshole - not a drop of blood or anything." The pup continued to beam at that fact.
But then she realized shed would have to explain who she was related to and how. "I'm.. well, Luke's kid." She revealed, "Something about the Paladin's biology making this - " She motioned to herself, "happen. So that makes me.... half paladin myself? Except my powers didn't kick in yet.. clearly and we don't know when they might. But yeah.. I'm Luke's kid! Imagine that. Hah! People weren't wrong after all."
The girl went to sit at the end of their bed, looking up at the other two to see their reaction to the news.
Tomi:
Tomi had the presence of mind to at least look somewhat sheepish at Erin's reprimand, but as soon as she could feel the spell in the place she let out another squeal of satisfied laughter and even high-fived her best friend. "Welcome to the 'I'm not actually related to my dirtbag legal parent' club!" she exclaimed.
The new half-wolf was very much caught up in the euphoria of both being right all along and the second-hand happiness of Skylar not feeling tied to Richard in any way, shape, or form, that it actually took her a full minute or so for her brain to fully catch up to what her ears had just heard about who Skylar was related to and how.
A quick glance to the older witch let her know that she wasn't the only one with processing delay. "Wait," she said, brow furrowing, "Luke's a Paladin? *You're a Paladin?? Luke slept with your mom before???"
Skylar:
She was just as stoked as Tomi was and met her high-five with as much enthusiasm. "Hells yeah. The relief I felt when they told me." Unlike the other two who didn't have all the information, Skylar didn't even realize how vague she was being before she noticed how confused both Erin and Tomi looked.
"Oh. Shit. I .." Her eyes widened as her hand slammed over her own mouth. Was it a secret? Skylar didn't even remember. Smiling somewhat sheepishly now, she lowered her hand, "I think they might tell everyone later, but yeah.. Luke's a Paladin.. Which was why Rikke couldn't heal her when they first found her." Her excitement died down a little as she elaborated the news, "And.. Yeah.. They apparently had .. a thing when mom got married. Anyways, because of that.. It turns out I'm biologically both mom and Luke's.. That's so weird.. how magic works.." She hummed, "I'm half Paladin.. But I don't think my powers kicked in yet! So.. not really? I'm still just a wolf right now."
Erin:
Erin was far more subdued in her response to the news of Skylar's not being a biological Benson. She was just as happy for her as Tomi, but her brain had automatically gone from 'Richard's not my dad' to 'Then who is?'
Which of course, just ended up just bringing up several more questions when Sky said it was Luke. She was broken out of her mental processing when she heard Tomi asking after Luke and Keagan so bluntly, turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow before turning back to Sky. "Dr. Wren, Evan, and I recently discussed the possibility of the first born Paladin in ages roaming around somewhere, but I have to admit, I'd have never guessed it would trace all the way back someone in town, let alone currently sitting on our bed....this huge!"
Her excitement died down a little as she also caught up that one implication. "Uh, your mum is like super private, and for as much as Luke comes across as an open book, I don't think I've ever heard her openly discuss her relationships either, so...I think we should play it safe and keep this between the three of us for now? I mean, we can guess who may have told, but we don't really have a way of knowing for sure, and it's not exactly our bit of news to share freely in that regard." She looked pointedly at Tomi on that last point.
Skylar:
"..You nerds." Skylar couldn't help but tease her girlfriend. "But I guess the whole discovery about Luke and me.. will basically answer all of her questions." She still remembered how Dr. Wren had been observing the two of them as if trying to mentally link them together.
She dropped back and laid there with her eyes looking up into the ceiling. "I knowwww they're both really private.. I just really wanted to tell you guys. And I can't really tell you guys if I don't.. explain almost everything. I don't know if we'll have to keep it quiet for very long.. Everyone's going to do a double-take if I suddenly call Luke my mom. Aunt Lyra is going to get her mind blown..."
Skylar died down a bit as she allowed her thoughts to take over. "..Heh. Luke's my mom." It was a nice revelation considering how the woman was the one to raise her. "And they're going to be dating too.."
Erin:
The witch just rolled her eyes at the jab, and instead pointed out, “And raise some new ones. I don’t really think there’s a manual for born Paladins. I mean, from what I learned about the trio that sprung from the Nexus, they can’t reproduce after they’ve been made a Paladin.”
She let the smallest get it all out of her system, and simply smiled at how endearing it was to see her so clearly happy in contrast to the night before.
“Yeah, about calling Luke ‘mom’, from personal experience, that gets confusing real quick. You’ve been calling Keagan ‘mom’ for much longer. You’ll need a different title for Luke,” she pointed out before glancing over at Tomi with a mischievous glint. “I think I recall something about an Ook?”
Skylar:
"Now that just tells me that.. Luke and I will almost be like guinea pigs for research." She bit her lip, "Well, Luke mostly since her powers are actually triggered now..." She peeked down towards the witch and were-demon, "Speaking of research... So I've been told that there's certain requirements, but .. Uh.. Dr. Wren and them might need to figure out a way for me to and Luke to not.. accidentally impregnate someone.." Her nose scrunched up at the topic.
Her face then turned red and she immediately brought the covers over her face. "That's just.. something I called her when I was younger. I'm still thinking about what to call Luke because I also said that it was going to be confusing if I use 'mom' for them both." She sighed and sat back up, "Won't be 'mother' though, that's feels weird. Ma? Mommy?" She nearly snorted at that. "What does Emmy use for her moms?"
Tomi:
“Hasn’t Luke technically always been the guinea pig though? Like, anytime we wanted to try something new she’s always been the one to do it first so we learn from whatever happens with her,” Tomi pointed out. At the next piece of information she and Erin both looked at each other before looking back at Sky. “Uh, ‘someone’? What do you mean ‘someone’? How many potential candidates do you two have?” She asked with a raised brow, clearly just giving the girl a hard time. “Although in Luke’s case, wouldn’t that mean you’re in danger of no longer being an only princess, uh, I mean child?”
Tomi snorted and said, “Mommy doesn’t sound any more fitting than mother for that woman, to be honest.” At the question of what Embry called her mothers, Tomi shrugged and said, “I think she calls Julia ‘mommy’, like Levi, and Leo ‘ATM’ like the school board.”
Skylar:
"That .. is her usual methods. I don't really know how I feel about using her own personal experiences to get us not to do something." Her eyes widened, "I- I was just.. I don't want to .. accidentally let it happen especially when no one gave their consent... Luke did say I wasn't an oops baby but it's still better if we're safe, no?" Skylar's brain malfunctioned for a moment at the idea of a younger sibling. "..Uh. Maybe."
"...Dad." She suggested as a joke, "I think Lyra will die over that." When Tomi answered about how their mutual friend called her set of parents, she laughed out loud, "Maybe she just calls Leo by her name - I have not noticed what she calls her to be honest."
Erin:
Erin had only been around recently for the imparting of wisdom that Luke provided and said, “I mean, it’s not ideal to think she’s discouraging behavior that turned out bad for her, but it does make the advice stick a little more.” The witch held up a hand to give the girl a pause to breathe. “A. Tomi’s fucking with you, as per usual, and B. I’m almost certain there’s a lot more intricacies to Paladin reproduction that we can definitely address in detail later.” At look that overtook Sky’s fave Tomi’s suggestion of a sibling, Erin smirked and said, “Oh look, I think you broke her love.”
Erin let out a laugh and said, “I think some of your fans have already taken to calling her ‘daddy’, so Lyra has bigger fish to fry….or whatever American saying fits. As Embry, she calls Leo ‘mum’, same as Levi. And if we’re being honest, you could probably call Luke ‘Megatron’ or ‘Velociraptor’ and she’d accept it all the same.”
Skylar:
"It does, but it also does suck a little to know that she had to go through certain experiences to know what not to do for future reference." Her round eyes looked over to the witch, "Luke did say there are certain perimeters for me to happen; we just don't know exactly what because having both parties simply thinking of a future together sounds.. very inconvenient if that's the trigger.
"I don't really know what to call her that makes it feel like it's her. Momma? Momma Luke. Ma? Mum.... Momatron." She laughed before giving it a shrug, "I'll figure it out eventually. Maybe it'll just naturally come to me - or I can stick to Mom 1, Mom 2."
Tomi:
"Well, with a family like hers -the little that we even know- it's not like she had too much of a choice in most of those 'first attempt' missions," Tomi pointed out with a frown of her own. The frown gave way to one of confusion as Sky went on, and eventually she just said, "I think I'm just going to ask our Paladin for more information. I'm even if Rikke doesn't know everything going on with you and Luke, she can probably network with Jack and Hanuel to give something a little less vague and confusing."
Tomi snorted at the suggestions and said, "If you stick with Mom 1 and Mom 2, you're going to be setting off a perpetual chain of one-upmanship between those two as they constantly vie for the title of Mom 1."
Skylar:
"...I'm really glad that I'm not related to them at all. And I'm also very glad that Luke didn't turn out like any of them." She made a face, "At least I don't have to hear him continually say that I'm his kid anymore - he really acts like he's my dad whenever he felt like it." She looked over to Tomi, "Ohh.. Rikke..I wonder if she knows I'm her ..uh.. descendant?" That led back to her conversation with Luke earlier. "...I'm still bummed that they did not give me any of the height. I'm not even averaging between my moms. I'm shorter than everyone. How is that fair?" She sighed,
Skylar smirked at the idea of her moms battling it out, "I don't know if Luke would fight mom over the title..."
Erin:
Erin had been about to volunteer to ask Evan and Dr. Wren about Paladins as well when Sky's comment managed to -yet again- catch her off guard. "I'm sorry, you're Rikke's what now?!" She glanced at Tomi who shared the same expression of surprise. "Rikke, our Paladin. Rikke, your aunts' new friend. Rikke, who Lyra loves to tease Nix about....is your ancestor??" She put her hands on her hips, as she processed that, only to finally say, "Yeah, even more of a reason to keep this quiet. This entire conversation is just one giant crate of ammunition for one very trigger happy Hurnado."
Skylar:
"Yeah.. I think so.." She hummed, not even aware that she dropped a bomb out of nowhere, "It's such a small world.. They didn't really tell me much about it other than the gist of how we're all related.. but damn, it's pretty cool. Paladin by birth instead of being created by someone.. But like, I wonder how I can trigger the paladin side.. it'd be nice to be able to heal people."
Her face did a complete 180 from impressed to complete horror when Erin reminded her that Nix had been apparently flirting with with Rikke during the tour. "Oh What - Shit... They're going to find out eventually - Aunt Nix and Aunt Lyra... I don't want to be around for that."
Tomi:
"Okay, well, either you only half-assed listened when they were giving you the rundown or they only half-assed the transfer of information....which considering I know how Luke explains things, it was definitely the former," Tomi shot with a chuckle. "Regardless, there will be plenty of time to get another rundown from her once she's home, and we have external resources as well."
Tomi just flat-out laughed at Sky on that one. "Best of luck with that. Due to the 'severe weather emergency' that caused the evacuation of the town, both FCHS and FCC have opted to start our holiday break early. So you have nowhere to hide for the next....almost full month babe."
Skylar:
"...There was a lot happening." She mumbled before reaching out and pulling in the closest person for an overdue hug. "They'll have to be the ones to explain everything from the start." Now Skylar wondered if they'll say anything about why Keagan was even married to Richard in the first place because out of everything, that had always been a mystery in the family. "Even I don't know where they will start."
The wolf started to think of what options she had now that she learned the family might as well be all trapped in this cabin for the next little while. "Maybe I should just.. stay in our room.. or is there a way to keep them apart..."
Erin:
Erin felt herself get pulled in and immediately reached out to drag Tomi in with her. Once they were situated on the bed, she said, "To be fair to both of them, they don't technically owe us an explanation from the start. We'd be happy to just get an understanding of what shed know about you, and how that might come affect us. Simple, honestly. Knowing how private they are, it would be unfair to ask them for any other details."
It was her turn to let out a snort of laughter. "You just learned that one of your favorite people in the world is also your mom. Both of them are probably going to be around the place themselves for a while, do you really think you'll be able to stay holed up in here knowing they're both out there just waiting for family snuggles?"
Skylar:
"Good point.." The wolf was like.. goo, melting into the bed now that she was in her safe place between her two other favourite people. "I still won't know where they'll start explaining, especially when Grandma's in the room. I think Aunt Lyr is just going to have her mind blown once she realizes mom and Luke didn't just hook up."
She looked up at Erin as she pointed out a possible problem." There's too many people I want to spend my time cuddling.. This is .. hard." The wolf gave a shrug before looking at their overlapping limbs. "I feel like I should give them some privacy. Mom's been stressed ooouuuttt since before we were all at the hospital.."
Tomi:
"Bold of you to assume she didn't take advantage of JJ, Nix, and Lyra being banished back home to already fill in your Grandma on every last detail that the woman was willing to listen to," she scoffed. "If ever there was a time to have that conversation, it would have been in a completely different building to where Lyra was," Tomi pointed out. "For that very specific reason."
Tomi scoffed again and said, "I think the word you're looking for is 'frustrated'. Lyra's been going on and on about how 'no Calvetti woman would ever survive a vow of celibacy' which Erin and I know she's been doing to try and goad us into saying something, but Nix and JJ have been really good at stepping in. That being said, it does explain some things about you while also giving a glimpse at your mom's inner thought processes....not sure what to do with that last one though, but if we have to suffer with the knowledge so do you."
Skylar:
"Oh.. so Grandma will already know." What Tomi was saying did make sense. What better place than the hospital after sending almost everyone away.. for not keeping an eye on the Hurnado. "Grandma knows I'm Luke's kid.. She doesn't seem very surprised." If anything, Ianthe did not look at her with 'new eyes' and just acted like nothing happened.
The way and speed her eyes widened, looking over at Tomi was almost comical. "No Calvetti- What?!" She did not need to know about that. However she didn't comment further on it because she had a feeling that Erin and Tomi would actually call her bluff and she'd end up regretting if she denied it. Her mom would not be the only one frustrated when that happens. "Lyra... needs a filter."
Erin:
"You know, I was beginning to think how there seemed to be so many people that seemed terrified of your mom and grandmother -including the alpha wolf himself- but then I witnessed her manage to get Lyra to sit still and then ream JJ and Nix out for losing sight of her....I will never survive if I get on her or your mom's bad side." She chuckled at the announcement and said, "From what you've told me, she practically raised both of them at once. I know your moms are the least obvious people around, but she was a trained government agent."
She and Tomi could only laugh at the redheads response. "Lyra needs a lot of things. But you have nothing to worry about. After all, that's why you have two us. When the time comes, we can just do like American wrestling and tag in and out," she said, barely managing to finish before she and Tomi were laughing again.
Skylar:
"But Uncle JJ is always getting reamed for losing sight of her." She said as if that was nothing new. Keagan and Ianthe seemed to be the only people who could actually keep Lyra to do what they've instructed so far - to an extent. There was no way to prevent Lyra from being the Hurnado that she was for a long period of time. "Right.. Grandma already knows everything.. and probably saw it coming a mile away."
She hummed, "I... don't know if that'll just make her more nosy. She's been keeping her eyes on us for a whole different reason than making sure of our well-being." The wolf took a hand from both girls and gently placed a kiss on each of them. "Maybe we should find someone for Aunt Lyra to pay attention to."
Tomi:
"Well I suppose since we're all pretty going to be spending the majority of our time here, we're bound to get the information we need to appease our own nosiness eventually. Specifically because Lyra likes to talk, and she likes to do it loud," Tomi noted. She smiled at the gesture, and then scoffed again at Skylar's suggestion. "So what? You want to play matchmaker for the Hurnado? Where would we even start? Like, her 'type' is literally any consenting adult. It doesn't quite provide a nice, narrow list of candidates."
Skylar:
"...Who's single in town?" She smiled, "Grandpa is trying to get her to settle down too. Nearly wanted to pit Luke with her remember? What if it's just a list of people enough to like.. last ..at least until we get to leave the cabin."
Erin:
"I can only speak for myself, but once I met you and found out that you were single, I kind of stopped keeping track of other people's love lives. Tomi being the exception that proved the rule," she said, already reaching out her free arm across Skylar to grab the brunette's own free hand. "Also, it's been a long day, so my brain is considering this more of a tomorrow mission."
+Cut to Benson's Cabin after Luke's Discharge from the hospital
Keagan:
When Col finally allowed them to come home, Ianthe can came back to pick them up. And because her mom was the one driving, Keagan could not just gun it to head back home, however, she was very appreciative that her mom understood how she was feeling and just drove faster than the speed limit to get them all home.
Once they arrived, Keg turned to Luke with a smile. "Welcome home, Lucas." which only prompted a 'about time' from her mother. "Do you think we can sneak by Lyra?" The question was posed to no one in particular, it could even be rhetorical. They all knew Lyra was probably sitting by the door just waiting for them to walk in.
Luke:
Luke had not been a fan of the idea of getting wheeled out to the car, but as she got herself dressed and realized how stiff and sore she still actually was, she immediately was not only grateful for the assist with the chair, but for the fact she didn't have to driver herself home....or walk home, like she'd done in the past.
Doing her best to ease out of the backseat without drawing too much attention to her discomfort, she shot straight up at Keagan's question and simply said, "I'm sure she's already heard your mom's car coming up the drive and the only thing keeping her having met us half-way down the driveway was probably JJ keeping her in a choke-hold." She glanced around the front of the property and said, "Looks like I might have to-" she stopped on a dime as she caught Keagan's eye and simply finished with, "-uh, get someone else, to shovel the snow..."
Ianthe:
It was a good thing that one of her kids took after her. They couldn't all take after Jarrett because that would be a disaster on its own. "Lyra can shovel it if her ass is within proximity of the front door." She said it loud enough for all wolves in the Cabin to hear. If Lyra decided that it was a good idea to linger around due to her curiosity, she was shovelling all the snow.
