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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 6, 2010 23:33:53 GMT -5
Cian loved his little girl. And his little boy. And his wife. At the moment, he was pushing little Maura in a toddler swing at a local elementary school playground. Being Saturday, the school was obviously empty and Cian didn't want to wander all the way out to Central Park or anything. Maura gave a happy little shriek, patting her hands against the top of the swing-seat. "Higher!" she demanded. "Higher, Daddy!" Cian could only grin and comply, pushing further to give his daughter more altitude. The result was a stream of happy laughter from the littler girl. God, he loved that sound: the happiness of his children. He would do anything to keep that coming. Eyes skipping over to Oliver, he felt a tightness, nervousness, come to his chest. Because he wanted more of this. More children. He just had so much love inside him, it couldn't be contained to just the four members of their family. But... His eyes trailed to Emma. But there was his wife to consider. Because if more kids meant losing her, putting her through hell... Could he do that? He didn't want; wished that wasn't the only possibility. Cian sighed, slacking on his pushing. Maura picked up on that and kicked her feet eagerly. "Daddddddy," she whined. Cian snapped from his short distraction and forced a chuckle. "Sorry, love," he murmured, falling back into duty again.
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Post by Emma Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 0:03:44 GMT -5
This was where she loved to be. Kicking off her shoes, toes entangled in the grass, being with her family under the summer heat. What could possibly be better? It wasn't too hot; the breeze cooled her off if she did start to sweat running after the little ones. She found herself basking in the good energy rather than the strong rays of sunlight, especially when her eyes cast over to the school. Emma wasn't sure if she wanted to send Oliver to this elementary school or to a day-school at the mansions, if they even would do that. Knowing Colette, she'd be entirely flexible, but she didn't want to expand the rules too much. It would be hard giving him up, not seeing him every day. When she met her husband's eyes, however, the feeling fell to a considerably strange low. Putting on a smile for him, she sent him a ritzy, "Keep looking, daddy, maybe I'll bend over." Falling into a round of laughter, she laid back on the grass, Oliver planted on her stomach, who was enthralled with a pulling apart the strands of a blade of grass. He seemed abruptly out of his element, and this time, she added more seriously, "What's bothering you?"
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 0:16:32 GMT -5
"Keep looking, daddy, maybe I'll bend over."
Cian laughed at that and shook his head. "Would you, please?" he joked lamely. He licked his lips, uncomfortable, and tried to shoot her a small grin.
Maura rocked her swing, frustrated. Daddy was just not satisfying her pushing needs. "Out!" she cried, bucking forward and back. "Oll-er!" She pointed to where her brother was, sitting on Momma's stomach. "Mommmma! Oll-er!" She rocked a little more, looking to Daddy expectantly.
"All right, all right," he hummed. Lifting her up, he dropped a kiss to her nose --earning himself a giggle and a "bop"-- and then plopped her on the ground next to Oliver. "Oll-er!" she cried immediately, smiling brightly. "Hiiiii."
"What's bothering you?"
He sighed and shrugged. He didn't want to admit it. Couldn't. He was the one who had been so adament on not having more kids. He couldn't go back on that now, tell her how hard it was getting for him to not try for more kids. Kneeling, he lifted Oliver from Emma and placed him in the grass next to Maura. "Play," he directed gently.
Lying, he nuzzled his head to her stomach, hands dropping to either side of her ribs. "'M okay," he told her rather unconvincingly. His nose ran over her abdomen, hoping to be pet. He was silly, but he wanted her touch.
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Post by Emma Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 0:25:23 GMT -5
"Dirty man," she shot back hotly, the grin still playing on her face provocatively as she bounced her hips to get Oliver out of his dreamland. He started, grass falling to the ground, arms extending forward to keep himself from falling off. She chuckled, and he seemed irked, but only for a moment. Then he smiled too, pointed at her with his eyes to his Daddy.
