How Green Becomes Wood

"I'm probably the least embarrassing option and I'm not even one," Daizi chuckled, although neither she nor Dark really wanted to be in the room, "aware enough to know if you fall yet unable to see anything."

"You need to go lie down," Dark said, ushering Daizi towards the stairs, and she fussed a bit but obliged. He took a few steps forward to watch her trudge up the stairs, and then as he turned back to the twins saw into the kitchen and swore under his breath. The sandwich and glass of lemonade he had set out for Xander was still on the counter, forgotten, "Do you need help going upstairs, Alec?" He asked, entirely prepared to carry him
 
"Don't worry, I got him," Xander assured him. "Thanks."

Alec meekly submitted to Xander half-carrying him up the stairs and into the bathroom. Both of them hesitated in their doorway. Both of them remembered what had happened only a few hours previously. Then Xander steeled himself and led the way. What followed was a little awkward at first, but Alec was too wobbly to really object, and Xander did his best not to make a big deal about it. They'd seen each other naked before - they were twins from the poor side of town, after all - but one had never had to actually help the other wash. Alec ended up sitting in the tub while Xander helped scrub every bit of hospital scent off of him.

Meanwhile, Dark's phone rang. An unknown number.
 
Again, Dark swore hearing the sound, and he truly considered allowing it to go to voicemail after the day they had, it was probably just a spam call anyway, but he leaned against the wall and in a tired, uninterested voice said, "Hello? Who is calling?"

Meanwhile, upstairs, Daizi changed out of her work clothes and into her pajamas before flopping onto her massive bed, still thinking about her fort and having the entire family there, "It's just us now, habibti," she sighed, and then rolled awkwardly into a sitting position, and pulled her shirt up, and taking her lotion from the bedside table, began to moisturize her belly, because it was good for her, but she also found it very soothing. It really was just self care, after all, but self care that made her feel connected with her little one.
 
"Hello, Mr. Dark?" came a gruff voice. "This is Lance Constable from CPS. This is a really rough time for you, and I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but I just have one question and I'm out of your hair. The boy's bio dad, Declan Walsh, right? Do you know if he paid any kind of child support?"

Alec changed into his fluffiest, comfiest pajamas even though it still wasn't even close to bedtime. He sat on the edge of the bed with Xander, side by side, but not holding hands. They didn't talk, just sat, feeling each other's presence.
 
"Hello. No, sorry. Hello," Dark sighed, trying to pull his thoughts back together, "Yes--I mean, yes, his name is Declan Walsh. And, no, as far as I am aware, he never did. He always said he forgot about them entirely, he did not even know until recently he had twins. But his name is on the birth certificate, I checked awhile ago. Why do you ask?"

Daizi sat alone, but not technically alone, in her bed for a little while, but she wasn't content. After lotioning, she set the bottle back on her nightstand, rolled down her shirt, and went to knock on the twins' door, "Hey..." She murmured, "I don't know if this is weird, but... Would you like to come lie in my bed with me? I've got those curtains on the bed, Dark says when you close them it feels very safe."
 
There was a bit of a pause with the sound of a scribbling pencil. "Well, sir, as it stands, the boys could sue him for back payments on the support he was legally bound to pay. With their history, any judge I know would agree they're owed. It's completely up to you how you go forward with this information, and you can think about it later, but I wanted you to know that it is an option."

"Lay in bed with you?" Xander repeated, disconcerted.

"Curtains? Like a tent?" Alec asked. "That sounds really cozy. Are you sure?"
 
"Okay. Thank you. Is there anything else you need?" Dark asked, hoping desperately the answer would be no.

Daizi shrugged, leaning against the doorframe, "Only if you'd like to. I promise it's a bigger bed than what you're expecting. I just thought I'd offer...It's nice to stick together on days like this."
 
"Nope. You take care of those kids and don't forget about yourself. If you need anything, you can reach me at this number. Good luck, Mr. Dark."

Alec hesitated only a second before nodding. "Yes, I'd like that. I'd like that a lot." He looked at Xander. And offered his hand.

Xander took the offered hand. "Yeah, alright, a tent sounds nice." He stood and helped Alec up, letting Daizi lead the way to the bedroom.
 
"Thank you." Dark replied before making his goodbyes. Then he went into the kitchen to pack away the lunch he had made Xander. He paused at the open refrigerator and then whistled for Enkidu. The dog came galloping over, and Dark tossed him a piece of turkey, and in Arabic said, "Good boy." After a moment, he picked up his dog like he weighed nothing, so he could really hug him close and give him the snuggles he deserved, and Enkidu just wagged his tail, resting both paws and his head on Dark's shoulder.