Letting Keagan help Luke, Ianthe walked ahead to get the front door. "From what I hear from that Rendall kid, you are not to strain yourself. And so.." she threw a look at the redhead, "behave." Was it an order? Was it a warning? It's really up to their interpretation.
Luke:
"Now that would be sight. Not just the fact that Lyra of all people would be doing manual labor, but I'm almost certain my snow-shovel is taller than she is," Luke noted with a chuckle. As she turned to close the car door behind her, she did her best to maintain a semblance of balance on her own. Sure there was a touch of her independent streak fueling the desire to do things herself, but she also didn't want anyone to have any minimal excuse to feel they had to worry about her any more they already had.
As she reached the bottom of the steps up to the porch, she met Ianthe's gaze and simply replied with, "Yes ma'am." Had it been order? Had it been a warning? Luke figured the answer was: Yes.
Skylar:
She almost jolted right out of bed when she heard the car pull up. "Mom..." She whispered under her breath before completely jumping out of bed and making her way to the front door with her wolf speed. It made her chuckle a little when Lyra made herself scarce after hearing grandma saying that Lyra will have to shovel all the snow.
"Hi Grandma.." she greeted despite almost vibrating on the spot with excitement. The older woman ruffled her hair before moving further into the house. When she caught sight of Luke, she moved in for a hug, being careful not to inflict more injuries. "You're home." Her words muffled into the other.
Luke:
She hadn't even set her foot down on the first step up when she felt the stirring that only Skylar could produce. As she got closer to the front door, she could feel the sense getting stronger and was more than fully prepared for her daughter to be present and at the ready when she finally made her way inside. What she hadn't fully been prepared for was how increasingly sharp and acute her other senses were getting the longer she was off the fentanyl.
There was little time to dwell on that as she bent down to receive the incoming hug from her favorite girl. "I told you I would be," she said, returning the hug a little tighter to let her know she needn't be as concerned with hurting her now. "Oh Mini-me, I know I just saw you yesterday but I can't begin to tell you how much I missed you."
Skylar:
When she felt the arms around her tightened, Sky used a bit more strength of her own. "I missed you too." As if on cue, her tears were already spilling out as if she hadn't cried enough over the last two days. "I'm glad to see you walking around." It was almost daunting to see her mom confined to a hospital bed and it was definitely not something she'd like a repeat of.
Eventually slipping out of that hug, she went to give her other mom a hug too and smiled when she felt the kiss to the temple of her head. "...Are you still on bed rest? I think Col released you 'early' so that he doesn't get killed."
Luke:
Pulling back a bit, she brought a hand up to her daughter’s face, thumb gently wiping away the stray tears. “Hey now, no more tears. We’re going to need them when we start getting bored out of our minds here,” she said teasingly. “Not as happy as I am to be upright at all,” she whispered to her conspiratorially.
Standing back upright, with some minor difficulty, she turned to watch her favorite girls. “I am, at least for the rest of the day. But I think if I promise to behave, I can convince your mom to let me settle with ‘chair’ rest instead.”
Phoenix:
She entered into the room in the most ungraceful way possible - Lyra, with all her enthusiasm, had carried Nix on her back. Of course, she could have used magic to get Lyra to drop her but instead, just submitted to her doom. "Hi. Nice to have you back. Lyra could not wait any longer than she already has, as you can see." She sighed, "Lyra, put me down."
Once her feet was back on the ground, she just walked over to Luke like nothing happened and gave the tallest of them a hug. "Maybe we should invest in a wheelchair."
Luke:
Luke heard the pair well before they actually made it into the living room. “Credit to you both. Lyra for finally remembering she has wolf strength, and you for managing to keep a hold on her regardless,” she teased.
The redhead was more than happy to return the hug, but groaned at her suggestion. “Yeah, no thank you. Wheelchairs are clearly designed with the average height in mind, and I’ve eaten my own knees enough these past two days, thank you.”
Lyra:
"What wolf strength? Nix is just as light as a feather." She denied before throwing an arm around her niece. "Can't you just modify the wheelchair? Look, if you need the titan version of a wheelchair, I'm pretty sure that is doable."
Her eyes gave the other a good look. Unlike the rest of the family, Lyra didn't get the chance to spend that much time in the hospital room to even take a proper observation. "You look less shit, so that's good, right?"
Luke:
“Both things can be true,” Luke pointed out. “As someone who’s carried Nix a few times for choreo, I can agree she is in fact light. But you’re arm game is non-existing and she’s a full inch taller than you so…”
Luke shook her head. “Custom wheelchairs are already hard to come by for those who actually need them, I’m not about to take a resource I don’t even want to use from someone who needs it,” she adamantly. At Lyra’s ‘observation’, she smirked and said, “If you post-hangover is anything to go by, then yes. Look less shit means doing better.”
Skylar:
"Hmmm.. Technically we don't need a proper wheelchair? I mean, it's not like we haven't wing something up before. We can just make a make-shift one, can't we? Have a chair that's suitable to your height.. and just put.. bicycle wheels or larger on it." She could see her aunt pointing to her, silently indicating that it was an idea.
"..She already looks better compared to the past few days." She mumbled softly before going back to Luke's side to resume her role of a koala. "'Less shit' is better than anything."
Luke:
“One tiny flaw: I’m not unlocking the project shed until I get to muck around in there myself. So, I’ll just walk. Which I can do, and I am very much happy to do,” Luke stated, hoping to place an end to that conversation.
When Sky came back to her side, she gave her a tight squeeze and placed a kiss to the top of her head as she said, “Not that I don’t appreciate the thought though.” She chuckled at the remark before asking, “Where’d you leave my other two girls, Little Bit?”
Skylar:
Skylar pressed her lips into a thin line while raising her hands in surrender - considered the topic dropped. At the topic of the other girls, she looked up with a somewhat sheepish smile. "..They're still in bed the last time I checked. We.. I.. Can go get them. I'll go get them."
She refused to look in Lyra's direction because she did not want to see nor know the curiosity that was bound to be all over her face. When she ran to her room, she hovered around the door. "...Hey." She definitely didn't mean to just ditch the two like that, "Luke's home."
Tomi:
By the time Sky made her way back up, both girls were up, had washed up, and were finishing up making the bed. “Yeah we kind of figured that when you said ‘mom’ out of nowhere and then hauled ass downstairs,” Tomi snarked.
She broke into a smile and just said, “We didn’t want to intrude on your welcoming her home. Figured Lyra would be enough.”
Skylar:
She walked into the room slowly, sliding closer towards them. "Sorry.. I totally didn't mean to just dip like that. I just got.. really excited that she's home now. Even Aunt Lyra was excited since she was basically carrying Aunt Nix on her back.. who I think was supposed to keep her back to give them some space."
"Luke also asked where you two were, if you wanted to go down now... I should wash up first myself before I go back."
Erin:
Erin could only smile fondly, knowing that after feeling like she could lose the woman that meant so much to her, it must be one hell of a relief to have her home again. "Nothing to apologize for, love. I'm almost certain that you hadn't gone down to meet her, she'd have come up to meet you....and likely Lyra would've also closely followed, possibly still with Nix on her back."
At Skylar's prompting, they made their way downstairs -each dropping a quick kiss to either one of the small redhead's cheeks on their way out- and made quick work of rushing over to where Luke was now sitting on one of the couches before the tallest redhead could get up. Not that it stopped her from doing so though. "Welcome home, Luke!" Erin exclaimed as Tomi latched onto the woman, only to suddenly be brought in for a hug of her own.
Keagan:
Keagan made her own way to the couch and told Lyra to let go of their dear cousin before Nix actually decided to use her magic. Even the couch.. was more comfortable than the hospital bed. The Chief Deputy just sat back with her head against the back and her eyes closed. She could feel the seat beside her sink a little and without opening her eyes to check, she could tell that it was her mom. “What.. a week.” She chuckled, “I, for one, am glad that it’s over with.” Did she jinx it? Maybe but right now, she was glad to have a break of not.. being in constant worry.
JJ:
Having had to pry his father off the redhead with a reminder she still needed to get to the actual living room, JJ had gotten in his own quick hug saying, "It's so nice to have someone I don't have to crane my neck down to speak too. How do you live like this?" It had earned him a chuckle from his friend and more than a few glares from the rest of the ladies around.
He'd followed on through to the living room and took the seat on his sister's other side. "Girl it's not even been a full forty-eight hours. Give yourself more credit for having made it, and knock on wood before the rest of the week proves you right."
Keagan:
The middle sibling instinctively leaned into her brother when he sat down - not before a light smack at his arm for calling them all too short for his poor neck. “You two are just too tall for no reason.” She mumbled. “And I am just saying, a little break is much appreciated.” She eased off of him and naturally leaned the other way. “JJ, I’m just.. very appreciative that we’re all home right now.”
JJ:
"I'm almost certain the reason is genetics, but what do I know? I'm just a medical professional," he replied sarcastically. He turned to face her as she pulled away and raised an eyebrow. "Wow, I don't think I'd ever have taken you for such an optimist. That's usually my role. This whole 'family life' is really starting to suit you, Annie."
Taking not that everyone else seemed to be preoccupied with one thing or another, he leaned down and whispered, "So, have you been able to address the matter you wanted to?" He'd have asked outright, but as busy as Lyra seemed to be, her ears were always on the hunt.
Keagan:
Her eyes rolled at the sarcasm. "I'm not being optimistic.. I'm just.. stating what I'm feeling right now. Exhaustion and gratitude." She smirked.
When she felt her brother leaning in, she turned to give him her attention. Her smile softened when her brother asked about the matter. "Yeah." She answered quietly with a hint of joy. "We did talk about it and.. I was wrong.. in all aspects." Her answer was vague but she didn't think this was the time to start sharing when Lyra was listening in so intently.
JJ:
JJ looked at his sister with a blank look on his face as he attempted to make heads or tails of what she'd just said, but figured this was just 'Agent level' Lyra-proofing. "Well okay then," he finally managed as he sat back, still very much looking like he'd been given an algebraic equation with more than three variables.
His consternation didn't last long as the sound of the door suddenly made everyone come to a sudden halt. "Any volunteers to play butler for the day?" he joked, before immediately looking over at an already moving Luke, "You don't get to play, Spooky."
Lyra:
There was a secret; there had to be one with how vague her siblings were being. Just because they spoke quietly, didn't mean that she didn't hear them even if her attention was being pulled in all directions. It was all very 'sus'; she could feel it in her bones.
But her attention was also drawn away by the knock at the door. "...Is anyone expecting someone?" Since she was the closest by the door, she offered as tribute and walked towards the door. "Did you make an appointment? Because if you didn't, I am allowed to slam this door in your face." She joked.
Teagan:
It hadn't exactly been the longest commute he'd ever done, but the fact that he wasn't able to even start the trip until earlier this morning instead of the night he'd wanted to made it to where the entire time was spent with anxiety and barely contained anticipation wreaking havoc on him. So the sigh of relief the let go when he finally pulled up the familiar drive-way and was very welcome. Granted, once he made it to the round about at the front of the place, he wondered if he had the right address for a second. "You weren't kidding when you said you'd tear the fucking cabin to the ground and build the kid something better, Spooks," he mumbled as he waited on the door.
At the 'warm' welcome he received once it did open, he simply looked at the woman and said, "The fuck you are. I have brother rights. You want to power trip on someone in this house? Not gonna be me."
Lyra:
Her smirk turned into a genuine smile before giving the visiter a hug. "Teag!" It wasn't even that long ago since they met up with him during their tour but it was entirely a different feeling to have him visit them in Fallcrest. "Look who's here!" She turned to the family and stepped aside to reveal said visitor.
"I would never slap the door on you intentionally." Unintentionally? Probably one too many times. "The ganggggg is all back together! I could cry."
Luke:
Luke was already up and heading in the direction of door herself as Lyra brought in the 'visitor'. She had brief thought that maybe Skylar had a point with how beneficial this better hearing thing could be, but it was overwritten and replaced with nothing but joy at the sight of Teagan. A broad smile on her face as she opened her arms and exclaimed, "Hug meh brotha!"
Their meeting in Philly a month back had been far too brief, and after the last two days, solace in her real family was one of the only things Luke had left. As they parted, she turned to Lyra and said, "Please don't. We never knew what to do when you cried back then, we most certainly wouldn't know what to do if you cried now."
Ianthe:
Lyra's antics were nothing new but it was nice to see how Teagan's arrival made at least two of her kids happy and a lot more relaxed. "Nice to finally see your face around, you haven't been visiting." It might be code for 'You can help keep Lyra in line', not that anyone can really get her youngest to behave. These three climbed a tree and still thought it was a good idea to do it again after having fallen out of it by accident. Ianthe's expectations weren't high.
The eldest took a seat in an armchair adjacent to the couch, leaning back with both arms dangling from the armrest.
Teagan:
Teagan had the good sense to look sheepish at the remark. After all, it might as well be his own mom saying the same -which he was sure she would. He offered up a small shrug and said, “Life’s got a way of keeping one busy enough we lose track of things easily. It’s not an excuse, of course, but it definitely sucks that it takes something like this to act as a reminder of what’s really important.”
He did his best to keep his voice from cracking, but couldn’t do much about the sniffle.
Ianthe:
She sighed when she could see the kid on the verge of tears. “Come here.” Was it her old age that had her being softer than usual for these kids? Standing up to meet the other, she pulled him for a hug. “As long as everyone’s safe, that’s all it matters.” She reached up and ruffled his hair. “Welcome home kid. Now go, Lyra is about to get an aneurysm.” Her eyes shifted over to her daughter before taking back her seat.
Teagan:
He did not have to be told twice. Despite the long drive and the reason behind, being here with what was essentially his extended family made it all worthwhile. “Yes ma’am,” he managed, as he went back over to his friends.
“Man, Spooks, you have one hell of a way to get a person’s attention,” he said. “Lyra’s also not the best person for updates. She had me convinced you’d be saying hi to Steve for me every fifteen minutes.”
Lyra:
When her mom finally let him go, Lyra threw her arm around his shoulders. Honestly, she loved that she could still do this at least one of her friends. Lucas had grown too tall a long time ago. “Look, they didn’t tell me much about everything either. If anything, I think they were purposely trying to keep the news away from me.” She threw a playful glare towards her family. “I wouldn’t know why, but ya got what I got.” Out of habit, her hand was already fiddling with the end bits of his hair. “But really, I made a mistake. The doctor could have also said hi to him.”
Luke:
To say that Luke was dying to share her great news with Teagan would be a massive understatement. Especially when she caught sight of said news making their way back downstairs and joining the fray. But, she was hyperaware that the news wasn't just hers to share, and as Keagan very much seemed to be enjoying some more than well-earned rest and relaxation, Luke would just have to sit on it.
"For the record, it's not like I set out to do any of this on purpose. Especially the bit that led to this loveliness," she said pointing to the right-side of her head. At the confused look on her brother's face at Lyra's comment she added, "Colston took charge of my medical care, and was therefore the one tasked with finding a way to share information with Keagan and Mrs. C...good and bad news."
Skylar:
Sky was almost skipping down the stairs when she came back, and gave her girls a hug before noticing an extra number in the living room. "Uncle Teag!" She exclaimed as the tiny wolf made her way across the room to engulf the other in a hug. "I didn't know you were in town!"
Her eyes followed to the scar on Luke's head and immediately felt guilty again that it all happened because of her. Well, deep down, she knew it was mainly Richard's fault but Skylar did feel like she was the trigger. "You wouldn't buh-lieve how fast Col was talking."
Teagan:
At the exclamation he turned in time to catch his niece's incoming embrace. "Hey, Little Red!" he said retuning the hug. It may have only been a month since he last saw her, but it wasn't like a gig was the most conducive environment to actually get to say hello. "Well, when one's not-so-little sister finds herself in trouble, it's hard to stay too far away for long. Be glad you're an only child."
He followed the kid's line of sight and caught the sudden shift in look, which meant that if he was able to see it, Luke most definitely had. "I'm sure the full story is one that will keep at the edge of my seat, but I will unabashedly confess that I am very much happy not to have been present for a stressed Keagan."
Keagan:
The deputy waited until the hug broke before motioning Skylar to come over. "Hey baby." She whispered before pressing a brief kiss to her forehead. Keagan didn't like that Skylar for getting upset over something that wasn't her fault. The look on her face told as much and had her pulling the smaller woman into her lap before her attention was pulled away by Teagan.
"Everyone's exaggerating." Was all she could say about how everyone was tiptoeing around her when it came to Lucas at the hospital.
Luke:
"Oh my gawwwwdd, it was an accident!" Luke exclaimed at the reminder of the 'miracle'. "Besides, the reason I didn't get knocked back was because technically it had all been her idea to begin with. Any future ass beatings were avoided by me not being the human equivalent of a Hurnado...or rather, not being a hurnado around the two people least likely to put up with it."
Luke sighed, and went to make her way back over to the couch, her initial adrenaline boost wearing off. "Col would've been fine. He has an entire pack to call as back up when needed."
Lyra:
"No, you didn't get knocked back because Keg has a soft spot for you - which is quite unfair, because I'm her baby sister and she did not hold back, nosiree, she did not. I'm almost jealous." She laughed, "Keg never admits to it, but it really was a miracle, ask JJ! Has she ever held back against you? See, it's a no!" She said before even seeing his response.
"...Would the pack go up against Keagan? I wouldn't think they would."
Teagan:
"In all fairness, you can't really call out Keagan for having a soft-spot for Luke, when you're the one who literally just decided to adopt her practically on sight," Teagan pointed out. "If you're jealous now, you have no one but yourself to blame. Spooky never would've met Keagan if you didn't drag is into the eye of your hurnado life."
Teagan may be a human, but with his family having been hunters at one point, he was well-versed in the goings on. "I don't know about going up against her, but they'd definitely step in to protect their alpha."