"Mommy thilly," he informed him. Shortly afterwards, they were joined by the other half of the Lawrence crew, and he was removed from his spot on his mother. Maura seemed eager for conversation, so he conceded. "Hi, Mo," he replied, sitting across from her, eyes trained on hers, to see what she did. She was still so little and so new. Well, not that new. Her birthday was soon, wasn't it? "Joo yike sweengs yike me, too," he reasoned confidently.
Before she had time to react, Cian's face was in her stomach and she scoffed, hand mingling through his hair, fingertips giving his scalp a lazy massage. "You know," she predicted, "you wouldn't make a very good actor." Because actors were liars and that was one thing, if anything, Cian wasn't. "Just an observation."
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 0:34:19 GMT -5
Maura giggled, clapping her hands with excitement at the fact that her brother was interacting with her. "Swings go vrooooooom!" she agreed. "And then whooooooosh, and then vroooooom again!" She liked swings. It felt like she was flying.
Pulling up some grass, she held it in her fist a moment before letting it drop in Oliver's hair. "Su-pwise!" she cried, pretending the grass was some sort of confetti.
---
Cian shrugged at her "just an observation." "Probably not," he agreed, lips moving softly against her shirt and stomach. He let out a pleasurable sigh as her fingers moved over his scalp. "Mmm," he hummed. "Dunno," he answered laconically. "Just...thinking."
Thinking. About how badly he wanted more kids. Wanted more of the feeling he got when he looked at her and Mo and Ollie. But that meant putting Emma in danger. And he couldn't do that. Couldn't risk it. Could he?
Of course not. That's what their whole argument had been over. And that's what they were sticking to. No matter how deep the ache in his stomach sunk. They would find a way to make it work. Some other way.
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Post by Emma Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 0:43:23 GMT -5
"No," he corrected her, shaking his head, "cars go vroom, Mo-Mo. No sweengs. But dey--" They. They, they, they. Mommy and Daddy had been trying to get him to talk right. After all, he was almost five. He scrunched up his face, not wanting to make any more mistakes. "Sweengs go woosh," he agreed under his breath.
He let out a disgruntled cry as she threw grass in his hair. He promptly went about mussing it out, brows pulling together in an angry creature. "Top that! Stop! Stop!" Huffing a sigh, he folded his arms. "No put grass in hair. Dat not where grass goes."
---
A thinking Cian was usually a troubled Cian. Otherwise he'd be all impulse and no thoughts at all. It was the Irish in him, she supposed. Easing gently into the topic, she continued to stroke his hair, hoping it might purr an answer out of him. "Thinking about what?"
Putting one arm behind her head, Emma kept a steady gaze on him. His eyes were busy. Definitely thinking hard. Like when he was composing music. Normally she liked when his mind was hard at work, because he glowed, but when he was at a distance like this, she wanted nothing more than to get him near her and out of his own head.
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 0:57:06 GMT -5
Maura's brows furrowed at his rebukes. Not where grass goes? She put it there though, so clearly grass did go there. "Joo silleee," she deamed finally, patting her hands on his knees. "Joo silleee like LoLo ees silleee!" She giggled then. She liked LoLo. He played with her and made her laugh and smile.
Maura blinked a moment and then shook her head. "Hug!" she cried before leaping toward him, catching him in a hug. That was her newest hobby: surprise hugs.
---
Cian bucked into her touch, enjoying it. He shifted so they were matched better, his hips between her feet, his chest resting on her pelvis, his face still burrowed in her stomach. His arms curled under her back, hands molding over her shoulders. Everything fit together...
Giving a sigh, he knew it wouldn't be fair to her to keep it all to himself. "Kids," he answered softly, sheepishly. "Just...considering everything again." Not reconsidering. Not exactly. More like... "Re-evaluating?" His fingers stroked over the soft skin at her neck.
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Post by Emma Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 1:07:28 GMT -5
He wasn't silly. That idea was silly. He was smart. He knew grass belonged on the ground. How come Mo didn't know that? Just because she was cute didn't mean she knew everything. "I no put grass in hair. So I no thilly. O-tay? So dat's dat."