Daizi held her bedroom door open for them. The curtains to the bed were drawn back, making it easy to drop onto the crimson duvet. The whole bedroom, somehow more than any other room in the house, seemed perfectly representative of the people Dark and Daizi were, all the way down to the crown moulding. Since it was a place really just designed for the two of them to see, it had fully committed. It smelled like the perfect mixture of Daizi's incense, Dark's cedarwood, and their combined spice. It felt, deeply, like a place constructed from love, and the energy was enveloping. This was a safe, protected sanctuary.

Daizi helped Alec into the massive bed, before crawling in it herself, "I told you," she replied, rolling onto her side rather than using the effort to sit up, "It's a big bed."
 
Alec heaved a sigh of relief and put his back to Daizi, inching over until they were snuggled up together. Xander followed, climbing up and half rolling over until he was up against his brother.

"He's right. This place is very cozy," Alec smiled. He wrapped his arms around Xander.

"Yeah, not half bad," Xander agreed.

The pair nestled together like a pair of kittens, and in seconds, Alec was sound asleep. Xander didn't follow immediately. He lay listening to Alec breathe, letting the comfort of the bed and Daizi surround him.
 
With Alec so close, the gently stroked his hair, and then, when they seemed settled, she sat up and pulled the curtains closed, blocking out the light. Then she settled back down, on her side, because it was the only position left to her. But she fished out one of the pillows and tucked it beneath her belly, which worked wonders. Once everyone seemed comfortable, she realized she couldn't go to sleep even as tired as she was, because her boys were there. All of her children were there. No, she couldn't sleep until they did. There were no dangers outside the curtain, outside the room, not really, but she wanted to protect them. It was impossible to fit both twins in her arms, but she tried, and like Dark did earlier, she hummed a lullaby. They were safe and loved, she she wasn't going to sleep until she was sure they knew that.
 
Mostly asleep, Alec heard the lullaby and gave a quiet sigh, relaxing fully for the first time in weeks. It was safe. It was finally safe. He burrowed down into the blankets, drifting deeper asleep.

Xander stroked Alec's shoulder lightly, barely able to keep his own eyes open. He reached out over Alec and brushed Daizi's arm lightly. Then he gave into the soothing sound of the lullaby and the gentle tug of the bed and allowed himself to drift off to sleep. Everything was going to be okay. It wasn't okay right now, not right now, but it would be. Eventually.
 
Dark came upstairs not long after, Enkidu trotting at his heels. Since the bed curtains were closed, he presumed it was only Daizi in bed, and so, exhausted as the rest of the house, changed into comfortable clothes and murmuring something in Arabic, came around to her side of the bed, and drawing back the curtain, blinked in surprise. Then he bent down and ran his fingers down Daizi's arm to let her know he was there, and she swiveled to face him, having not yet fallen completely asleep. They kissed, and then he adjusted the blankets before closing the curtain and going to his side of the bed. From his bedside table, he pulled out his sketchbook, and sitting at the back corner of the bed, so not to disturb them, and leaving the curtain drawn just enough so he could see, sketched the family scene. He didn't want to forget it. Once it was drawn enough that he knew he could finish it without needing to physically look at the scene, he put it away, and after inviting Enkidu up to the foot of the bed, since he may as well be there too, closed the curtain and lay down next to Xander.

He wondered briefly if it was smart to lay beside him, because he didn't want Xander to be startled when he awoke to find a grown man behind him, but, well, it was his bed in the first place, and there wasn't space for him on Daizi's side. So he settled in, and reached across the twins so he could hold his wife's hand. Once he was there, Daizi allowed herself to fall asleep, and not too long after, he drifted off too.
 
Xander had no idea how long it was until he woke up. Blearily, he blinked at the darkness, wondering if he'd slept until the middle of the night. Alec squirmed against him, mumbling something in his sleep before settling down again, his breathing even and Deep. Xander could just make out Daizi's shape on the other side of Alec. She seemed to be asleep from here, though it was hard to tell for certain. He started to roll over only to meet resistance. For just a fraction of a second, he panicked, tension ratcheting through his body. Realization trotted along at the heels of tension, and he recognized Dark. Oh. Right. Daizi on one side, Dark on the other. It made sense. He stretched carefully and let himself settle onto his back, wedged up close to Alec with Dark's arm over him. He felt like this should weird him out a lot more, but right now, he was just happy to be here. To be allowed to be here. He would have gotten up but didn't want to wake anyone. His mind started creeping down "what if" paths, but he firmly brought it to heel. That hadn't happened. He was here now, a part of the family, and that was that. So he lay on the bed and let his mind drift to the future instead of the past.
 
Dark woke up in the early hours of the morning, a bit stiff because he wasn't used to the position he had adopted that night, and he knew his nearly 40 year-old self was going to punish him for so wildly throwing off his sleep schedule, but it deemed worth it. Daizi was crawling back into the bed as he sat up. A leg cramp had woken her up awhile ago, and then the baby kicking made it impossible to go back to sleep after the cramp subsided, and basically she knew there was no going back to sleep, but at least she could still lie in bed until it was a more reasonable hour.