Phoenix:
"Everyone has a soft spot for Luke." She said deadpanned. "Even Aunt Ianthe has a soft spot for her." That earned a grunt coming from the matriarch. "Fallcrest is a small town, I'm sure they would have ran into each other at some point via anyone else."
At the mention of the pack stepping in to protect the alpha, Phoenix only hummed - the pack wasn't her business nor territory but she was sure that no one wanted to get in Keagan's way for a reason.
Teagan:
"Fallcrest may be small, but where some might be generous and say that Lucas was born an old-soul, what she really was born is a hermit. Not too mention she always had something to take care of at home, so if Lyra and I didn't drag her away from this place, no one would've even known she existed," Teagan piped up. At some of the looks he got, he nodded and said, "I know right? Hard to believe when she runs multiple media channels and just had a handful of concerts a month back. Girl is the epitome of fake-til-you-make it."
Skylar:
"... Mom?" Since she was facing Uncle JJ, she twisted her body so she could look up at Luke, not even aware that she made a slip just now. It was indeed hard to believe that Luke wouldn't have 'existed' in their lives if Teagan and Lyra didn't invite her into their life - 'invite being a very generous word since she doubt that Luke had a say in it when it happened.
Luke:
As soon as she'd settled into the couch corner, she'd dropped her head back and let her eyes slip shut. With the pain meds wearing off, not only were her senses sharpening to their new normal -which with so many guests at the moment was terrible timing- but the pain was also sharpening and she just felt like a little rest would help.
Luke had managed to drown the conversation out for the most part as she focused herself on Skylar and Keagan's heartbeats. Even the faint 'mom' was overlooked as she habitually assumed it was meant for Keagan. But the sudden spike in heart rates was enough to get her to open her eyes. Taking a second to think as she stared up at the high, vaulted ceiling of the living room, Luke slowly lifted her head up and said, "Your mom is just confirm it, Mini-me. I mean, even when I was over at the Calvetti home, while Teagan and Lyra were running amuck, I was usually helping your mom with her homework." Hoping she'd bought Keagan a bit more time, she smiled and said, "That was back when I kept my brain on for most of the time."
Lyra:
If she didn't know better, she would have thought Sky was talking to her mom - Keagan.. Lyra's older sister. But she could not for the life of her justify why Sky decided to twist her body to talk to her when she was already on the woman's lap. Her eyes narrowed at the interaction between Luke and Sky. And as often as they are mistaken for daughter and mother, that didn't make sense. "Yeah, that's right, Tiny. Your mom had help from Luke with all her homework."
The little sister was weirdly smugnabout it even thought she didn't do well in school either but that was besides the point. "See, good things happened when I brought Luke into our lives! You appreciate it too!" Lyra smacked Reagan in the arm.
Tomi:
For the briefest of seconds Tomi thought that Skylar had managed to give away her mother's 'news' even after their entire conversation the night before. Luckily, Luke seemed to think fast enough to give some cover and even though the look on Lyra's face definitely made it clear she picked up on something weird, the woman was just as easily distracted by an opportunity to take a jab at her older sister and give herself credit.
"Well it's not really a surprise that Luke would be able to help someone older with their homework. Personally, I'm almost certain that if she weren't around to help me with mine I wouldn't even be on track to graduate, let alone manage school and soccer and the band."
Keagan:
Keagan ran her hand through her daughter's hair, thankful that Lyra didn't press on it. She just wanted at least a night's rest before dealing with Hurnado and her questions that were bound to come once the secret between Luke, Sky and her was revealed. "Well, we're all glad Luke's be around to help all of us with our homework and many other things."
They really were indebted to Luke who had done so much for them and never really asked for anything in return. She glanced over to the woman they were talking about and her felt sympathetic because Luke looked more tired than she was at the hospital. "Do you want to go up and rest a bit?"
Luke:
Luke simply grinned, as one of the tik tok sounds played in her head as she took in the group gathered in the room: I know something you don’t. I know something you will never know
At the question, Luke shook her head. “Nope. I feel like all I’ve done the last two days is rest,” she chuckled. “I would, however, appreciate some-“ Luke was interrupted by another knock at the door, “-Tylenol…”
Phoenix:
At the knock at the door, the Calvetti family all exchanged looks. There seemed to be an influx of visitors they weren't aware of. "Since everyone's sitting..." And her niece sped off to get the Tylenol. She offered to go herself.
Opening the door, she greeted in a much nicer tone than Lyra had used earlier. "Hello?"
Rikke:
It had been a long past 32 hours and 46 minutes -almost fifteen of which had been spent out in the snowy drive-way trying to figure out if she should knock or not- but Rikke had duty…and shift that Matheson couldn’t be left to his own devices for.
The Paladin knew that if bad came to worst, she’d feel it immediately, so she was at least safe in knowledge Luke was still alive. However, the woman hadn’t really received any updates after leaving the hospital post-surgery and when she’d gone to try and visit she’s been informed Luke was discharged. Which no one thought to tell her, but then again why would they? She was practically a stranger, a no-
Her train of thought was interrupted as the door opened and a familiar face greeted her. “Hi,” she replied dumbly. “Uh, I heard Luke was home and just wanted to check in. See if maybe you guys needed anything.”
Skylar:
She came almost running back from grabbing the medicine. "Would these still wor- Oh!" Her feet slowed down significantly before reaching Luke. Skylar didn't expect to see Rikke drop by and since she found out that she was Rikke's descendant... the wolf was outwardly staring at the Paladin with awe. She was related to her.. and was still bitter that she didn't get any of the height from Rikke nor Luke - Skylar was still the shortest in both families.
Eventually snapping out of it when Keagan gently took the bottle out of her hands, her initial question flooded her mind. Would Tylenol work on Luke? Because it sure doesn't work on any of the wolves so she wondered if it was the same case for Paladins. "..Is there a way to quickly cure a headache?" She asked just for jokes.
Rikke:
Once she was allowed inside, she waited for Nix to lead the way. It wasn't that hard to figure it out, as their seemed to be quite the boisterous group assembled. Rikke had enough wits about her to manage proper greetings to those she knew, and introductions to those she didn't. Granted, her focus made a beeline for the young woman that was essentially the youngest of her line, as soon as she heard her speak.
By the look on the kid's face, it was obvious that she'd either been informed of their kinship or she was really, really grateful for the assist Rikke managed in getting Luke some help. "Well," she began, "Professionally speaking, it depends on who it is that has the headache. Normally one or two of those," she indicated the bottle in Keagan's hand, "Will do the trick. But, for those with a naturally high tolerance, fast metabolism, or the unfortunate combination of both like myself, there are a few potions that can be brewed up in a few minutes with the proper know-how."
Skylar:
At the answer, the smallest of the entire room gave Luke a look, then to the bottle, and then back to Rilke again. "....Do you know how?" She asked since it was obvious than the normal drug wasn't going to help ease the headache now that Luke also had that unfortunate combination. "Or do we need to go find someone who knows how to brew it? ....Is it Dr. Wren?" At this point, Skylar just believed that the professor had the answer to most things if not all.
"Um.." she started, "Thanks for being there with mom.." Although Rikke couldn't use her powers on Luke, she was still able to diagnose the injuries. She smiled at the Paladin before going over to where Erin and Tomi was.
Rikke:
Rikke let out a light laugh in response but nodded and answered. “I do know the ingredients and steps to follow, but it does require a certain level of innate magic I don’t possess. And though I’m sure Ripley is more than capable, any witch would be able to brew it really.”
Rikke dropped into a bit of a squat so she could look at the girl eye to eye and smiled warmly. “You have nothing to thank me for, dear. Paramedics and Law Enforcement always have each other’s backs, and even if that weren’t the case, paladins were created to be guardians. Our natural instinct is to help.”
Lyra:
When Rikke showed up at the cabin, the shit grin she had before almost skipping over to her cousin and started nudging her. The cousin obviously swatted at her but Lyra didn't care and simply followed her around when Nix was trying to get away. Lyra had not learned her lesson since their time at the gym.
"Well.. Paladins are sure the opposite of wolves." She joked and her smile quickly turned into a cough when Keagan glared daggers her way. Imitating a key locking her mouth, she hid behind Nix.
Rikke:
The Paladin chuckled as she stood back up, the sisters not being anywhere near as subtle as they might think. Granted, she doubted subtlety was ever a priority for Lyra. “I think might depend on the wolf, don’t you think? I mean, the pack alpha is literally a pediatric surgeon. Doesn’t get more helpful than dedication to children’s health.”
Lyra:
"Mmm, maybe." She pipes down now that even her mom was giving her the "look". That was the signal to actually stop talking before she gets dragged out of her by the collar again. "Look, I'm just saying that certain wolves just attack first and ta- okay, I'm going to get a drink from the kitchen. Anyone else? No? Okay." And she does off.
Luke:
Luke had been quiet from the moment she was able to sense Rikke. Her focus was split between the growing pain and the growing list of questions she wanted to ask the older Paladin all at once, but it was all placed on the back burner as she witnessed how easily Rikke managed to interact with Skylar. She was even more than a little impressed at how the woman held her own with Lyra, even if only for a few minutes.
As Lyra headed off to the kitchen, Luke just couldn’t hold back anymore and standing from the couch she simply walked over and gave the woman a hug. “Thank you…for everything,” she said. It was clear on Rikke’s face that she’d understood Luke didn’t just mean helping her after the gym. But the sacrifices Rikke made, that led to her being here now.
Keeping an arm around the woman’s shoulders she turned around the rest with a proud look as she said, “Extended Calvetti Genetic Universe, meet the genetic root of my family tree.”
Phoenix:
She gave a light chuckle when Lyra sneaked away after going up against the Paladin. However that moment of amusement didn’t last very long when Luke suddenly made an announcement - introducing who Rikke was to her. Her eyes widened and was suddenly very glad that Lyra wasn’t here even if she could hear from the kitchen. And as if on cue, there was a ‘What!?’ coming from that direction. “Root of your family tree?” She asked before it clicked, “Wait, you’re - Oh.” That would explain so much.”
That was really all she could say before she too, made her way to the couch and took over the empty spot. Yep, it just caught up to her that she might have danced hard with Luke’s.. ancestor. Lyra was going to have a riot because the giddy look on her face when she came back from the kitchen said as much. “Don’t.” She ignored Lyra’s eyebrow wiggles.
Rikke:
It had taken her by surprise when Luke had come up to her, but there was no hesitation in returning the embrace. At her words, all she could do was nod, not really trusting her own voice. How could she? Everything that Grey’s ancestor and his cohorts had taken from her was now being returned in the form of Lucas and Skylar. It was honestly a miracle she wasn’t sobbing right now.
The impromptu introduction, however, led to anxiety immediately taking over, and it was only exacerbated by Phoenix and Lyra’s reactions. Not she thought it would be appreciated by the witch if she brought attention to it so instead she just said, “It seems that the Holstein line managed to find its way back to Fallcrest through the years.”
Skylar:
Her staring had not stopped since Rikke walked into the cabin, and had been watching even when Luke walked over the hug. However, just because they introduced her as Luke’s ancestor did not mean they knew Rikke was her grandmother as well. The kid didn’t quite know what to do without completely exposing herself. If her parents didn’t say anything about it, it was implied that they wanted to wait a bit. “..So you’re like… Grams..” The awe in her voice matched what was in her eyes this entire time.
“…Blake’s phrase of Born in Fallcrest, Die in Fallcrest sure rings true.” She snorted as her arms wrapped around the waist of one of her girlfriends, “Still, that’s pretty cool though. I’m glad you’re part of Luke’s family.” And in extensions, hers. Her smile just widened at the paramedic the more she thought about it.
Rikke:
She couldn’t help the easy laugh at the girl’s remark. “I suppose so, yeah. Might have to work on a bit of a cover story for the sake of those out of the supernatural loop though. They might be concerned as to what age I might’ve had my first child if Luke is claiming to be my granddaughter.” Rikke comically grimaced, but internally was already foreseeing all the ways that could go wrong if not addressed.
“Well, if I recall correctly, Luke here was actually born in Rochester, New York. Which probably helped her a lot in dodging one hell of a bullet these last couple of days,” she said, giving the redhead a squeeze. Even she share the connection she did with the younger redhead, the smile on her face was enough to clue Rikke in to just how genuinely happy she was, and it once again had her on the verge of tearing up.
So she deflected. “Speaking of your ordeal, let’s get your headache sorted. If we can’t get someone to brew the potion here, I can orb over to Ripper’s and see if she can whip something up.”
Keagan:
While Sky and Luke was happy to learn about the relation between Rikke and them, Keagan felt a tinge of nervousness. This sort of nervousness was perhaps similar to how Luke felt in the presence of Ianthe. The need to.. impress even though it wasn't expected of them.
"Do you think people will believe it to be a nickname?" a chuckle came from the couch. Oh speaking of names, she was reminded how they still haven't heard from Sky about what she was going to call Luke or if they were both going to go by 'mom' and just deal with the confusion later.
Getting up from her seat, she nodded to Rikke's plan. "If she's free to help, that'd be much appreciated. It wouldn't hurt for us to learn how to brew it too in case we need it again." If it worked on a Paladin, it might also be helpful for a wolf.
Luke:
Luke made a face as she considered how well 'grams' would fly as a 'nickname' for someone who looked like Rikke. "Yeah....I don't think that one's as easy to explain away as 'nan' is for Quinn. She just claims its short for Nancy, which is her middle name - but like it didn't work on me because I already knew her middle name is Scarlett-" She stopped mid-sentence realizing she was going off on one hell of a tangent.
Glancing over at the slightly shorter woman, Luke considered her for a moment and then said, "I can just claim you were a teenage mother...who takes really good care of her skin. Then grams makes coming from Sky." She nodded, pleased at her idea before subtly adding, "Since it's bound to get out that I'm dating Keagan, it all comes out in the wash."
Luke furrowed her brow at Keagan and said, "We literally have three women with innate magic sitting in this very room. If Rikke knows the 'how' and 'what' we can stock up and have plenty of potion left over for Lyra's inevitable hangovers."
Phoenix:
This was quite the news to wrap her mind around but it seemed that her cousin was having a blast because she kept shooting looks her way. JJ tried his best to deflect her attention but nothing could really could really distract Lyra unless she chose to be distracted. "Did a lot of people question it though?"
Her eyes flickered to Keagan when Luke vocally admitted that she and Keagan were finally dating. While everyone in the house suspected, it was never actually confirmed until now - though it seemed that the kids already knew whom she guessed was told by Skylar because her niece was basically radiating light from her smile alone.
"I hope the ingredients are easily accessible." She was never a fan of those that required the hardest ingredients to find because that just meant the potion was rare and they couldn't use it so carelessly. Was she also trying to avoid the topic that Lyra was more keen on touching on than she did? Yes.
Luke:
At Nix’s question, Luke glanced over and said, “Surprisingly, yes. At least it was far more people than those who you might think would question why she’s been running the same bar since they were kids and yet still looks the same…actually I think that speaks to the clientele she usually has.”
Not missing the slight glance at Keagan, Luke just let out a sigh and said, “Yeah, yeah, I know we haven’t really done anything drastically different in order to denote actual ‘dating’ but it’s not like the fact she didn’t come back here to sleep the last two nights didn’t raise any flags.”
At the question of ingredients she turned to Rikke who listed them off, and then volunteered to acquire anything that might be missing. “Ooh, do you think I’d be able to tag along? Like, side-orb or something?”
Keagan:
"Considering how she's.. Well, the oldest resident in town, that would've given her plenty of time to accumulate a long list of returning customers of all kinds." She smiled, "And how she serves the best drinks in town that could knock a supernatural out. It was bound to be a hotspot for those who won't question anything."
When her relationship status was revealed, Keagan ignored everyone's gaze and only smiled softly when she felt her brother nudging her gently. She was definitely ignoring Lyra's gaze, though it was almost eerie that she hadn't said much about it since the day she told her she had feelings for Luke.
"Lucas." The familiar and usual tone of hers when she felt it wasn't a good idea. "Let's put off the orbbing for you for now. I don't want anything to irritate your wound again." She sighed and got up. "Nix can go with you though," She turned to Rikke, "if you need a hand bringing things back."
Rikke:
For a moment she wasn’t sure who was meant to be the youngest Holstein, given Luke’s immediate look of disappointment at the suggestion she not orb. Looking to Keagan she said, “Thank you for being the voice of reason here. I trust she’ll be in very capable hands.”
Glancing back at the elder redhead, she gave her another quick squeeze before saying, “Go on then, listen to the smart one. There’ll be plenty of time to orb and figure out what all other powers you’ve got once your head has one less hole.”
She watched Luke very begrudgingly go to find a seat, but the woman couldn’t hide how exhausted she was once she actually sat down. At the mention of help gathering the ingredients, Rikke glanced over at Nix attempting to gauge her reaction. “Uh, yeah. It’s fine by me as long as it’s fine by her.”
Phoenix:
The news of them dating was surprising and not surprising all at the same time. Somehow they should have seen this a mile away with how the two of them always acted. 'Christmas Miracle in October' seemed to be the loudest clue they could get.
With that being said, she didn't expect Keagan to be the one to send her along with Rikke. She could almost hear the giddiness oozing off of the younger cousin. "Yeah, it's fine with me." she nodded with a small smile, "We should go now because Luke probably wants that potion sooner than later."
Walking over to Rikke, she awkwardly stood next to her. Since she never experienced orbbing before, she wondered if it was going to feel like when a demon shimmers. "Do I.. need to hold on to you?"
Rikke:
Glancing over at her ‘daughter’ once more, the fact she’d dropped her head back on the couch and was now staring blankly at the ceiling had her nodding and saying, “I think you’re right…”
As the shorter woman approached her, Rikke held out her hands before her. “You can just hold on to my hands if you’d feel more comfortable. Just hang on tight, and don’t let go under any circumstances until I do,” she instructed. Once set, she tossed one last, “Be right back” at the gathered group.