Whoa! Thrown back, Oliver landed on the ground with Maura on top of him. What was he supposed to do now? "Ouch," he muttered, mouth full of her hair. "Mo!" he cried, the key-changing whine tacked on at the end. "Don'tcha know not ta push people on da ground? Joo wanna hug, I give joo one. Not on ground, thilly."
---
Wait, what? He was still moping over that? He'd promised it wouldn't consume their lives, which included his mind firsthand. "I thought we'd considered everything already," she pointed out with the arching of one eyebrow. Hoping he wasn't second-guessing their decision, she eyed him carefully, as if on her guard, ready for a painful blow.
"Okay. Tell me about it."
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 1:20:13 GMT -5
"Uh-huh," Maura drawled distractedly. Grass in hair was fun. Ollie was sillee if he couldn't see that.
Maura just giggled and shook her head. "No fun if y' ask for da hug! Gotsa be a su-pwise!" Duh! Ollie really was silly. He should know that surprises were the bestest! And surprise hugs... Well, there was just nothing better. "Joo silleee, not Mo." She was smart. And pretty and perfect. That's what Daddy always told her. And Daddy was the smartest person in the whole widest world, so he would know; he knew everything.
------
Cian frowned and tilted his head up, resting his chin on her stomach. Eyes meeting hers, he shrugged. "Well." He struggled a minute, unsure of how to explain it. "Y' know how women are s'pposed to have maternal urges and all? The uncontrollable desire t' procreate?" He paused, looking off to the side a minute and blowing out a sigh. "Guess I'm just gettin' somet'ing of a...paternal urge. M' mind is tellin' me what we agreed on: I'm not riskin' you and all for more kids. But..." He shrugged.
"But, m' heart is tellin' my head t' stuff it; it wants loads more kids." He finally forced his eyes forward again, meeting hers. Slowly, he blinked, unsure of...well, just about everything.
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Post by Emma Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 1:31:52 GMT -5
"Yeah, well," he breathed out defiantly, rubbing his tailbone, "supwises hurt." Mo was no fun. She thought she was the bestest and that wasn't true. He didn't think she was better than him but Daddy always told her she was perfect and yeah, he told him some good stuff, too, but perfect? Well, he'd just have to show her he was good at lots of stuff, too.
"Fine!" He proposed, "Bet I can do dis better than joo!" Reaching forward with a definitive finger, he pushed her nose in, sending her rocking back. "BEEP!"
---
"Y' know how women are s'pposed to have maternal urges and all? The uncontrollable desire t' procreate?"
Emma snorted. "Tell me about it," she reiterated, this time less curious. Any facetiousness you might detect in her voice was purely coincidence, of course.
She knew the struggle he was going through--mostly because she was amidst it, too. Judging by his expression, it was just as serious, as well. His body wanted to have babies, but the body was totally disconnected from his head; she knew the drill. Been there, done that.
"I know how you feel," she allowed softly, sensing the need to touch his hair again and giving in without a squeak of a protest. "How you feel physically and emotionally, and mentally, of course." Pausing, as if giving herself an evenly-spaced beat to process information; word her reaction, Emma traced the lines of his face with her forefinger.
Then she proceeded. "I don't want to pressure you into doing anything or restraining anything. Whatever you think you need or want to do, you should do it."
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 1:45:45 GMT -5
Maura gave a little scream as she fell backward. She held her breath a moment, waiting for anyone else to react. Was she hurt? Was she okay? She froze, waiting. Momma didn't say anything and neither did Daddy... She must be okay.
Falling into giggles, she squirmed and wriggled until she was sitting upright again. "Joo funneh, Oll-er." She bopped his nose softly. "I yike joo as my bruffer." She took him into a much gentler hug. "My bruffer."
-------
Before he could respond, Maura tipped to the ground. He froze, not reacting. If he didn't react, didn't show panic or fear, then neither would she. He would just remain calm and wait and... Maura popped back up a second later, completely fine. Cian let out a little sigh and returned to Emma.