"Sabah el kheir," Dark whispered. He was glad that even with so many more people in his bed, Daizi's was still the first face he saw in the morning. When she learned he was awake too, she climbed back out of bed and went over to his side to greet him, and decided it was easier to just start the day then, rather than putting it off. It felt a little bit strange to bring the twins breakfast in their bed but, well. They deserved an easy and loving start.

Daizi took the rest of the week off from work, or, more accurately, Daizi took Thursday off, and then her boss demanded she take Friday off too, because after everything that had happened--her boss firmly believed there were more important places to be. Dark told Cooger, who at some point stopped by, and Daizi told Sally. Sloan didn't ask questions about what had happened, but she lived across the street and had seen her friend being loaded into an ambulance, and so stopped by with a basket of muffins she baked.

The weekend rolled around, and at least in some ways, the air felt easier to breathe. Saturday morning, Daizi had come downstairs and said, before anything else, "20 weeks and 6 days, I am officially more pregnant than I have ever been." That afternoon, Dark brought Enkidu out in the backyard and was playing fetch with him, while Daizi was knelt at her ripened current berry bush with a basket, going through the monotonous task of plucking them.
 
Xander knelt next to her picking berries and alternating between complaining about the prickers and sneaking the occasional berry. He actually didn't mind the task all that much. It was kind of nice to do something quiet after the last few wild weeks.

Alec sat in the shade with his sketchpad, but he hadn't done much. He had a few rather lopsided starts of Enkidu and Dark, something that looked like a berry bush possibly growing people, and a few cloud scribbles, but nothing defined. He tried to take heart in the fact that he'd at least gotten it out.

Inside, the doorbell rang.

"Front door!" Alec called to Dark, figuring it was most likely for him, though he did put aside his pad and get up to go answer if Dark wanted him to.
 
Dark thanked Alec for letting him know, and threw the ball for Enkidu before going inside. He knew Ciara was supposed to drop off some of Tara's things, so he somewhat expected her, but after their recent upheavals, anytime someone called or knocked at the door he felt a sense of dread. Hopefully it would just be a pair of missionaries, although considering their door knocker was a goat's head, that would probably be a difficult enough conversation on its own.

But, he opened it, and in a friendly--or, at least, friendly for him--sort of way said, "Hello, Ciara. How are you?" After everything with Declan, he wanted, somewhat, to be frustrated with her, since she was involved in bringing him there, but he couldn't do it. He remembered too vividly the sound of her sobbing on the phone, and she had never been difficult with them.
 
Ciara stood on the stoop in her normal stiff manner. She had her red hair pulled back in a bun, and today's suit of choice was navy blue with a white shirt and a red kerchief for a splash of color. She didn't look comfortable being there, or perhaps it was just the large box she held awkwardly. "Good afternoon, Mr. Dark," she greeted him. "I am doing well. I have the things I found of my late sister's." She held it out.

Alec came up behind Dark but hung back. "Are you going to come in?" he asked quietly. "It's warm today, and we redheads burn easily.."
 
Dark took it, and had been reaching for it before it was offered, because he could tell it'd be easier for him to hold than it was for her, "Thank you," He glanced back and gave an encouraging nod, "Ciara, this is Alec, he is the younger of the two. You are... welcome to come in, if you would like, but you do not have to. My wife and Xander are in the garden."
 
Ciara froze, staring in at Alec. Her lips pursed like she smelled something unpleasant. "I would not want to intrude. I really should be going."

"Wait." Alec stepped forward, still staying behind Ciara. "Why do you need to leave?" he asked, his voice soft and quiet. "What is it about us that makes everyone in our blood family want to leave us? Is it our fault? Are we faulty somehow?"

For just a fraction of an instant, the veneer on Ciara's expression cracked, showing a flash of grief. Then Ciara drew herself up, the cool facade firmly back in place. "Did someone tell you that it was your fault? Poppycock. It is most assuredly not your fault," she said brusquely. "How could it possibly be your fault, child?"

"Then... why don't you even want to meet us?" Alec asked.

Ciara hesitated. "Well. I suppose I could spare a little time. Just a few minutes. If I am not imposing."

Alec's face broke into a smile. "I'll go get Xander and Daizi!" He turned and hurried to the back. "Xander, Daizi, would you come in? Ciara is here for a visit."

Xander groaned and grumbled but stood. "More people. Lovely." He reached out to help Daizi up.

Ciara stepped in awkwardly and gingerly tapped the salt. She started to step forward and then paused. "Ah. You prefer no shoes in the house, correct?" She looked at the floors, reluctant to remove her shoes.
 
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