Lyra:
Much like Luke, she couldn't sit still for long. And with the arrival of Rikke, she was way past her limit. So when Phoenix and Rikke orbed away, Lyra walked up to where they were, pointing in the same direction.
"Oh my godddddd. Keg, I can't believe you sent Nix with Rikke. Niceee." She complimented though her sister only gave her a stern look. "Like, watch out. She's basically your in-law" she teased. "Grams. A hot grams though." And like the Hurnado she was, Lyra sped off before anyone could reprimand her.
Luke:
Luke sat back up properly at the eagerness just radiating from her friend’s tone as she discussed Nix and Rikke. But before she could even get a word out, the woman was off again. So instead she turned to Teagan.
“So, I know you just got here but-“ Teagan nodded and finished the thought. “I’ll see if I can entice her into catching a movie with the promise of drinks after.” Luke smiled appreciatively and said, “Thank you.”
As he went off after Lyra, Luke glanced around and said, “How successful do we think he’s gonna be?”
Keagan:
Keagan was.. also too tired to fuss over it. Her sister had always been like that regardless of other people’s comfort. And besides, her mom was also here.
“I think Lyra only listens to selective people, Teag’s one of them.” She took the opportunity lean into Luke since the nosiest of them had left. “Hopefully he can just.. keep her preoccupied for the rest of the night. I feel bad for Nix.”
Luke:
Luke didn't hesitate to move an arm to wrap around small shoulders as Keagan leant into her side, though she did let out a small groan at the mention of Nix. "I probably should've handled that 'reveal' better, but there's just no describing what it's like to have gone the majority of your life feeling like you were just slotted into a random place and then suddenly being able to literally feel a connection to someone else. I couldn't help myself. Speaking of connections, I need to ask after why I feel you're emotions, because that tosses a wrench in the 'I can only sense my relatives' theory. Maybe it just means you're special to me," she said with a derpy grin.
She let out another sigh though and said, "I do feel bad for Nix too, but at least it kept Lyra distracted from when I rather unceremoniously stated we were dating...which, I mean, I realize we never really like, labeled or anything and I may have just let my mouth run on that too, and by all means feel free to correct me at any moment. I'm a big girl, I can take it." The rambling was a sign she was nervous, but that was nothing new to any of the people currently present.
Keagan:
"I don't think anything could have saved Nix from Lyra because in the end, Rikke is your ancestor." Her sister had not changed over the years, and surely wasn't going to be shy about any situation which was why she wanted to break it down into groups when reveal Sky's relation to the Holstein's. If that was how much Nix was being teased, she did not want to know what her sister had in store for her, "We might need a better tactic later.." She said to no one in particular.
As for being able to feel her emotions, Keagan looked at the other curiously, "Do you feel.. anyone else's emotions?" She held her tongue just in time before she said 'besides Sky's'.
"It's fine. We are dating - or at least, that is the intention." She looked over to Sky since their kid didn't exactly give them an answer that time but the chances of her kid saying 'no' was very low.
Luke:
"I still feel bad," she admitted. "Maybe I could've announced it on a one-on-one model or something. Given Nix some time to process and then have to deal with Lyra later...I don't know. I guess, part of me, also feels bad for Rikke. Lyra may not be teasing her...yet, but what if Nix decides dealing with Lyra is too much and she decides not to be friends anymore? Rikke already doesn't have that many to begin with." She was kind of spiraling a bit, but the ramifications of what she'd done were very much catching up to her all at once.
The question gave her a shift in focus, and she shook her head gingerly. "Nope. I mean, there's your mom's, but that's all in the eyes and I've been sensing that since the day I met her," she joked.
"I certainly seem to have found a way to live my life all sorts of out of order," she chuckled. She lived her life like a teenager now, while as a kid she was the 'adult', she had a baby before she even dated the kid's mother, and now she nearly died before even learning the details of her actual birth. "I'm a mess and a half, but I'm working on it."
Skylar:
Not wanting to stand around, the wolf had taken a seat on the ground at the coffee table in the middle of the room. "I don't think Aunt Nix is the type of person who would quit being someone's friend just because Aunt Lyra's being annoying. I think it might be nice for them to hang out.. give them a break from Aunt Lyra."
Everyone can only handle Lyra in small doses but that also meant that everyone was on a rotation when it came to 'babysitting' her. "And besides, Grandma is here.. I think this is already Aunt Lyr being good." She sighed as if there wasn't anything to be done by this point.
When Keagan confirmed that they were indeed dating, one could hear a mutter under their breath, 'It's about time.' which caught Sky's attention." ...I guess no one else was surprised."
Rikke:
Almost as if on queue, the room was lit up as two forms emerged from a blitz of blue lights. Rikke stood holding a basket in her arms, which left Nix to wrapping her own arms around one of the paladin's in order to make the journey back as opposed to just her hands. Not that Rikke minded, but she wasn't entirely sure Nix was comfortable with the arrangement. Luckily it seemed that Lyra wasn't in the vicinity, so there was at least that.
Lifting up the basket slightly, Rikke said, "Care package, courtesy of your biggest fan." Glancing down at the contents, she added, "There's some vials of pre-brewed pain potion for supers, a bag with ingredients for another decent size batch and step-by-step instructions. She threw in a special balm that helps with scarring caused by other supernaturals, some scones, some scotch, Across the Universe, and The complete X-Files -whatever those last two are- to help keep you entertained and still."
Rikke debated on sharing the next bit, but it was part of the deal to get Ripley to hand over the goods. "She also asked that I let you know that she will miss your spars, but hopes you get better soon. And that I remind you that scars are sexy, and she can see how managed to win the genetic lottery...."
Phoenix:
The relief she felt when she didn’t see or hear Lyra when they came back. Her family - or Lyra herself - had steered her away for whatever reason, and for that, Phoenix was thankful. Her brows did go up when she saw Luke and Keagan cuddling with each other but let it slide since she knew that Keagan wouldn’t want it to be made into a big deal.
“She gave us quite a bit. I was almost sure we needed to wheel in a cart.” The witch released her hold around the Paladin and walked to the other side of the room, peeking up the stairs as if she could even see Lyra or Teagan from here. Her attention then came back to the crowd when Rikke shared what Ripley had requested them to say before giving them everything they needed and more. “Okay.” She clapped her hands together before Keagan could even frown. “Let’s get this potion brewing?” She motioned towards the kitchen.
Erin:
Erin was probably the least surprised by any of the things that had come from the duos trip to Dr. Wren's. She was, however, amused to see the older witch in the household's demeanor. The woman went form relieved upon arrival, to curious upon seeing Skylar's moms, to letting go of Rikke like she'd been shocked, to not-so-subtly trying to see if she could place Lyra. The woman was clearly in need of something to place her focus on.
Which is why she figured she'd help when she brought up the potion. "Hey, that sounds like a great a idea! Tomi and I can help you out in brewing the fresh batch, meanwhile Luke can just take one of the ones in the basket so she doesn't have to wait. It'll give us some good hands-on experience." Without much time for any possible derailments, she grabbed Tomi and started towards the kitchen, reaching into the basket to retrieve the items they'd need as they passed the older paladin.
Keagan:
Keagan had been waiting on the 'perfect' time to tell everyone about the link between Skylar and Luke but it was deemed harder than she thought since it felt as if Lyra was being more nosy than she normally was if that was at all possible. Her plan was to wait for the next day, but now that Teagan had her distracted somewhere...
"I.. may have something to tell everyone - well, we-" she motioned to Luke and herself, "have something to share." Out of habit, Keagan was trying not to look nervous but she was sure Luke could 'sense' her somehow. Keagan leaned forward so she could rest her arms on her knees.
Honestly, she was really thinking about the most direct way to give the news. "We learned recently that the Paladin has a special way of .. well, reproducing and it seems that the root of it all is essentially.. love and if there is a really strong connection and its reciprocated.. well, kids can be conceived." She looked over to her daughter.
"What I'm getting at is Skylar's Luke's kid in the most literal sense. Not a drop of Benson blood is in that kid."
Luke:
Once the potion was downed, Luke immediately began to feel more focused and in the moment. The pain had definitely been far less than the initial headache or the aftermath episode, but enough to where she'd started losing track of most things happening around her. It was a rather sudden and overwhelming sense of nervousness that immediately made her realize she should be paying attention.
"Yes," was all she could manage to add. As usual, Keagan had settled on the direct approach, though at least this time it was a bit more informative than when she'd initially told Skylar.
Of course, Luke was also now being overwhelmed by her own anxiety. She was, after all, currently surrounded by mainly Kegan's family...who would more than likely have questions...they may even have concerns. The possibility of having the Calvetti clan turn on her was exceedingly low, she knew this, but it was never actually zero and she also knew this...Jarrett and Ianthe may not be pleased with the conclusion they'd come to if they bothered to do the math...
"From what I've been able to learn, because I was conceived after my father's powers had been triggered, it basically imbued me with some of my abilities from birth, essentially. So, even though my full powers weren't triggered until the night before last, I could still manage my Skylar sense, and to have caused Keagan's nose to take longer to heal." At this point she realized she was talking to fill the silence. To distract herself from the possibility that she may have disappointed the only decent parental figures she ever had...but even in spit of this, one look at her daughter and she knew she'd never be able to bring herself to regret a single second of it.
Ianthe:
Ever since that 'Christmas Miracle in October', Ianthe had a feeling that there was something supernatural about Lucas. It was the only explanation as to why Keagan's injury took a while to heal. And so, she always kept an eye on the kid. But as time went on, nothing out of the ordinary ever happened.
Until now - where Lucas being a Paladin felt like the missing piece of the puzzle. And she could only deduce as to why Luke could sense Keagan despite not being related however, she was going to keep to herself. The kids will eventually figure it out on their own, much like how they finally got their heads out of their asses and are now dating.
However, this did not prepare her to learn that the biology of a Timeless would allow them to reproduce with.. anyone. And much less that Skylar was conceived that way. Her eyes shifted over to her granddaughter who didn't look surprised at all.
Her husband looked quite the opposite of that as his eyes widened to the point that she doubt she ever saw them that open. She supposed that this on top of the dating news will put a damper on his plan of betting their youngest daughter to date Luke. "Thank God." She spoke out as her focus returned to the new couple. "Now we really don't have a reason to deal with the Bensons." It was a very good decision to let the Paladin to take care of Skylar rather than entrusting that to Richard. "This explains why she looks exactly like you." She gave a smirk.
Luke:
To say Luke breathed a sigh of relief at the response she finally got, would be an understatement. Mainly because it implied she’d been breathing at all before then, which she didn’t realize she’d stopped after she last spoke. Getting over her slight lightheadedness, she managed a chuckle.
“Not really like I would’ve let either Richard or Malcolm anywhere near her again regardless,” Luke reassured. “It certainly does help that I’m now aware this entire property is legally mine and that all it would take is a simple mundane DNA test to prove Richard has no ties to her to enforce a restraining order if he weren’t already taken care of.”
Luke turned to face her daughter with a sheepish smile. “Yeah…though I suppose the Holstein height is a recessive gene…”
Skylar:
"That's not fair." A mumble came from her direction when Luke pointed out that she did not get the height factor from the Holstein genes. "But I get to call Luke my mom now! And that .. I can call Rikke my Grams.. if that's okay.." She peeked at the elder Paladin.
Getting up from her spot, she shuffled over to where her girlfriends were and wrapped her arms around the waist of the two. "Since everyone seems to be in a sharing mood.... Um.. The three of us are now dating.. Yep. Which ... apparently my moms were not surprised about."
Rikke:
The elder Paladin could only smile warmly at the girl as she nodded and said, “You can call whatever you’d like, love. As long you’re comfortable, that’s all that matters.” After so many years of not knowing what had become of her own son, nomenclature and titles seemed like the most trivial of things.
At the following announcement, for her own part, she just raised a brow and smirked. “I think it’s often hard to surprise the people who know you best -though not entirely impossible- but, they may also have understood that a child literally conceived from love would have love to give in spades. Jack did mention that polyamory and the communal raising of the young wasn’t entirely uncommon for the Timeless. Seems it was more something that was phased out as the species evolved into the main four others and, eventually, supernaturals attempted to blend in with mundanes more.”
Skylar:
"That's what mom - Luke said too, but it's hard finding a name that feels right.. But I'm glad that I have 2 grandmothers now." She grinned, looking over at Ianthe who simply smiled warmly at her.
At the description of being born from love, only to have lots of love to give had the youngest Calvetti-Holstein blushing in shyness. The girl almost wanted to give in and hide behind her twin towers. ".. But people still have poly-amorous relationships.." She frowned when she heard that it was phased out only to blend in." But then again, if it wasn't Erin and Tomi, Skylar would not have wanted to share either. "Um... when is Aunt Lyra going to know.. about everything..?"
Luke:
Luke couldn't help the sad smile that came to her face as she said, "Well, technically you have four grandmothers, and though I'm very glad you have two very capable women to look up now, I'm sure that Mabel and Shira would've also absolutely adored you in spite of the circumstances that may have led to them not being here today." It was one of the first -if not the first- times that Luke had even contemplated what her adoptive mother would've thought of Skylar, let alone her birth mother. But she fully believed in her heart that they'd have never done any wrong by the girl.
"Yes, polycules are still a thing now, but let's not forget that we live in a world where even just me holding your mom's hand in public, in the wrong place, could be unpleasant...to put it mildly. People have been made to change to fit certain molds for eras before now, and it's still taking a bit of work to break those molds and show that we were never meant to be constrained to begin with. So, ultimately, I suppose you've just managed to bring our kind full-circle in a way," she chuckled.
At the question of Lyra, Luke narrowed her eyes a bit before wincing and reaching for her ears. "Well, she's not entirely left the house, but I can't speak to what she's heard. Tegan's got her mucking about in the studio, and I really am not enjoying their volume control choices."
Skylar:
"..You think so?" Her smile matched Luke's a bit, wondering what it'd be like if she actually got along with Mrs. Benson, at the very least. The Calvetti barely wanted her to interact with Richard, much less his family. It would have been nice to meet Shira too, but unfortunately, none of them could.
Skylar pursed her lips, almost wiggling her nose like a squirrel at the world being a place where anything LGBTQA+ was considered 'abnormal'. "The world can suck it." She muttered. It was normal for her since almost everyone was accepting. "Never made sense to me why people are so hung up on being upset over other people's lives." Her arms around her girlfriends simply tightened, "They should take up a hobby or two or work on their own lives."
It was only now did she notice the loud noise coming from the studio. "Oh.. They're.. the audio must be in the red the entire time."
Luke:
"I know so," Luke replied adamantly. "The actions they took were very heavily influenced by outside sources and circumstances, but I know enough about them to know they were good people. I mean, your grandma Mabel looked at a baby that nobody else wanted and chose to give them a home. Besides, you have your mom's puppy dog eyes, which make it really hard to dislike you."
Luke let out a laugh as she said, "Speaking of taking after your mother..." Skylar had a point, but it was just too amusing to see how quick she was to let her temper flare. A Calvetti -well McIntyre, really- trait indeed. "I am, very happy to know that the environment you've grown up in has been conducive to you feeling safe enough to not only share this with us, but to do so proudly and to know you're loved regardless." Giving Skylar what she didn't have, was her ultimate goal, and this eased her mind in a sense, knowing it worked.
"It's a good thing we weren't mid-recording process, because I'm sure everything will be completely different to when I was last in there. At least they're not in the music room. Lyra goes through strings like nobody's business."
Keagan:
She looked at Luke, almost confused, "What puppy eyes? I don't have those eyes." If anything, she just thought those came from Luke. It was almost surprising that Luke was also somewhat saying good things about Mabel. But if Luke have that much faith in her, then who were they to say otherwise? The Paladin would know that family best.
"Yes, thought that environment did spoil her a bit, didn't it?" She teased, "Don't think we didn't see that pout you made when Erin and Tomi was about to head into the kitchen without you." However, would they have done anything different? Not at all. Keagan was well aware how much she spoiled the kid but that was in part due to the fact that she was hardly around to begin with. It didn't hurt to spoil her every time she got into town.
"I hope one of you will remember to fix the audio because if you think hearing everything now hurts, it's definitely going to be worse to have that up close."
JJ:
"Sure you don't," JJ finally spoke up, while at the same time sharing a conspiratorial look with his parents. Keagan may take the most after their mother, and would therefore prefer not to have a puppy look, but it was something ultimately inherent to almost all wolves...well, all well-adjusted wolves.
He glanced back at his sister when she tried to tease his niece and said, "Oh? You think she's spoiled because she pouts? Funny that, because she got the pout from the same place she got the puppy eyes." Was he pushing his luck? Maybe, but he also knew he'd be forgiven almost immediately. The girls weren't the only ones in the Calvetti clan that could make innocent faces.
"Oh, someone's going to have to teach Luke how to manager her new senses. Hey Annie, you feel like one of your old one-on-one tutoring sessions?"
Keagan:
Keagan was so tempted to smack her brother in the arm but their parents were watching which was most likely why her brother decided that now was a good time to be cheeky. She sent an offended look his way. "She got that sad pup look from Luke." She did not ever pull such a face - at least not to her knowledge.
"Why don't you check on Lyra and Teag, Jay? Hm?" All the glaring she did was probably rendered useless, seeing how she was very comfortable leaning against Luke. Turning her attention back, Keagan gave a shrug, "I could help with the new senses if you want, though I think Rikke would have a better grasp in general."
Luke:
Luke looked confused for a moment. “Do I have a sad puppy face? I thought I had a haunted Victorian orphan face?” she asked, directing the question mainly at the man who had provided the latter description in the first place. It was partially an attempt at distraction, but also a genuine question.