He groaned softly, hiding his face again. Of course she was leaving it up to him. He had two halves, each vying just as strongly from their completely separate, mutually exclusive wants... "Emma..." he trailed off, knowing there was a hint of a whine in his voice.
He moved up her body, fitting his legs between her, his hips over hers, chest just above hers, face... He dropped a slow, leisurely kiss on her lips. "God, I want y' t' have my babies," he murmured, half-sentimental, half-raunchy. He moved his lips to kiss her jawline, behind her ear. He wanted to press a hand to her stomach and feel a baby's kick or hiccup. He wanted to stroke her hair back and feel an indescribeable connection to her because something of him was actually inside her...
But if that meant losing her.... Shite. Jesus Fucking Christ hanging off the cross...
He kissed her lips again. "I want you to have more of my kids."
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Post by Emma Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 1:59:10 GMT -5
Oh, she thought that was funny? Well he liked making her laugh 'cause that meant she liked him. Smiling a small-toothed grin, Oliver touched her nose again, this time softer, just enough to bednd the tip there. Like a button, Daddy said. Cute as a button. He laughed, head hanging back.
"Yah, funny," he agreed absently, shaking his head with his hands over his head, palms on his little cloud of hair. "I yike joo as mah sister," he returned, taking her in his arms, since they were quite varying in size. Mmm. Sister. This was good. He liked this. It wasn't like a Mommy hug or a Daddy hug or even an Uckle Dee hug, but it was good. Nice.
---
Animals. That's what they were and that's what she loved to be. Despite the small children in the vicinity, she pressed up into the kiss, feeling her back arch into his touch and keeping their fronts gingerly brushing against each other. The tension between her hips was a key motivator but not the sole one. She wasn't sure how it was possible to love someone so unconditionally, to never find and irreconcilable difference between them. And because of that she wanted a combination of the two of them inside her. So even though their marriage signified a unity they would finally be one--again--the more of them there were the more she would be satisfied in that single-personality of the two of them.
For the love of God and everything else Holy, he needed to give in. He needed to let go, because she knew she already had. Emma was just waiting for him to say it, to have permission.
And there it was. Smiling, she didn't open her eyes yet, pretending she was in a dream that she could wake up from and still be there. "So I will."
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 13:11:31 GMT -5
Maura giggled happily, cheek squished up against her brothers. "Yay!" she exclaimed. She was glad that Oliver liked her. Sometimes she wasn't so sure. But he said it and she believed him so yay!
Pulling away from him she suddenly decided, "I wanna slide! Slide wiff me!" She tugged on Oliver's hand hoping to urge him toward the slide, standing a few feet from their current location. She liked the slide. It was her second favorite. But she couldn't swing right now because Daddy and Momma were both busy and she would need them to push her. So she would settle for the slide.
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Cian shook his head, mouth still twisted in a frown. "But y' gotta understand Emma... I can't lose you, won't." He pressed his lips to her collarbone, eyes skipping briefly to check on the kids. "I won't do that to Maura and Oliver, y' know."
And it was interesting, with Maura's powers. Because she had brought Emma back to life before, when she was barely an hour old. If only she were older; if only they knew what her power was, exactly, how it worked. Maybe she could heal Emma at every turn the pregnancy took.
But would it be right? To use his daughter like that? Even if it was at the benefit of their family as a whole. He sighed softly. "How long did y' want t' wait?" he asked, curious. How much time between Maura and the next little Lawrence. Because if it was enough... Maybe Maura would be old enough...
He rubbed a hand over his face. God, he was a terrible father.
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Post by Emma Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 19:42:32 GMT -5
She was happy that he was happy so that was okay with him. Joining her, Oliver nodded eagerly, giving her a little push up the ladder to the slide. "Go, go, I wanna go next," he encouraged, trying not to be impatient. He shuffled on his feet, waiting to see her go down the slide so he could have his turn. He liked to think he taught her how to go down the slide. After all, he had been part of her first ever playground adventure months ago. That was when she was really tiny.