The redhead looked after JJ as he begrudgingly made his way upstairs, then glanced down at the statement directed at her. “Oh I’m sure there’s bound to be plenty that any of the folks in the house right now will be able to help with. I mean, for starters I need to figure out what all I can do before I can start working on the ‘how’…” There was glint in her eye that clearly showed she was getting ideas on ‘tests’ already.
Ianthe:
Ianthe sided with Keagan on that description. The kid looked like a lost puppy when Lyra led her in by the hand. How Jarrett saw a 'haunted Victorian orphan' was beyond her. "Just because you can heal faster now does not mean you can put yourself at risk. Keagan and Rikke will be there, yes?" The question was direct to Lucas because she was sure the other two was willing to be present.
Tomi:
Luke almost immediately said yes, but all three girls currently in a group hug just laughed in response. "Mrs. C, I'm sure Lyra has already shown you and Mr. C what our dear Luke has turned into her side-hustle. I think it's pretty obvious that having an audience isn't a guarantee that she'll be discouraged from going through with whatever idea has entered her brain. If anything, it'll just make her get more creative with how she goes about it."
There was another round of laughter as the older redhead complained at being thrown under the bus by her 'own employees'.
Skylar:
Since they were on the topic, Skylar did have a thought. "...But mom's never actually been around in person when Luke's doing her video ideas...." So physically, there was no way for Keagan to stop Luke.. but now that she was here, maybe...?
"I want to be there too.. well, when Grams teaches the Paladin stuff.." While she knew her Paladin side wasn't triggered, she wondered if she still had a hint of those powers much like how Luke had always been able to sense her.
Erin:
Erin hated to burst her girlfriend's bubble but, "Your mom was here for the Unsolved special and every stop of the mini-tour. BennieHolmie content still rolled out like clockwork." She suddenly glanced over at the girl's mother and said, "Not that I'm casting doubt on anyone's abilities, but we can't let ourselves be led into a false sense of security...especially when we know you have a bit of an impulsive streak of your own, love." It really was very difficult to deny the smallest was very much her mothers' daughter. An almost perfect mix.
Erin was about to bring up Sky's experience with balloons when the door sounded again. "...okay what is up with visitors today?"
Skylar:
At least she knew enough to not try and deny that since there had been multiple instances when she was told not to do something because it'd be stupid. "It's not that bad though..." She mumbled, and continued to mumble as she made her way to the door. "I think everyone is here to visit Luke.." She opened the door with almost an expectant look.
Hendrix:
When he heard the door open, he lowered the white flower arrangement in his hands, only to realize the person who answered was not who he'd expected. Lowering the flowers a bit more, he realized it was actually Keagan's kid. Not one to ever miss an opportunity, however, he dropped to one knee as he balanced the arrangement on the other and put on his most 'empathetic' face as he said, "Hi, I'm Hendrix. I work with your mommy catching bad guys. I heard about your recent loss and I came by to tell her how sorry I am...and you, of course. I know you were really close with your aunt."
It would be clear to anyone with any sense of actual empathy how incredibly patronizing he was being, but Drix himself just wanted to ensure that he was portraying the utmost sympathy. He'd make sure to be the knight in shining armor and prove he could step up when it mattered by being proactive and offering his condolences in person. Surely people would be too busy with grief to mention it to his boss... "Is your mommy home?"
Skylar:
When she opened the door, the last thing she expected was to be 'ambushed' by a bouquet of flowers in her face. The confusion that filled her when she saw all that only grew when they were lowered to reveal a man she didn't recognise, which then turned into shock when he suddenly went down on one knee. What the actual hell was going on? She was so surprised that she actually took a step back in wary of him.
Wait, loss?
It seemed that this man was under the impression that Luke died and decided it was a good idea to come to the cabin to talk to Keagan. Sky didn't know who this man was to her mom but regardless, she didn't get a good vibe from him. Therefore, instead of answering him and still kept him from entering the cabin, Sky looked straight at Luke, "Mom, some guy's here.. and he thinks you died?"
Luke:
Luke had already sensed the wariness coming from her daughter when she opened the door, and though she'd done her best to remain focused on the conversation at hand, her main focus had been in the direction of the front door the entire time. Once Skylar called out, there was nothing that could be done to keep her in her seat. Though the fact the girl had said 'some guy' should've clued her rationale brain in, all Luke picked up on was a male that made Sky wary thought Luke was dead...Richard.
As she immediately made to stand, she hadn't even reached full height when she was standing on the front porch, right between her daughter and- she glanced down and raised an eyebrow. "Douchewin," she called out in confusion, though the flower arrangement he dropped as he fell on back on his ass and looked up at her certainly conveyed he figured someone was dead. "Skylar, please go inside. I'll handle the misunderstanding here..."
Hendrix:
Hendrix smiled when the kid turned to speak, thinking that he succeeded in convincing her to get Keagan to the door. It'd be better if he could go into the cabin, but he'll take what he can get right now. At first, it was going well since she called out for her mom. Then, he was very confused when the kid said that he thought she died. How did that translate to him thinking Keagan died?
But before he could even ask, he saw a glow come in between the kid and him, causing him to fall on his ass. To say he was surprise was an understatement. Of all people, he did not expect to see Lucas Benson standing before him with all her height. "Oh." So she didn't die.. "Luke! What a surprise." He got up onto his feet as he tried to find some connection between 'mom' and Luke appearing. "Did not expect to see you here. At all."
Luke:
Luke waited until she heard the quick steps of Skylar clearly rushing back inside. She was certain the rush was more so to inform everyone of what transpired, and less about actually doing as she was told, but as long as she was away from this creep, Luke didn't care. She turned her attention back to the man, and took a measured step to close the distance between them once he scrambled back to his feet.
"Yes, I can see that," she stated in reply to his not expecting her. "I will say, I would be touched that you would care so much for me as to want to provide your condolences in-person," she remarked, "That being said, we both know you can't bring yourself to care about anyone but yourself so-" Luke reached out with speed and swiftly lifted him off the floor by the scruff of his jacket, "-just what is it that you think you're doing here? I thought I made myself perfectly clear on your last visit to my house: you are not welcome."
Hendrix:
"I-whoa!" Luke was definitely a lot more stronger and faster than he last remembered but that was not the issue right now. "Whoa, whoa, easy... Look, I'm allowed to give my condolences! I'm still Keg's partner you can't just keep me away. I thought you died, so what kind of partner would I be if I let her and her daughter mourn alone." Yep, that was still the excuse he was going with.
"Wait, how come you came when the kid clearly asked for Keg?" That was really still sitting on his mind because he hear mom and last he recalled, Luke wasn't the mom, but the aunt. Even if she was the favourite aunt, it was a bit much to call her mom, wasn't it?
Luke:
"Former," Luke corrected. "Keagan is your former work partner. Her reassignment means her touch points are now fellow agents on the same assignment here in town, as would be the most rational and effective course of action. I may come across as aloof to those who don't know me, but I assure you, I'm not nearly the imbecile you're currently trying to treat me as, Drixy."
She brought him closer, and raised him higher on instinct to take his feet fully out from under him. "We both know that even if I had died, the last thing that Keagan and Skylar would have been in this town, is alone." Luke let out a mirthless laugh at his question. "Doesn't matter. What does matter, is that you no longer have any ties to Keagan work or otherwise. Her life? Skylar's life? The details? No longer any of your concern, and most certainly not something you have any entitlement to ask after. But I will remind you once again, this is my house and I will do deny whatever I damn well please."
Ianthe:
When Skylar came back to inform them of what occurred at the door, it only took a few exchanges between Luke and this man for Ianthe to get up from her seat. It wasn't that she didn't think the new Paladin couldn't handle it, she was curious to see who this 'former partner of Keagan's' was. Someone who was very confident that title alone would allow him into the Cabin even though he was banned off the premises. Whatever was Keagan's choice of men, but none of them were acceptable. Nor did it help to hear that Phoenix and Blake had personally see him off.
"Goodwin." She stood into view but stayed a good distance away since Luke had him at bay. "I believe you were supposed to be on your way back to your post." It may have sounded like a question but Ianthe was not asking. If anything, she did not appreciate how irresponsible he was being just by being here when her sister in law was expecting him back. She held a hand up before he could speak. "I did not say you could talk."
Luke:
Luke didn’t even remotely flinch at the sound of Ianthe’s voice coming from behind her, which was a testament to how focused she was on ensuring that Hendrix did not come near her daughter again. The same could not be said for the man in her grasp. She could see the immediate flash of fear that crossed his eyes even before she began to feel the slight trembling of his body.
Luke raised an eyebrow at the mention of his post. “Sounds like someone didn’t even bother to give his superiors proper notice,” she said with ‘tsk tsk’ to follow. “Our last encounter was rather subdued, all things considered, because we were at Keagan’s place of employment and the last thing I’d want is to cause her issue there,” Luke started, “But we’re in the privacy of my property now, and I guarantee you Mrs. Calvetti will not take my actions as a reflection on her daughter. As soon as your feet touch the ground, I want you to leave the way you came. I won’t warn you again.”
Hendrix:
Somehow he had never anticipated that Ianthe Calvetti would roll into town. Hendrix may have not met the woman personally prior to today but who in the academy hadn't heard of her? As much as he wanted to impress her, this position was not doing it justice and she was not happy to see him as Keagan's mother.
"Mrs. Calvetti!" He almost pleaded in desperation. What was with Benson's strength right now? She could throw a punch but he did not recall being unable to even budge from her grasp. "Please. I was just here to give your daughter my condolences! I wasn't told that the surgery was successful! Even though I was her former partner, we still have a bond so it does make sense for me to come and comfort her as she had been there for me before!"
Luke:
Luke was growing fairly agitated at his constant reminder that he was basically only here because he thought she herself was dead. Which was fuck all about her own mortality and entirely enraging because of the thought this man would be willing to use Keagan and Skylar’s grief to his own advantage. Without breaking her eye-contact she addressed Ianthe.
“Mrs. C, Keagan is her own person, and I don’t want to seem unreasonable or controlling, because I’m really not. So, why don’t we let her decide if she would like to come out and accept Mr. Goodwin’s condolences?”
Keagan:
The amount of will power it took for Keagan to not react when Skylar tried to describe who was at the door. She had a feeling she knew but she wished she was wrong. Even listening to him speak just made her want to cringe. The audacity for him to saying all these things when he was well aware her daughter was in the house. It was really a fortunate thing that Hartley had grown up with the rest of them and didn't turn out to be the dimwitted asshole her brother was.
Giving her daughter a kiss on the temple before telling her to stay with her girlfriends, Keagan came to stand next to her mother - far from him, "Leave me and my family alone, Goodwin. You were already sent home once. I'll be getting a restraining order on you if you don't walk away right now."
Hendrix:
To say that his ego was currently taking the beating of a lifetime, would be a vast understatement. Not only was he being made to feel greatly emasculated by this freakishly tall and suddenly strong ginger, but to have his feet not even squarely in the ground when he finally got to meet Ianthe Calvetti? How was he meant to recover from this as a first impression? And now Keagan herself was throwing around terms like ‘restraining order’? No. No, no he was losing control of the situation before he’d even said two words to the woman.
“I meant it when I said that I understood my last time in town I was out of line, but this time I genuinely just wanted to be there for you and your daughter, for what I was under the impression would be a difficult time. I just wanted to redeem myself. To prove I can be more than just a last resort when you’re lonely.” It was less a self-dig and more a move to highlight, yet again, that they shared a past whether she liked it or not. “You make me want to be a better man, Keagan Benson. “ Hendrix felt solid ground beneath his feet once more, and took that as a point in his favor.
Keagan:
It really was his stubbornness that got him to where he was in his career but the man should really learn where to draw the line because he completely crossed it since the first time he came to find her. "And as you can see, I do not need you here. There is nothing for you to prove." She made a face between disgust and cringe when he said that she made him a better man because she did no such thing.
"No." She rejected that idea altogether, "This," she motioned to whatever this situation was, "is all you. This has nothing to do with me. I don't tell you to do anything other than to leave me and my family alone." Since it didn't look like the man was budging, Ianthe walked up to where Luke was and even Keagan could only imagine how intimidating that was. "I'm reporting this to headquarters, as well as your superiors." God, she just wanted to go nap with Luke right now.
Hendrix:
“You really don’t think this is all just a tad bit unfair to me in any way?” There was crack in his voice and he kept from blinking long enough to make his eyes water. “I’m supposed to just be okay with having been good enough when it was convenient to you and now I’m supposed to just step aside for some other guy to come along and be accepted into the very family you want to keep me away from? You opened the door to this, but somehow I’m the only one who has to deal with consequences?”
He was smart enough to take a step back when Ianthe moved up, but he kept his gaze on Keagan as he let the tears run down his face. “I just want a chance to show you I can be that missing piece in your family, Keggy. I can be the partner you need. I can be the father Skylar deser-“ he stopped as he was lifted back up. Hendrix immediately got the point the tall woman was making. “Okay, okay. Leaving Skylar out of this.”
Keagan:
Wow. He actually went with the waterworks route - that was something she did not think would happen. Even Ricky didn't pull that trick. "I made it clear since day 1, it is not my fault you chose to spin it and interpret it into a way that suits you. Not once did I tell you that we'd be anything more." Why was she even bothering with words because Hendrix wasn't listening nor was he going to listen because he believed he could still get his way somehow by harassing her.
The fact that he was still trying to use Sky's name against her. The wolf moved forward herself, and grabbed the man out of Luke's grip and punched the man in the face. She really had it with him. This and Richard. Words weren't going to cut it clearly, so she resorted to action. Consequences be damned, she was going to have to answer to both her bosses later. And with that in mind, Keagan threw another punch into his jaw.
Luke:
Luke had remained quiet during their entire exchange. She’d said it the last time she was a witness to one of their interactions: it was none of her business. Skylar, on the other hand, the Paladin had made very clear once before was very much her business. So that prompted her to step in, even if Keagan decided to cut it short.
It was obvious that the older woman had reached her limit and had something to get out of her system, so Luke didn’t immediately stop her. Instead she waited until she felt the point was made, and she simply grabbed the man by the scruff and orbed him into his car.
Words were clearly exchanged, then she orbed back to the porch as he peeled out of the driveway. “I don’t think he’ll be back. He seemed quite uneasy with the idea of me just being able to make him be somewhere without his consent, and I may have pointed out that he should be grateful I opted for the interior of his car and not the interior of say, a mountainside…it was admittedly a bold statement given how I’m surprised we didn’t end up stuck in the engine or some other splinching.”
Keagan:
She couldn't even get in more punches because Luke orbed away with him. Oh, and the fact that she orbed when the older wolf told her to not do so until she got better. Keagan just allowed her mom to pull her in for a hug in silence. She didn't even bother to reply when her mom teased her about the shit choice in men and having them bite her in the ass.
When Luke came back, Keagan didn't even watch the man leave. Instead, she migrated from one hug to the other, wrapping her arms around the taller woman as she leaned against her. "....I said no orbing." It wasn't very convincing but she gave up trying. It wasn't as if she could have stopped her to begin with. "Sorry, you had to deal with that.. I should have kicked his ass back myself." She tiptoed and gave the other a gentle kiss to the cheek.
Luke:
Luke felt like she needed a seat immediately, but managed to keep her footing sure if only for the sake of the woman now wrapped around her. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t entirely a conscious thing,” she began. “It’s hard to explain but, it’s kind of like breathing in your sleep: you don’t consciously think inhale-exhale, your body just knows what it needs and you do it.” The implication that she needed that guy to be gone was not subtle and she had zero intention of it being so.
She smiled at the kiss and simply wrapped her arms around the smaller woman’s shoulders. “You kicked plenty of ass on our behalf when we were kids. Consider it returning the favor. Besides, it’s not like I’ve been known to pass up the chance to put an asshat in his place. At least this one didn’t take a swing.”
Keagan:
Keagan only smiled at that since she also needed the man to be gone and was thankful that she basically yeeted him into the car so that he didn't get the chance to even struggle back. "I still can't believe he tried to come back after we kicked him out the first time."
Being exhausted by the interaction, she just wanted to stay here with Luke, but they should really head back in. Surely her kid was curious if her girlfriends hadn't prevented her from eavesdropping. "Come on.." she turned, pulling Luke to follow her and was not surprised to see that her mom already went back in without them
Luke:
Luke simply raised her brows and tilted her head to one side as she said, "I can." Looking down to meet hazel eyes, the redhead held the most earnest look in her own blue hues as she said, "You are one very difficult person to get over ma'am. Not everyone manages to do so, and not everyone gets lucky enough to have you give them another opportunity...speaking of which, I know this one hasn't been entirely the smoothest of rides so far but, I'm very glad you've chosen to come along anyway."
She let herself be pulled back inside, where her eyes immediately searched out for their younger counterpart. "Mini-me," she called out and met her half-way back to the living. "Are you alright?"
Skylar:
It was hard not to eavesdrop, but every time she tried to, Erin or Tomi ..or both would pull her attention back. The wolf had been almost sulking the entire time she was waiting there for her moms to come back because.. who on earth was that guy? Thankfully they came back before she was going to sneak over to take a peek herself.
"I'm okay." She buried herself into another hug with Keagan also joining in on it. "I don't like that guy. I don't know who he is but I don't like him - he said he worked with you, how on earth did you have patience for him?" the rambling kept going that she felt Keagan chuckle. "I'm serious!! I feel like you wouldn't be able to stand him just being in the same room as him... Why did he know that you were in the hospital though?" Her attention switched over to her other mom.
Luke:
The rambling might have earned a chuckle from herself as well, if only Luke was as oblivious as Skylar to what exactly Hendrix had to do with her mother... As it stood, at the question of how Keagan could even stand the man, all Luke could do was look off somewhere where the drywall was far more interesting than the current conversation.
The last question was clearly aimed at her, so she was brought back into the fray of it. "His boss is also your mom's boss, and as we're aware, also your mom's aunt. It's likely he just happened to eavesdrop," she answered with a smirk, knowing that the girl had likely attempted the same. Of course, it was far more likely he'd been keeping tabs on Keagan, but that was not her place to say.
Skylar:
"His boss is our relative.. and we have Grandma too.. and he still chose to come here? That's just... " The pup trailed off since she couldn't tell if this was guts or just stupidity because it was clear no one liked him, and considering that Luke didn't let him in the house, no one wanted him around at all. "He's gone now right? I think he thinks I'm like, eight or something. He.. does know I'm not, right?" Shaking her head, Skylar couldn't help but wonder what was Keagan's choices in men. First Ricky, then that guy.
"Wait, Grandma called him Goodwin." She frowned, "Is he related to Ms. Goodwin - Hartley?" That would... Be so unfortunate for the teacher then...
Luke:
“Unfortunately overconfident,” Luke finished for her before crouching down to be closer to eye-level. “Yes, he is most definitely gone, and as long as I’m around, he’s never going to be a concern for you again.” At the question of her age, Luke did manage a chuckle this time. “To be complete honest, I would personally prefer that he know as little about you as possible.” Of course, up until the day before it wasn’t like Shri had much of say in how much of Skylar’s life was shared…
Luke made a face and said, “Yeah, it’s her older brother. But luckily he hasn’t lived in town for ages, so she doesn’t have to deal with him. She gets Blake and Ollie instead.” Standing back up, she cupped her daughter’s face briefly before stating, “I hate to leave the party early, but I think I’m going to head up for a bit. As always, feel free to make yourselves at home.”
Lyra:
Teagan had her occupied for a lot longer than she realized because she was finally allowed into the studio which was something basically banned her from. Of course she was going to take the opportunity to play with all the equipment! Not only that, but she had Teagan with her so twice the shenanigans.
She didn't know how long it had been but when she came out, she bumped into said owner of the studio. "Titan! I did not touch anything but ..You know what, don't replay what we have unless your head heals." She laughed and disappeared down the stairs.
Luke:
As was the typical interaction with a hurnado, Luke didn’t even have time to properly process what was said in order to formulate a reply before the girl was gone. Instead she looked Teagan who followed close behind and just said, “You did good. She’s their problem downstairs now…”
They shared a small laugh and Luke took all of two seconds after Teag was also gone before the was inside the studio. She began by taking stock and then began the task of reverting everything back, and had almost reached a pace that may be considered frenetic when she heard the door from where she was inside the recording space. “Uh…they’re not heavy..?” was all she managed as she set the amps back down.
Keagan:
She saw her sister rush her way down at a speed that she almost thought she was listening in on everything that she needed to express her opinions. However, all she said was that she might have messed with the recording studio and was now here.. avoiding the owner of said studio. It was almost like she never left because she went onto the next topic that Keagan didn't stay to listen.
Making her way to the studio, she slipped inside to see what the other was up to. "I almost thought you were going to take a nap. Almost." As if Luke wanted more bedrest. "I hope she didn't break anything." This was all to technical for her. She saw a lot of buttons and switches and she.. had no idea what she's supposed to be looking at.
Luke:
Lucas managed to look properly apologetic as she made her way out of the recording space and into the engineering room. “I mean, the idea of a lie down did cross my mind but…I just had to see what the damages was. And then that led to my fixing the soundboard, which then gave me view of what had been messed with in there…” She trailed off as she realized she was just making one big long excuse. “I just needed a distraction and to regain a bit of sense of control again, I suppose.”
Taking a seat in one of the chairs, she pulled a beer out of her locked fridge and handed it to the older woman without even asking. She didn’t even bother with a drink for herself.
Keagan:
Keagan leaned against the table, careful not to get too near the equipment. "I'm sorry.." For Lyra messing up her soundboard, and for being the reason why Hendrix came back even though she wasn't actually at fault. To think that the troubles she brought home were ...men. "Anything I can do to help?"
She accepted the drink without question and once she got it open, she took a very long drink from it. "It's not even the end of the week yet." She snorted almost bitterly. "Fallcrest really has its way of reminding you that for a small time, peace is never an option."
Luke:
Luke just shrugged and said, "Not really your fault. Lyra's always been her own brand of chaos." There was obviously another elephant in the room that Keagan may have been trying to address but, as counterproductive as she was aware it was, Luke decided to pretend she suddenly did not see... "Nah, it's fine. I got everything sorted. Like I said, I was really just looking for an excuse to have something to do where I felt in my element."
She narrowed her eyes a bit and said, "I mean, technically depending on who you ask, Sunday marks the end of one week, but the beginning of the week for others so, toss up?" Luke reached out and carefully pulled the shorter woman in to sit on her lap, being mindful of the beer as she wrapped her arms around her and said, "Peace is certainly a rarity in this town, but we've never really been the peaceful sort now, have we? I think the most important thing to keep in mind right now, is that despite of the length of peace we may or may not experience, we are now -for maybe the first time in ages- getting to experience it all together."
Keagan:
"Luke.." She set her beer aside. This already happened twice and Keagan had a feeling that they really shouldn't hold this off for longer.. in case Hendrix found it a very smart idea to try again. "It's the beginning and it already feels so long." She gave a wry smile before readjusting her seat so that she's actually sitting a bit more onto the table. "Look.. about Goodwin.. and other choices that I've made.."
The wolf almost cringed just thinking back on them. "I must admit, weren't good highlights in my life, and I'm really sorry for.. being the reason they're even coming to this place despite all warnings and all. I'll give a couple a calls - hopefully he doesn't even think about it and move on.
Luke:
The redhead had done her best to keep things in their specific compartments, but it just seemed that one way or another that elephant would have to be addressed. She let out a groan in defeat as the levees burst and she just laid it all out. “It’s just, I don’t want you to feel like you have to apologize for your choices, especially not the me, of all people- because you’re an incredibly independent woman, and you shouldn’t have to answer to anyone,” she began.
Then immediately scrunched her face up in frustration and said, “But I would be lying if I didn’t admit to the fact that the idea of someone as lowly as Douchewin having been allowed to even share the same liminal space as you doesn’t tinge my sight red just a little. Especially when he’s done nothing but demonstrate how crass and disrespectful to your privacy he’s willing to be. And don’t get me started on the fact he saw himself as worthy enough to be a part of Skylar’s life. I didn’t even like having to let Richard anywhere near her and that was when I fully believed him to be her actual father! This guy- this guy! He doesn’t just get to show up whenever and disrupt her life. He shouldn’t even be disrupting yours and spitting all over the honor of having shared something intimate with you just for the sake of getting to boast about!”
It was the fact her breathing was labored that clued her in to the fact she may have gotten a bit too honest. “I’m sorry…I just…I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
Keagan:
Somehow, the outburst was something she expected and not expect at the same time. While she knew that the issue at hand was upsetting and should have been addressed sooner before he rolled into town and harass her family and her. God, if anything happen to them because of her, she was going to see red. However, Luke was giving her praises while she was at it so.. Keagan was actually finding difficulties suppressing the smile.
Still, she waited until Luke could get it all out before getting off the table to crouch down next to her chair and taking the younger woman by the hand, "You have nothing to apologise for either." She chuckled, "And you are right. He has completely crossed the line especially when he tried to get Skylar involved. He was an asshat when we were kids, and he unfortunately remained the same when we all grew up." She sighed, "It does make me regret ever even giving him the opportunity." She took a pause, "I can't believe he spoke to Sky.. " She couldn't imagine what was going through her kid's mind when Hendrix started acting like that. "Regardless, I should've been more careful.."
Luke:
If the fact she’d managed to rant herself breathless hadn’t given her pause, the throbbing in her head resuming definitely would have. “I do, because regardless of the point, there’s no reason to let it frustrate me to the point of practically yelling like a loon,” she grumbled. “It just- ugh, I don’t know, I guess it just seems that between my conversation with Richard yesterday and Hendrix today, the fact that such poor excuses for ‘men’ could ever feel any form of entitlement to someone like you….it’s infuriating.”
Her jaw seemed to clench impossibly more as the subject turned back to Skylar. She took a breath before giving their joined hands a squeeze and meeting the older woman’s gaze. “You should really talk to her. You will always be free to share what you believe to be right, with whomever, but I think she deserves to know the truth at least in so far so that she’s not left with her imagination trying to fill in the gaps and, as evidenced by our conversation in Philly, jumping to the worst conclusions.”
Keagan:
"I get that." She smiled softly, "Somehow.. of all the men from Fallcrest, I happen to give chances to two of the most obnoxious ones. Thank you for being so upset on my behalf, but unfortunately what's done is done.. we can only hope they don't come back because I think we've already been lenient enough."
Even if she wanted to tell her daughter, she had no idea how to. "There's a lot that I should probably talk to her about." She sighed as she got back up to her feet, "And then she'll be even more convinced that life on the field sucks." Keagan would be devastated if Sky somehow thought she'd rather be out there after all that than be at home. "Every time I see Sky when I returned, I always wondered if it was worth sacrificing so much.. and honestly, times like ..When he showed up makes me think it wasn't."
Luke:
It would honestly always be far easier for her to be upset the behalf of the people she loved than on behalf of herself. It wasn’t ideal, but it was what she was used to…but it’s certainly not something she was about to say out loud only to risk upsetting the older woman. Or worse, earning her pity.
Instead she latched on to the latter statement, a flash of something crossing her eyes -or perhaps just an actual flash…- at the thought. “Not to sound alarmist, but I think I’ll invoke my fifth amendment in advance, Chief Deputy.” It took a lot to get Luke to a point where her immediate response was violence, but messing with her family was definitely the speedrun version.
Luke followed in standing and offered the woman a sympathetic look. “Well, there’s plenty I’ll have to share myself as well, so it’s not like you should feel singled out. I think the fact I’ve managed to avoid giving her a clearer picture of what life was like with Mabel, Malcolm, and Richard for eighteen years was a feat only achieved by hiding behind the fact I was just the aunt…” At the sentiment expressed, Luke brought the woman’s hands up to her lips and pressed a gentle kiss to each knuckle, then meeting her eyes briefly before leaning down to place the lightest of kisses to the woman’s lips. Just a touch, for a second. Maybe two. She pulled away and smiled softly as she said, “Not to use your words against you but, what’s done is done. We should focus on the present and do everything we can to ensure the future’s better.”
Keagan:
"I am hoping the people around will keep him at bay, which I will have to follow up with Nix and Blake.. And my aunt too because there really was no reason for him snake his way back here without her knowing. He is lucky he's Hartley's brother."
"Skylar.. is just getting a lot of information just within a couple of months." She chuckled, tiptoeing to meet the soft kisses. When Luke moved away, Keagan almost frowned but decided to behave since the other was still injured. "Sounds like a plan." It was true that they could only focus on the present and future, and since she was with her family now.. the task didn't see as hard anymore. "Come on, let's get you laying down a bit. I know you're sick of being in bed by now, but humour me?"
Luke:
“I just hope someone manages to inform him that if it was in his own personal best interest to stay away from you two before, it most definitely is going to be now that I can sense you…” Luke trailed off a bit at that and looking sheepish added, “For the record, I figured out that if I focus on my emotions I can keep from sensing, so like, I didn’t- I wasn’t like, you know, prying into your feelings out there. I- uh, I didn’t think it’d be right.” Luke was also someone who subscribed to the idea of ‘why go asking questions you might not like the answer to’…
She chuckled at the understatement but smiled in reassurance. “She certainly has had to learn quite a bit, but she has a great support system in her girls. You and I will also be there, every step of the way and, honestly, let’s face it: being our kid, she does far better with too much information than she would ever do with too little,” she chuckled.
Luke would be lying if she claimed the hint of a frown as she pulled away didn’t give her ego a bit of a much needed boost, but she still dare not tempt the fates. At least not until she wasn’t back up to at least 75 percent…maybe 60…? She let out a groan like the idea of laying down was worse than torture. “Fine,” she relented, “But only if you keep me company…”
Keagan:
"He really should've gotten it through his head the last time he visited. I don't think my aunt would let this fly twice either." Her attention got cut short when Luke said she could sense her. "Right, you've mentioned that a few times.. I suppose that there are some differences in being born a Paladin." Was she .. technically her charge or was it because there was some sort of bond formed between them? "You're like a human lie detector.. but.. to two specific people."
Skylar was really a combination of the two of them; it's almost uncanny. However, it was because she was their kid that Keagan found it almost unpredictable what Skylar would do whenever she was provided information especially when provided the example of storming up to Dallas.
Keagan was amused to how much Lucas did not want to go back into bed but eventually relented. "Okay, let's go then." She chuckled softly before pulling the younger woman out of the studio and towards their bedroom.
Luke:
"Well, when you combine his natural predilection for being a difficult thorn in the side to remove, along with the fact that it's you he stands to lose...I don't agree with his methods, and I will not hesitate to demonstrate it if need be, but I can't say I'm surprised. If anything, I'm not even certain this will be his final attempt, but I'll just have to be prepared to burn that bridge when we get to it," Luke noted.
The older woman's sudden change in demeanor as her focus shifted to the fact Luke could sense her, didn't quite go unnoticed. It was a bit, unsettling, if only because it made Luke wonder if this was something that the other saw as a detriment and would rather opt out of...which- Nope. Brain still too damaged for any can of worms to be opened up. "I think that since charges were something that the witches and the seal on the Nexus dictated for created Paladins, for a born one, it just means we choose our own? Don't worry though, I'll be sure to get with Rikke and the others about how to best go about controlling it. Fixating my focus on my own emotions was helpful, but it's never been ideal..."
Blue eyes widened slightly, not having expected Keagan to relent to her 'demands' quite so readily, but she allowed herself to dragged along regardless. Once they were in the safe confines of their now shared bedroom, the taller woman came up behind Keagan, wrapping her arms loosely around the woman's middle as she rested the unharmed side of her head against Keagan's own. "Mmm, how is that being around you always makes me feel like missed something even if it's the first time I'm getting to enjoy it, eh?"
Keagan:
“Every time he rolls around, I worry he’ll impose on Hartley.” She could handle herself and while she also knew that Hartley could do and had more than enough people to help her out when needed, it still didn’t sit right with the wolf that Hendrix was even within proximity because of her. “TO think there’s someone even more annoying than Richard.”
It did make sense that born Paladins would be able to choose who their charges were. “I wonder if there’s a limit how many charges one could have.. or it’s just whomever you choose to focus on - like our hearing.” Keagan hummed, “Usually I’m supposed to make sure no one knows what I’m thinking or feeling.” She chuckled, “Although I haven’t been very good at it, I don’t plan on hiding anything from you or Sky - unless it’s job related, then I’m required to keep that quiet.“ While Luke was one of the people she would talk to about what she was feeling and all, but she normally did that at her own pace too. having someone be able to sense it more than the average person was … going to be something to adjust to.
She chuckled softly as she leaned back into the other, her hands on top of the arms around her. “I don’t know.. but we can snuggle in bed.” She was not going to let Lucas procrastinate her way there. “Come on, I want to check your bandages too. I’m almost surprised you haven’t unintentionally taken them off by now.”
Luke:
“He’d have to deal with Blake and -oddly enough- Hunter, before he even so much as breathes in Hart’s direction. Oh, and the Waldorf creep too.” Luke shuddered at the thought of the guy. Between Hart and Hunter it could be hard to tell who was more trusting, but the Waldorf connection cleared it up. At Keagan’s comparison, the look in Luke’s eyes hardened and darkened. “Yes well…annoying can be dealt with easily enough,” she said. Richard had just been cruel.
“Now that the seal’s broken and even created paladins aren’t bound to it, I don’t think so…? I mean obviously we’re not bound to continuously sense our charges 24/7, so it would be a matter of realistically seeing how many people each Paladin feels up to being able to safely assist…like security detail?” Luke was most definitely basing this on her media knowledge. She offered a small smile and shrug as she said, “Regardless of whether you plan on keeping secrets or not, our relationship has always been built on a mutual understanding on each of us opening up and sharing in our time. I don’t want to just randomly rob of you that, especially now when we’re looking to take said relationship in a new direction.”
It was easy enough to tell that Keagan wasn’t going to let her procrastinate, even if it had been unintentional…but she was still going to keep trying. “Yeah, that sounds nice,” she said, but made no move to let go. “Maybe it’s not a sense of ‘I missed this’ so much as a nostalgia at the thought of ‘I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this’, ya know? Or maybe it’s just me. We’ve established my upbringing was, uh, unconventional at best.” With another pitiful sound of protest, she allowed herself to be led to the bed where she took a seat on the edge. “Oh that’s because I’ve been intentionally reminding myself not to mess with them,” she replied cheekily, before moving to carefully pull her hoodie up and over said bandages.
Keagan:
A brow perked at the mention of Hunter since Keagan wasn’t aware they were friends, but then again, the two of them were the type to befriend everyone and everything. “How is Blake handling the Waldorf creep?” At the subtle change, Keagan actually looked apologetic. “Sorry, that was in bad taste.” After all, she almost lost one of the most important people in of her life because of him. Why did she think it was a good idea to compare the two? At the very least, Goodwin had not tried to endanger anyone’s life.
“Despite the issues, there had been a few good things coming out of the broken seal. Unlike the other seals, so I’ve heard and read from the reports - which I still can’t believe I wasn’t here for.” She smiled and gave a nod, “I wasn’t doubting you, you haven’t done anything invasive so far so I doubt you’ll start just because you gained powers. Sky’s nosiness clearly came from the Calvetti’s side of the family, I won’t deny that. But even though you do allow me take my time, I want to work on.. letting it out earlier and not, eighteen years later because you don’t deserve that. Skylar doesn’t deserve that.”