"Ready?" he checked, at the top of the slide with her. "Set--GO!"
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"I understand. I have understood," she assured him, hands steady on his arms, feeling her body sink into the grass a little further, like the earth was glad to grab hold of her and take her in, husband included. "Of course not. I won't do anything like that. That's why I'm saying we should get this medically worked out beforehand. If it's medically-related at all. We don't even know the real source." Perhaps her mutant-fortitude wasn't as strong as other mutants' so the babies were putting more pressure on her body. Whatever the case, it needed to be identified.
Mouth shifting, she lifted and dropped one shoulder in a lazy shrug. "A little while longer. I want more time to get to know her. And I don't want to drop the bomb on Oliver again so soon. Don't want a repeat of last time." Of course, last time they'd been inexperienced and caught up in the moment. Now they knew what to watch out for and what kind of precautions to take.
"But not too long, either," she compensated, reasoning out time. "Too much of an age gap might mean Oliver's too old to really...accept it." She wasn't worried about Maura. The little girl was happy with everything, why wouldn't she be happy to not be the youngest?
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 7, 2010 20:23:56 GMT -5
Maura teleported to the top of the slide, too excited to climb the rungs normally. At Oliver's urging, she sat hurriedly and pushed off. She let out a happy call as she streaked down the short plastic length. "Wheeeeeeee!" She plopped to the ground, doing a little tumble from the excess momentum.
Giggling, she stood, putting her hands to either side of her head to help stop the dizziness. Vision straightening out, she clapped and moved back to a proper distance. "Joo turn, Oll-er! Joo go!"
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He nodded, agreeing, knowing it was the only way; the right way. He didn't know why it was suddenly so important to have another child. Maybe it was the fact that it wasn't the end of the world. Maybe it was just that Essence was having one and he wanted another baby. Either way it was something he couldn't control.
"Yeah," Cian agreed, giving it some real thought. Couldn't wait so long that Maura and Oliver would have no interest at all in their siblings. But he did want more time with just Maura and Oliver, that was for sure. He pressed a kiss to her lips, dropping from his hands to his elbows so his body was just barely hovering over hers.
"Maybe a year?" he offered, thinking that good. Maura would just be two in a year and Oliver would be halfway through five. Nine months added on to that would be an all right time to have another one...
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Post by Emma Lawrence on Mar 14, 2010 13:23:03 GMT -5
Plummeting down the slide after her, he tried grabbing the sides to slow himself, but they burned from the friction and the speed. As a result, he went tumbling into the sand at the bottom, ending up being caked in it. He shook his head like a dog, trying to brush off his clothes. He thought maybe about whimpering a little, but Mo could do it, so he could, too.
"Dat was fun!" he proclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "Go 'gen!"
---
While a year seemed like a long time, it was right for the sake of the kids. That way Oliver wouldn't be too old, and Maura could be somewhat self-sufficient. That thought made her turn her head to check on them and she saw both of them roll to the ground from the slide. "Careful, guys," she called to them worrilessly. ((word? lol))
Cian summoned her attention by just being there, and she let go of a sound breath. "A year sounds good," she agreed. Bending to support her weight on her forearms, she added, "And what are we going to do if it takes a turn for the worst?" She didn't like to think about it, but there it was. The subject needed to be discussed, and was, frankly, inevitable. "I highly doubt we're going to find someone who's a deficient mutant pregnancy professional. Hate to make it sound that way, but," she gave a shrug, "that's how it seems to be."
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Post by Maura Lawrence on Mar 14, 2010 14:11:00 GMT -5
Maura beamed up at her brother as he landed in front of her. "Yay!" She was all set to "go 'gen" when something made her look over to where her mother and father were. Momma and Daddy seemed to be having a very engaging conversation. A conversation that probably shouldn't be interrupted. But Maura didn't really register all of that. She just saw her Momma and her Daddy together and she wanted to be with them too. "C'mere, Oll-er. Le's go see Momma an' Daddy!" She set off in a little-girl cantor at that, eager to meet with her parents.