Keagan rolled her eyes as she inched their way over to the bed until the Paladina finally took a seat herself. “Well, it did take us a lot longer than we would like, but we got here eventually. And I do hope you’re well prepared to make up for all that lost time.” Shaking her head, Keagan took a seat next to the other and waited until the hoodie was off so that she could take a careful look. “Good because it looks fine for now. Let’s try not to agitate it.” Once she relaxed, the wolf wrapped her arms around the other. “Your Paladin powers really kicked in at the most opportune time.”
Luke:
Luke made a face as she said, “Not well. I mean, she’s playing nice, for Hartley’s sake, but I’m almost certain she had Kieran do a digital deep-dive on the whole Waldorf fam…didn’t hear it from me though.” The redhead visibly relaxed almost immediately at the apologetic look. “Yeah, it was kinda fucked up, Cal,” she replied with a flat tone, before smirking at the woman and letting a small chuckle. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I know you and what you meant. He’s just going to be a bit of a sore topic for a while.” She grinned like an idiot at her own pun.
“Sky and I were on the other side of the country for those, but the gang was quick with the details upon our return. If anything, I’m surprised there hasn’t been some immediate magical mishap. Seems to happen every time a seal is broken and pent up Nexus magic is released,” she noted, before immediately looking for wood to knock on. She let out another light laugh and said, “I don’t think that kid realizes just how much she takes after her aunt Lyra sometimes. As for learning to share, I think Sky herself might be the paragon for how best to do that…”
At the what sounded an awful lot like the dropping of a challenge, Luke scoffed and warned, “Careful what you wish for, Calvetti. If I was more than willing and able to make up for any abs all lost time before my powers, just you imagine what I’ll be capable of now.” As they relaxed and settled in, Luke snorted. “Considering how in opportune it was for them to kick in just before Rikke could simply heal me, I’d say we were owed one.”
Keagan:
“It wouldn’t surprise me but if Kieran found dirt, wouldn’t Blake have kept her away from him?” Keagan wondered aloud though she trusted Blake to know what she was doing since her friend and subordinate wouldn’t do anything that would harm Hartley in any shape or form. Though before she could even think further upon it, the small pun from Luke had her groaning. “Okay, okay. We can refrain from talking about him in general since he’s out of our lives now.”
“I could’ve helped if I wasn’t out on my mission.” Keagan didn’t blame anyone for not telling her sooner since she was MIA for a while; she was angry at herself for being MIA. “Not going to lie.. I would have wanted to see those berzerkers.” They have always heard about them but there obviously weren’t that many chance to actually come across one, much less a whole army. Knowing it was dangerous, it didn’t sit well that she couldn’t be here to help especially when the pack was in trouble.
“Lucas…” As if the earlier frown was a tip, Keagan was not appreciating the teasing right now since she couldn’t actually do anything about it. “Still, I”m glad that.. it worked out all in the end.” Now that they were all settled in, Keagan understood the sentiments Lucas felt earlier. Not only that, she couldn’t recall the last time she actually felt as relaxed as she did now. Although she was not known to be the cuddly one, it was still clear as day where Skylar’s got her koala-traits from.
Luke:
"Not that I'm comparing Hartley to a teenager," though she could, "But if I were to tell Skylar to stay away from someone, it would be the most surefire way to guarantee that she wouldn't stay away. Besides, I'm sure Blake is still doing the thing where she doesn't want to make it obvious to Hartley that she's the scary shadow behind Hartley making all the kids run away." Ironic that she was using this analogy now, given that Keagan had been the 'scary shadow' herself at one point. Luke groaned as she admitted, "Not entirely...he's still enmeshed in our lives via the unfortunate detail of being Skylar's legal father so..."
Luke made a mock face of disgust as Keagan expressed her desire to have gotten to see the bezerkers, but didn't manage to hold it for long as her own curiosity got the better of her. "I know right? Like, obviously it was a serious situation, and I by no means would trade Skylar and your guaranteed safety for not having been in town, but d-amn would it have been cool to get to see those suckers in the flesh." The ScareCast existed for a reason, after all.
"What?" she replied innocently, "All I'm saying is that if I was able to not only -uh, what's the best way to put it- oh, keep up with a werewolf and have Skylar exist here now, as a human..." Luke trailed off, not really feeling she need dig her own grave any further now. As Keagan got comfortable, it drew it a low chuckle from the redhead. "So, the last time we shared sleeping space -not counting the hospital or glamping- was when you helped me escape Lyra's 8th birthday sleepover. Teagan had already ditched after cake, but I didn't actually want to go back home so you offered I sleep in your room. You weren't out for any more than like ten minutes when you settled into this exact same position. I spent the whole night awake and stiff as a board thinking you mistook me as a pillow. I thought you'd kill me if you woke up and realized, meanwhile your mom thought it was hilarious when she checked in on everyone later."
Keagan:
"I guess that's a good point.. Well, at the very least, Blake has the rest of us to keep an eye out for Hart in case something does happen. Hendrix would be in a world of hurt if he tries anything." Keagan could sympathise at the reality of always having to involve Richard in their lives solely because of that. "Well, we'll forget about him the best that we can." She offered.
"Oh, no. Of course not." Neither of them would want to risk the safety of Skylar and while Luke also considered her safety, dealing these sorts of things were part of her job and it really disappointed her that she didn't get to participate. "But to think that there was an army of them is a concern on its own.
"Lucas" She repeated though her voice was suddenly lower than it was a moment ago. "You weirdo.. You could have just woken me up." Even if she woke up grumpy, Luke would've been safe and the entire house knew it. "Is that your way of telling me that you're planning to stay awake this time too? Because that would defeat the purpose of having you relax up here." She snorted.
Luke:
“Ooh, wait til she finds out I can be there in the blink of an eye now,” Luke said, with a bit too much of keenness to her tone. “Not gonna lie, it’s going to be very nice not being the token human people worry about or that can’t really help much when push comes to shove,” she admitted. “I don’t know about forgetting…that’s uh…that’s never really been my strong suit,” she chuckled wryly, “Especially when I know that forgetting him can be a dangerous thing to do…” She let out a sigh and said, “I know logically he can’t get to us anymore, it’ll just take time.”
Suddenly looking for a need of a new topic she asked, “Anyway, you did say you’d tell me what got you all worked up last night. Was it something I did or said? I mean, I know I can clearly be a difficult patient.”
Luke simply grinned sheepishly at the tone with which she was full-named. “Last thing I’ll say: I genuinely missed having someone who cared enough to bother reminding me I have limits.” She shrugged as best she could and said, “I knew what a grumpy Keagan was capable of. Wasn’t going to risk miracles not being on my side a second time.” Luke chuckled and said, “No, not quite. I seem to have managed to get some sleep in yesterday well enough, no? I think, more than anything I was just looking back and seeing some of our interactions…I don’t know, through a different lens…I guess? I sound like an idiot.” She laughed in embarrassment.
Keagan:
She did wince a little when Luke reminded her of her promise earlier. Why did she have to mention Richard? With a sigh, she shook her head, "You didn't do anything, it wasn't you. I got a phone call from the prison. Richard.. managed to get someone to allow him a call, and so he called me because he loved getting in the last work."
Just thinking back to it made her blood boil. "He was under the impression that you died and topped it off by saying that Sky should visit him if she missed you which doesn't make sense in the first place." She scoffed, "His words got to me since they hadn't given you the serum and you weren't healing as fast as we liked.. So I went after Col just for some reassurance. "
Keagan couldn't help the dry laugh she let out thinking back to how stupid she was to have fallen for that rick. "I should've known better to trust whatever bullshit that came out of his mouth."
Luke:
Luke immediately tensed the second Keagan mentioned that Richard -who had been arrested just the morning- had already managed to do one of the things that was meant to be the most difficult for a prisoner in maximum security.
The blood in her veins was now pumping so hard and so fast that it drowned out everything else that Keagan managed to say. It created a din in her ears, and she slowly eased herself out of the other woman’s hold and off the bed completely. Her breathing was slow and measured as she walked over to the dresser and placed her hands on the solid wood in an attempt to steady herself.
She closed her eyes, each and every thought of ‘what if?’ flooding her mind all at once and her angry and anxiety both growing with each scenario until- A loud pop caused her eyes to snap open as she was rushed back to the present moment. She turned and looked frantically around, only slowing down once she realized it was the flatscreen above the dresser that had…”Did…this just blow up??”
Keagan:
Keagan was feeling very uneasy with how quiet Luke was being but still chose to observe for now and give the Paladin time to process her thoughts. Though she had seen Luke upset before, the wolf was a bit more protective since the other was still healing from her wound.
What she didn't expect was the flatscreen TV exploding before their eyes. Her eyes widened, almost comically, at the sight. "That's.. " She was so surprised that she was distracted by the commotion downstairs, already hearing people trying to keep Sky from coming up here. "That's new." She also got off the bed and walked over to examine the damage.
"I had no idea Paladins could do that."
Luke:
Luke's gaze remained on the TV as she studied it for a bit. The screen itself was luckily not made of glass, so no projectiles to worry about, but the damage was clear as it looked like a hole had melted right through and smoke still rose from the device as it sparked a bit. Thinking as quickly as she could manage right now, she removed the power cord to stop further sparking and took a few steps back until she felt the footboard hit the back of her legs.
"I...I'm not so sure they can," she admitted, a look somewhere between confusion and concern -maybe even fear- on her face as she continued to look at the ruined TV. "I don't- I don't know...what the hell am I anymore?"
As she pondered her own question, she looked over at Keagan as an idea dawned on her. "The witches," she said, "They should bind my powers until I can figure this out. As it stands, I might as well be a ticking time-bomb. What if- what if you'd been hurt? What if Sky had been hurt? I can't- I can't control these powers. They have- they have to go."
Keagan:
Her arms were already out when she felt that Luke's mind was just going through it. She had no idea in what direction but her priority was to get the other to calm down a bit in case another mishap might happen. "Lucas... Lucas. Hey, it's okay."
Her hands carefully moved towards the other, not wanting to startle her before finally resting on the woman's shoulder. "You're not a ticking time-bomb. You're new at your powers, which I'm sure are Paladin-related." She didn't have enough information to actually guarantee that. "The powers are a new thing, and that's okay. It happens to everyone - well, everyone who's a supe. And from what I know, powers generally have to do with emotions, right?" She offered a smile. "You'll be okay.. How many things have we broken over the years? Plenty."
Luke:
The combination of hearing her full name, and feeling the sensation of reassuring contact on her shoulders, was enough to begin the grounding process. Her eyes were more focused as she looked at Keagan, and her breathing evened out.
As the older woman continued to speak, Luke found herself dropping to sit back on the edge of the bed. She nodded in acknowledgment and understanding, because after all, Keagan was right. She had been there for plenty of her friends as they went through the same growing pains that came with new powers. Hell, she’d helped walk Skylar through her own triggering.
Glancing up at Keagan from her sitting position, an apologetic look took over. “I’m sorry,” she said lowly, before her own arms eased their way around the shorter woman’s waist and Luke pulled her in as she held on tight and buried the side of her face in the woman’s middle. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I just hate feeling like I have no control…it takes me back to a place I don’t want to go…” Her voice was small, but clear.
Keagan:
Easily keeping her arms on the woman's shoulders, Keagan gently brushed her thumb against the back of Luke's neck. "Nothing to be sorry about." She stated without hesitation before giving a soft kiss to the top of Luke's head - the rare times that she could even reach. "That's why you'll be practising with Rikke and the others, and in time, you will overcome that feeling. We're all here with you every step of the way. I'm here with you."
Keagan was going to stay like this for as long as Luke needed her. It seemed that all magic was related to emotions so any angry burst would have resulted in some sort of accident regardless - a certain witch in town could easily confirm that. Even wolves had their issues when it came to adapting to them. In fact, she was surprised at how quickly Tomi handled her senses. Sky had a bit of troubles when hers kicked in.
Luke:
Luke brought the woman impossibly closer, her hands now practically clutching at the fabric of her shirt as she desperately tried to just hold on. She felt as if letting go would leave her like helium balloon out in the open: untethered and directionless.
“I know you’re right,” she said after a brief silence, voice still low and small. “Believe me, I do know it…but there’s always that little voice at the back of my head telling me I’m only good to those I care about if I can be reliable and dependable…and I can’t be that if I don’t know what my emotions might do…and if I can’t be that, what’s my purpose? What’s my role?”
Luke could feel the tracks left by the tears as they began to fall, but she made no move to stop them. “I’m sorry,” she repeated once more. “I know this is hardly what you signed up for…”
Keagan:
As Luke tightened her hold, Keagan wrapped one of her arms around her shoulder while the other kept its consistent strokes. "Feeling unsure about your emotions and how it'll affect your powers does not make you unreliable or less dependable.." She hummed, "You're still the Luke who we all know and love, who I know and love." Because of her position, she couldn't see Luke's face but she could feel her shirt starting to dampen.
"Stop, I keep telling you, there's nothing to apologise for." She smiled, "I've known you for almost all our lives, you really think I don't know what I signed up for?" Leaning back and slightly to the side, she tried to catch a glimpse of the taller woman's face. "I don't think that everyone's got to have a purpose or a role to stay in someone's life. No matter what happens, it doesn't change the fact that you're important to us."
Luke:
The redhead knew it was a rhetorical question, but she still answered it. Albeit with an attempt at chuckle as she said, “I think it’s the fact I’m aware that if anyone has ever bothered to read the fine print that is me, it’s you…” She took a steadying breath before finishing, “…it’s what makes it all the harder to believe you’d still want to stay…I suppose you could say you weren’t the only one who Dicky managed to get to yesterday.” The admission was a hard one to make, but if she asked of Keagan’s trust to be open, it was only right she do the same in turn.
She loosened her hold when she felt the woman pulling back, dropping her hands to the shorter woman’s hips instead. Luke made no effort to hide her face as Keagan made to seek it out. If anyone had seen her even more broken than she felt in this moment, it had been the older woman, after all. The thought made her genuinely chuckle at the memory. “You know, the last time I cried and you comforted me, I ended up getting kicked out of the back of your car.”
Keagan:
Despite the situation, Keagan had to smile at Luke's words. "Why wouldn't I want to stay?" Her hands moved to the woman's cheeks, gently moving so that she could look at her in the eyes. "There's so much to love about you that it's be a shame to miss out on all that. Just look at Sky. She inherited all that from you."
At the trip down memory lane, Keagan looked sheepish for her past actions. "I'm sorry. That wasn't.. my best moment..." She sighed, "I was having... I guess a gay panic...And many other things went through my mind.."
Luke:
Even if Luke had wanted to look away -which admittedly a tiny part of her did- Keagan's hold on her face, gentle as it was, made the choice nonexistent. She looked up at the smile on Keagan's face as her thumbs began to rub where they held. Anxiety already filling her chest, knowing what she said next may very well wipe that beautiful smile off the woman's face...but she really couldn't keep it in. Not now. Not anymore. With a shrug and what she knew would be described as a sad look on her face, Luke simply replied, "Because you've never seemed to have wanted to stay before..."
It was low, and quiet, but Luke knew that she could've mouthed the words and Keagan's hearing would pick it up. She felt guilty immediately after, mentally asking herself what right she felt she had to question the woman, but she couldn't take it back now. And a part of her knew that she'd never know real peace until she addressed it. Face-on. Direct.
Shaking her head slightly she said, "Not all. There are so many fantastic qualities in that kid that I don't even posses now as an adult." Like probably having addressed this years ago instead of in the middle of what had to be the most exhausting weekend of her life. Another shake of her head, and she just said, "It's alright...I don't even know why I brought it up, it's not like it was my best moment either. I really should've known better, and if anything, I should be apologizing to you for having put you in such a position where you felt the only thing you could do was just escape...for uh, lack of a better word."
Keagan:
To say that she felt as if she was slapped in the face would be an understatement. Keagan had stilled when Luke called her out, to bluntly put it, because she wasn't wrong. Keagan was barely home if it weren't for a visit and because of that, she couldn't blame Luke for feeling less than confident about her staying. Was this also how Sky felt too? "Oh Lucas."
Her expression softened and she moved to sit so that she was at eye-level (or close to it) with the other. How should she approach this? "It's not that I never wanted to stay. I did, and I do.." She pursed her lips, knowing that she wasn't at all convincing even though what she felt was true. "But you're right.. I don't have an excuse as to why I didn't. Fear definitely had a lot to do with it, as is guilt." Her thumb automatically brushed against Luke's cheeks. "...And a lot of selfishness.."
She frowned as she thought about the time with the car, "I suppose that had been the start though.. when I started questioning everything I knew about myself, which led me to.. avoid home for a while.. and it just ended up... being the norm. And unfortunately, I had subconsciously decided that 'if it's broken, why fix it?' was the best approach. Which obviously wasn't true."
Luke:
She wanted nothing else than to pump the brakes on this train of conversation and redirect the track elsewhere, because she wasn’t sure they’d make it to their final stop unscathed…but she couldn’t. It was a train that she had left abandoned, only ever adding more carts too it, but always keeping it stationary in a dark corner, and as result the brakes were weathered and shot. There was no stopping it now until it reached the end of the line…
And as Keagan sat down and began trying to explain, it just led to more of the ‘carts’ falling like confessions from her lips. “You were the only person to see me, and you left. You left with no goodbye, and no contact for years- did you even know Richard moved us out to Jersey City for like six months? Because for every letter I sent, I got nothing back and eventually I just stopped…and the whole time I really thought it was all my own fault.
“I didn’t just feel embarrassed to have been left in the rain, I felt I’d managed to do something so wrong that I’d lost the only person who’d ever really got me and who had trusted me enough that I got them too. Things only got more confusing after that night in Rochester…”
Luke took a deep, steadying breath. “You divorced my brother nine years ago, and in that time you went on and had a life -as evidenced by recent visits- but not once did you broach the topic of us…at least not with me…I realize the timing is all wrong, the questions may be too much, but I feel if I don’t say it now, the foundation to our relationship is already cracked and anything we try to build on top of it will be a waste.”