Upon arrived at them, she pulled herself up onto Daddy's shoulders. "Hiya, Daddy!" she called gleefully, face full of happiness. "Me and Ollie went down the slide and it was like 'whoooosh!'" She held out her arms at her sides, cheeks puffing out with the effort of the "whoooosh." At the end of it all, she giggled softly and patted her hands on Daddy's back.
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 14, 2010 14:50:16 GMT -5
"A year sounds good."
And a year it would be then. Good, at least they had that resolved. A year to work through the logistics. Cian let out a soft breath, nodding.
"And what are we going to do if it takes a turn for the worst? I highly doubt we're going to find someone who's a deficient mutant pregnancy professional. Hate to make it sound that way, but," she gave a shrug, "that's how it seems to be."
Cian's lips pursed as she spoke. He let out a thick sigh and nodded, aware of the reality. "Yeah, I know," he agreed. He was about to go on further when his daughter's voice interrupted his thoughts. She was on top of him in a second and babbling on happily about the slide with Oliver. Cian's face broke into a smile as he rolled over, off of Emma to lay on his back at her side, Maura hefting above him.
"'Whooosh,' eh?" he repeated to the little girl. "Sounds like loads of fun, Maura-mine." He brought his daughter closer, ticking her sides. She squealed with delight and squirmed, trying to evade his attacks. Looking over to Emma, he met her eyes and knew. Knew he couldn't get much further without more of this, more time with more kids...
Sighing softly, he held the no-longer-fidgeting girl to his chest, resting her there. "We'll figure it," he said, taking Emma's hand in one of his. It wasn't something to think of now, maybe. They had their family as it was now and that was good enough, at the moment.
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Post by Oliver on Mar 14, 2010 15:05:06 GMT -5
Just as he was about to scoot back up the ladder to the slide, Maura was off and running somewhere else. Gathering her comment about going to see Mommy and Daddy, he sighed, running after her, though his feet lagged some. He didn't like always following her, but she always came up with the new ideas, and if she wanted to play with him like she said, then he had to follow.
Oliver stopped dead in his tracks and she toppled onto Daddy, who seemed to enjoy her presence very much. Deciding that he would wait before vying for Daddy's attention, he sat down right where he was, starting to pick up a few fingernail-sized pebbles and tossing them aimlessly.
This could get very boring very fast.
---
Realizing that she'd troubled him with her comment, she shook her head, trying to recover as quickly as possible. "I mean, that's not to say it has to be decided now, just--" Emma was cut off by the high-pitched squeal of their daughter. Didn't matter. She'd found the sound was caught in her throat, anyway. Nothing good would have come trying to cover up her mistake. Maura flung herself onto Cian, resulting in a sigh from the mother as she was sandwiched underneath them. Cian rolled off, giving her her ribcage back, but now she felt a little lonely.
Oliver didn't seem to be in the same cuddling mood as his sister, so Emma was left to watch the father and daughter so clearly enjoy each other's company.
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Post by Cian Lawrence on Mar 15, 2010 12:59:35 GMT -5
Cian settled Maura on her feet on the ground next to him and rolled his shoulders a little bit. Propping himself, he caught onto the slight discomfort Oliver was feeling. He didn't have to be an empath for it, just a father. "What about you, lad? Did you have fun on the slide as well?"
Cian dropped what was meant to be a quick kiss to Emma's lips but ended up lingering over it a little. Pulling away, he set his eyes back to Oliver, giving him his full attention.
Sensing Daddy was wrapped up in Oll-er, Maura set her sights on her Momma. "Momma!" she called, giggling a little. She tottered a little before falling to sit on her bottom next to Emma. "Momma, Oll-er saided that he yike me as his sissy." She wore a happy smile, obviously delighted by her brother's opinion of her. "And I yike him as my bruffer."
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