Keagan:
They really should have tackled this topic long before today. However, with Keagan not being one to share much about ... well, anything, they were bound to come to the current situation. The wolf could only look even more apologetic than before. "I know I did.. but it's not your fault, it was mine." All that had happened was her fault if one were to think about it.
"I was scared because you were only sixteen at the time, Luke." She was almost whispering it. "But you're right, I made a mistake - I shouldn't have cut off contact, that wasn't fair to you." She sighed, "I wanted to make things right when i also got my shit together figuring out that I was also gay but that plan went out the window when the JJ and Richard thing happened."
Keagan roughly rubbed her face. A life, she said. She almost scoffed at that, but instead, chose to close her eyes and kept her head down. Somehow, it was doubtful to think that throwing oneself into their careers could be considered a life. "All it really boils down to was me being scared. A lot of time passed since then. I didn't tell you about Sky.. I didn't tell you about why I even married Richard.. I guess, I sorta hoped that.. maybe you would have moved on eventually but you didn't - or rather, you focused on Sky.."
Luke:
Luke listened without interruption; barely even breathing for it would be too loud or be misunderstood as some sigh or other response. She had been waiting for this conversation for so long, that up until Keagan had shown up on her doorstep a fury in jeans and some boots over her daughter -their daughter-, Luke had honestly given up all hope it would ever even happen.
And truth be told, she’d made peace with that. Sometimes in life we weren’t always fortunate enough to get the ‘why’ of it all, and we just had to accept things as they were and move on. But there’s no moving past the lack of answers if they were ever going to try and ride the same track again. Not if they expected things to work out well, for Skylar’s sake if nothing more.
It was the way Keagan went roughly at her own face that finally made Luke move, hands immediately reaching out to take the woman’s in her own and still them. “Thank you,” she managed, as she focused on their joined hands, thumbs smoothing over fair skin. “I-“ her words caught in her throat, so she swallowed as she looked back up and tried again. “All I- all I really wanted to understand was just why… I just got so accustomed to just knowing why you did the things you did, and then- then suddenly everything changed and even now I still feel like I’m having to relearn that kind of communication with you…to re-earn that trust that made it to where I didn’t have to second-guess anything, you know? We went from you just looking at me and me knowing to pass the salt, to deafening silence, to me feeling like sometimes instead of talking with each other, we’re both just desperately trying to solve the riddle that the other had become…”
There was moment of silence as she blinked furiously in an attempt to get rid of the tears blurring her vision. But when she spoke again, it was with resolution. “I don’t want to be a riddle to you anymore, and I really hope to I get to make you feel the same way.”
Keagan:
She shook her face because she didn’t think that what she said really deserved a thank you. This was what she should have told Luke throughout the years instead of waiting until now. She owed this explanation a long time ago and she only regretted that it didn’t happen sooner, which none was the other’s fault. “I would like that very much. This goes very much hand in hand of not wanting to keep anything from you anymore. Because it sucked, a lot.” She chuckled softly as she sat herself closer to the other.
Then she fell into silence, but she didn’t feel that it was an uncomfortable silence until she decided to speak again, “Not that I didn’t already think so but it was really stupid of me to have ran off like that - and rude for kicking you out of the car that night. You were my best friend yet I didn’t think.. just.. talk it out with you like we do with everything else.” That really was the start of their ‘fallout’ and everyone noticed to the point that even Ianthe had a talk with her at one of their family gatherings. “And.. since we’re finally talking everything out now.. was there.. anything else you’d like to know.. Any.. riddle you haven’t solved yet?”
Luke:
When Keagan shifted closer to her, Luke took the opportunity to wrap an arm around small shoulders and pull her in tight to her side. It felt like the instinctive thing to do, though subconsciously it was probably physical representation of just how much Luke was more than willing to have Keagan back in her life. Properly, that is. Even if they were always claiming each other as 'best friend' around the family, they both knew that they hadn't truly gone back to what made them give each other that title in a long time. There had always been something that kept them from doing so. Their own hangups, the situations they found themselves in, etc. But hopefully not anymore.
Luke gave a half-hearted shrug and said, "We were young and both prone to act first and think later. Neither one of us actually expected what happened that night, but yeah, I think maybe answering at least one of my calls or letters would've at least given us a head start on figuring things out. In the end, though, everything happens for a reason, and as difficult as the path has been at times, being here now, with you, with our daughter...I am very hard pressed to say I'd change anything about it."
She leaned over to press a tender kiss to the top of the woman's head as it rested on her shoulder. "I can't really think of anything significant that hasn't been addressed. So, unless you have a few more little secrets you feel the need to share, I think I'm good...that being said, what riddles would the great detective like to have solved for her?"
Keagan:
“I wonder what would’ve happened to JJ if I never got married to Richard? Probably nothing since he never actually killed anyone so Richard had nothing on him.” She wondered aloud. “Do you think.. anything would have changed if I didn’t marry him?” Would the ‘family honeymoon’ have happened? Would Sky have happened? Now that that thought came to mind, Keagan shook her head, “What was I even thinking? It would have changed everything. So even though.. I didn’t like being married to him, I don’t regret it? Because you and I might not have Sky and that’s something I would never want to take away.”
She smiled at the contact, “I.. honestly don’t remember if I do, so I will apologize in advance… As for the ones that had unceremoniously announced themselves, I just… wasn’t in a good place.. and they were the only.. choice.” She frowned at how she phrased it. When she was asked if she had any questions for Luke instead, the first question that came to mind was “So.. Why did you .. barely date? Or rather.. Why didn’t you .. move on?”
Luke:
"I mean, I'd certainly have been less obstinate and unwilling to actually hold a conversation with you, but I suppose it ultimately depends on how much of an affect that had on you. Like, how different were your plans when coming back from the academy prior to learning about what JJ was told he'd done? Did you even plan on returning to Fallcrest at all? These are the things would make the biggest difference," Luke rationalized aloud. Taking a moment to think about what she herself had planned, Luke said, "I'd probably have been long gone from Fallcrest as soon as high school was over, but would've been right back at any chance. This town was the home of the only family I've ever known, both the good and the not-so-good, and if learning about my origins has proven anything to me, it's that I was always meant to find my way here. One way or another."
At her mention of having Sky, she chuckled and said, "Well, I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that if given the same opportunity -be it sooner or later- Skylar would most definitely still be here. Maybe a bit older, more likely a bit younger, but still here....again, if I were given the same opportunity that is. It boils back down to what you had planned for yourself, Cal."
Luke made a slight face at the phrasing, before raising an eyebrow and simply saying, "You and the women in your family have the most interesting default response to dealing with stress..." She'd had plenty of conversations with Teagan to know it was likely a genetic trait. "Glad Skylar has a better grasp on her anger," she said with a whistle.
The paladin had expected the question to come up sooner or later. Almost everyone else and their grandmother had asked some variation of the question already so... "I did make an honest effort, you know. Especially after the, uh, family vacation. At the time, it seemed to have been that final nail in the coffin of any possibility there may have been for you and me…the fact you found out you were pregnant a bit after most certainly served to change my mindset from ‘try to move on’ to ‘you have to move on’, because that baby was the most innocent little thing and I wasn’t about to ruin their chance of a stable home, ya know…”
She let out a slight sigh knowing she just had to cop to the truth and stop procrastinating actually answering the question. “In my head, I had made up my mind that ‘moving on’ didn’t mean finding someone new, it just meant not actively chasing after something that didn’t want to be caught -or so it seemed at the time, not trying to put words in your mouth, don’t come for me Calvetti- so most of my relationships always started with the other persons being far more invested then me. Though, they weren’t usually after any big emotional involvement anyway….” Luke trailed off, the implication being more than enough she felt. “Anyway, it didn’t matter who the other person was, I always found that I had priorities that came before each and every one of them. None of them liked it….and my top priority didn’t like none of them either so…” She laughed at the mere memories of the kid acting as her ‘chaperone’.
Keagan:
With almost a twinkle in her eyes, she narrowed them playfully before she spoke, "I did have plans to return to Fallcrest - I also had plans for a different Benson but like always Richard made it about him." Keagan had been so determined too that year when she returned because she finally thought through it, but Richard screwed that up before she even stepped back into town. "I think that goes for most people.. Even JJ came back despite the circumstances. This place is still home to us." She sighed, "Although I think JJ is already planning to leave already."
She made a face at the opportunity of having Skylar again if things were different. "That would also depend where you would be, Luke. If you weren't around, Sky wouldn't." She chuckled, "If Sky still gets to be here, then she will be just ask spoiled, if not more." Her eyes rolled at the comment about her family. They all had their ways of dealing with stress, Keagan was not... proud of what she had down but that was in the past now. Hopefully none of those choices came back, two of them were enough headaches.
Keagan shook her head, "God, you are too good for that family." And for her too. Lucas was rarely a selfish person and it just broke her heart how often she let someone else's happiness be a priority over herself. "Richard would not have even cared if the roles were swapped." All his actions post-divorce was basically evidence of that. "But on that note, I wish I could erase him from being Sky's legal father."
The older woman fell quiet as she listened to the other speak. She was definitely the last person to judge and it had been years - she was always more surprised that Luke barely saw anyone. The snort she let out when she was told that Skylar basically came between Luke and all her dates. "That kid.." She laughed, "She is half Calvetti after all. We're very protective of our people."
Luke:
Luke’s eyebrow quirked as she asked, “Oh? You ‘had plans’ for a ‘different Benson’? Please, do elaborate, because otherwise it just sounds like you were coming to town to snipe someone…” At the mention of JJ being ready to leave she just said, “We left him alone with Nix, Lyra, and two thirds of the polycule. I’m surprised he didn’t drive back the second the sun came up.” As chaotic as she made their home sound, it was still their home, and it was a chaos she could never be without.
Luke just shrugged and said, “If we happened to coincide in town, which is likely, and you were willing and available, I can almost guarantee there is zero chance that Skylar wouldn’t exist eventually. Her name might not be Skylar -given that you ‘stole’ that from me- and plenty of other variables may be different, but she’d exist.” The determination in her voice was only slightly undermined by the mischievous glint in her eyes at the clear implication. “I mean, I have been told I’m great at helping with stress relief,” she added cheekily.
Luke shrugged and said, “Maybe, but we’re it not for the experiences I lived with them, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Does that mean my entire personality is just a giant trauma response? Ripley seems to think so, but that’s an issue for another day.” The truth of the matter was that up until Richard came to her hospital room, Luke still found it hard to not think of him as her brother. “I know he wouldn’t have, but doing something good for someone else shouldn’t be contingent on whether they would do the same for you or not…otherwise I may never do anything for anyone,” she said the last bit as a tease. “Besides, I was mainly doing it for Sky. I wanted her to have the sense of stability I rarely did, and I am aware I’ve failed miserably a few times -divorce, Seattle, almost dying and whatnot- but overall, I think it’s all been worth it.”
She groaned at the reminder but paused and thought for a moment. “Well, at least she’s eighteen now so, there’s nothing he can actually do with the title…I might have a look at our options though.” Luke outright laughed at the last comment. “Protective? Is that what we’re calling it then? Well, I may just find your old work mate makes me a little protective,” she snarked.
Keagan:
Her eyes rolled, “Please, if I wanted to snipe someone, it most definitely would actually be Richard. But no, my plan was to find you actually - not to kill you. Not sure what exactly I would have done, but it would involve you for sure.” She remembered how determined she was after finally getting her internal struggles sorted out. “My brother most likely did want to leave as early as he could but being the older brother that he is, he probably wanted to be sure that you and I are alright before he head out.”
Keagan rose her brows, almost impressed with that confidence. “You’re that sure about it? Your Paladin powers are just going to kick in whenever?” She grinned, “She will most likely be different if it became any other way… and somehow, I don’t want that. I love Sky as she is.. She wouldn’t really be Sky any other way even if we raised her the same.” Keagan nudged the other at the cheekiness, “Have you forgotten that you’re injured? Lucas Jolene Benson, You’ve been teasing me the whole day, that is a dangerous game.”
Though she had a point, it still didn’t quite sit right with her. “The thing is that you’re always doing something good for someone else and not taking better care of yourself. Always putting yourself before others - I love you for it, but you need to think of yourself so that you don’t worry us along the way. And you’ve already done more than enough to give her a sense of stability that I couldn’t give which is why.. despite all those setbacks, I don’t think those meant that you failed miserably. You were there for her for almost all of that so.. I think you did a pretty good job and keeping your promise to her.”
The Chief Deputy let out a sigh, “I suppose that is the only advantage we have. He can’t do anything if Sky doesn’t want it - and Sky’s pretty adamant on not wanting to have anything to do with him. I should make sure they put extra details on him so he doesn’t slip out being the slippery snake that he is.” She still couldn’t believe someone gave him access to a phone. “Hmm.. I pled the fifth.” She was not going to openly admit that they were a jealous batch of people. It really is from the McIntyre side of the family where that jealousy streak came from. Either Lyra and JJ didn’t get that trait, or they were just less aggro in general.
Luke:
Luke made a face and narrowed her eyes in brief thought before saying, "It honestly would've depended on when you managed to catch me. Because considering what the root of a lot of our row's ended up being for a while there, if I weren't sober when you found me, you'd probably still be inclined to kick my ass and I would not even remotely blame you." Teenage Luke was a nightmare. A well-hidden one, but one that present Luke was very much aware and deeply ashamed of still. She let out scoff in response and said, "I can not believe I was stupid and naive enough to even incidentally have ever put Richard in the same category as JJ, Teagan, Steven, and Brax by calling the guy my brother."
She managed to raise her hands up as she shrugged innocently and simply stated, "Hey, apparently I was born with that particular set already so..." She turned glance down, blue eyes meeting hazel as that almost stubborn certainty came over her features again. "I can't help it if I know deep in my bones, that no matter what circumstances surrounded us, if you and I were to end up in that same position again, there is no way that-" her confidence faltered a bit as she realized just what she was bout to admit to, but she pushed through, "- at least I, wouldn't already be truly, madly, deeply, and irrevocably in love with one Keagan Anna Calvetti."
Feeling some of that confidence spurred by the older woman's 'complaint', Luke just smirked and said, "Well, if you're familiar with my professional career, you should know that those are my favorite types of games...but, you do have a point and it's not fair of me to keep winding you up when there's a likelihood I can't deliver." She made zero effort to hide her own disappointment at the reality of the matter. "I just-" Luke paused, briefly wondering if she should admit this out loud, but figuring this was the kind of relationship they were both claiming to want to cultivate, right? “-I mean, as terrible as this has the potential to sound, I may be intentionally obtuse most of the time, but I’m not entirely oblivious to the effect I can have on some people. Lyra has been making sure I’m aware of it since I hit puberty so…” Luke trailed off with a slight chuckle before leaning forward and bringing her mouth near the wolf’s ear and whispering, “But I will readily confess that there is just something absolutely intoxicating about realizing I might have even a fraction of that effect on you.”
Luke let herself drop back onto the mattress with a dull thud, her feet still very much firmly planted on the floor as she looked up at the ceiling. She groaned again, and said, “I know. Believe me, I know that realistically you can’t always be up for helping others if you don’t take care of yourself first, but I grew up thinking that me specifically being selfish in any way, shape, or form tended to have terrible consequences for the people around me. I’m working on it. Honest.” She propped herself up on her elbows, grinning, and said, “If you and that kid thought I was cool before, just wait. I’m going to make you both fall in love with me all over again.”
The redhead only glanced back over to the ruined television as she said, “Well, if does somehow think -let alone manage- to come anywhere near you or Skylar, he’s in for one hell of a surprise.” At her comment of pleading the fifth, the smile easily returned to her features as she raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh, you plead the fifth? That’s funny, because that’s what I’ll be pleading if Douchewin ever bothers to even breathe in your direction again.”
Keagan:
From the way Luke was phrasing things, it didn't seem that Luke enjoyed just a couple of drinks. While she didn't want to judge, she agreed that she would have definitely kicked her ass back in gear if she were to find the other in such a state. But now that the topic came up, Keagan wondered why no one else kicked her ass on her behalf. Surely their friends knew.. no? "One would think he'd change over the years, but sadly no. Ricky will continue thinking about himself only for the rest of his life.
Keagan wasn't sure what to expect when the other turned to her with eyes filled with such confidence and certainty. Hearing Lucas confess her love for her was definitely not it and it had her almost speechless to how adamant the other seemed to feel when it came to.. her. Her eyes softened along with her smile. It really wasn't a surprise to know that their kid had so much love herself. Keagan reached over so that and pulled the younger woman in for a soft kiss on the lips. "You're that confident about that?" There was no way the mother wolf wouldn't feel happy about hearing that, to know that Luke would be in love with her no matter what. "I guess that makes the two of us - Whether it takes me a bit longer, or earlier to realise it in the end."
Her eyes immediately rolled at Luke's preference of games. "Lyra hits on you literally everyday. Surely that'd be hard to miss." She loved her sister, truly, and the youngest wasn't wrong - Luke had been fair game since they weren't exactly together at the time. "What is it that Sky say? You've got a .. glow up especially when you hit puberty and everyone noticed." It should have been the first clue when she felt so much irritation and annoyance whenever anyone else flirt with the Paladin. It was even more infuriating when the other people knew how much it annoyed her.
Whatever irritation leftover was washed away immediately when Luke decided that it was a good idea to continue teasing her. "Lucas." She muttered, somehow managing to keep herself from blushing. "Think what you will, we shouldn't inflate that ego of yours." She smirked, already seeing the similarities between mother and child.
"I believe you, and we can always work on it together." She offered whilst holding her hand, looking down at the one lying down. "The scar I have should be enough evidence that I too, need help reminding myself sometimes." She pointed out before also laying down next to Luke, slipping her arm over the other. "As attractive as it is to see you so protective, that's enough of Douchewin for the day." She chuckled, "Better things to focus on than him."
