[ussbansheec] "A Man's Reputation."
- From: "Moria McEntire" <bansheec@xxxxxxx>
- To: <ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 22:35:42 -0400
"A Man's Reputation."
Braddocks and Munroes
Watching his wife from the doorway, Logan couldn't help but smirk. She was
setting out a late afternoon lunch on the patio and was wearing the most
beautiful smile. He knew that when her vibrant blue eyes sparkled that way
it was because of the kids. The woman had been a princess, a Goddess, a
superhero, and yet if asked what her greatest role in life was she'd answer
without hesitation, being a mother, and now it would appear a grandmother.
"You are staring at me." Ororo stated as she finished putting the child size
plates on the table.
"Damn right I am, woman." Logan replied gruffly, still smirking. "What's all
the hub-bub, about, bub?"
"The girls are bringing the children over." The tall white haired woman
replied.
Logan looked at her a moment then blinked. "Both of 'em?"
Ororo nodded, Logan went to hide.
"Is Uncle Logan going to be here?" Beatrice asked as she bounced beside her
aunts.
"Yes, princess," Betsy said simply.
"And Briar?"
"Yes, princess."
"And Auntie Ororo?"
"Yes, princess."
"And Aunties Emma and Alexandria?"
"For a little while, yes, princess." Betsy bit back a sigh when she saw
the little girl open her mouth to ask yet another question. She swore the
kid was going to end up either a detective or a bloody courtroom lawyer at
this rate. "Then Aunties Laura, Alexandria, Emma and myself are all going
to the theatre. You can play with Uncle Logan and Auntie Ororo." ~~Because
Logan just adores his little niece~~ she almost laughed to Laura.
Laura snorted. ~~I don't think anyone's ever asked him so many questions.~~
"Try and go easy on the old man, BB, and try to stick close to Briar. It's
her first time to the mansion." ~~Because Emma's way to damn over protective
of that poor kid.~~
~~Do you blame her? The child is permanently petrified~~ Betsy rolled her
eyes as she recalled the first meeting between herself and the poor child.
Briar had spent the entire time hidden behind either Emma or Alexandria and
refused to go anywhere near Laura at all.
"Is Briar going to hide the entire time we're here? Because I want to play
hide and seek and it's really really really hard to play hide and seek if
the other person can hide so well," Beatrice mused, skipping a little.
"It's really really really really really really hard..."
"Unless of course you can sniff the person out." Ororo cut in with a bright
smile. "Which is why Alexandria and the other children hated playing hide
and seek with Logan."
"Auntie Ororo!" Beatrice beamed, letting go of Betsy's hand and bulletting
toward the other woman.
With gentle ease the tall African swooped the girl up and cuddled her.
"Hello my girl."
Beatrice giggled, hugging her strange aunt tightly. "Is Uncle Logan here?"
~~Oh God, here she goes again~~ Betsy groaned, putting her arm around
Laura.
Briar's grip on Emma's hand was verging on painful and she kept hiding
behind her, peeking around like a mouse. "I want to go home," she whispered
desperately.
"I thought you wanted to see the gardens?" Alexandria asked as they
approached the house. "I know my mom's been looking forward to meeting you
and showing your around."
Emma tried really hard not to flinch at the little's one grip. "There will
be very few people in the main residence. Everyone has made plans for the
long weekend. Besides, Beatrice will be there."
Briar brightened only fractionally at the thought of her friend being there
but she held even tighter to Emma. "Please don't leave me here. You won't
come back..."
Emma stopped and crouched down so she could look into the little girl's
eyes. "Briar, Alexandria and I promise you we will come back. We're only
going out for the evening. We will even wake you when we come in if you'd
like."
"The sad lady said she'd come back too," Briar whispered. "I don't want to
stay here. Please don't make me. I left Sabrina behind," she cried softly.
"And Wiffunpuff. I left them behind."
Emma took her daughter into her arms and held her tightly.
"Baby," Alexandria said softly. "if you'd like we can go up to my old room.
I've got some friends up there who could keep you company."
Briar nodded as she buried her head in Emma's arms, sniffing softly. "If...
If I have to stay, can I go home to pick up Sabrina and Wiffunpuff?"
"You're only going to be here for a couple hours, baby." Alexandria replied
as she reached out and brushed tears from the child's cheeks. "As soon as
Emma and I get back we'll go home so you can sleep in your own bed, ok?"
Nodding again, Briar kept a hold of Emma, wishing she could just go with
them. She hated when either of her mothers left her sight, it scared her so
much. What if something happened and she was forced to go back to the
orphanage? What if they died and there was no one left who wanted to take
care of her? Just thinking about it made Briar start sniffing again.
"Uncle Logan is most likely playing with his toys in the garage." Ororo
replied as she sat the girl on her feet.
Laura frowned at the sniffing she was hearing in the distance. "BB, Briar's
coming."
"Is she sad already?" Beatrice asked when she saw her aunt frown. "She
always get sad," she informed Auntie Ororo. "Either scared or sad."
Ororo nodded. Alexandria had told her a great deal about her new
granddaughter and it was taking all her control to keep from looking for the
people who'd been so cruel. "Perhaps you should ask if she'd like a
popsicle, Beatrice. I've just restocked the freezer."
"You have cola flavoured? I love cola flavoured! Briar likes the blue
raspberry ones because she says she knows they're fake. She won't eat real
vegetables or meat or anything," the little girl informed them all as if she
was an expert on it. "She says living things should be allowed to stay
living."
Briar peered at her friend then up at the woman who had to be her mother
Alexandria's mother. "BB?" she whispered, her tears still falling.
"Hey, want to have a blue popsicle?" Beatrice beamed, bouncing over and
taking her friend's hand, tugging on it.
Briar just nodded, allowing herself to be pulled away but shooting scared
glances at her mothers as she was.
"This was a bad idea." Emma sighed once the girls were out of sight. "She
isn't ready."
Alexandria put her hand on Emma's shoulder. "She needs to adjust, Em. When
she's old enough we'll need to move back here so she can attended the
school."
The blonde huffed.
"She will be fine, Emma." Ororo said. "It is never ease to leave your child
for the first time."
Alexandria laughed. "Pop had to carry her out of the house."
"I'm glad I wasn't the only one," Betsy grinned, winking at Laura. "I've
become quite attached to me niece since James left."
"So it would seem has Briar." Ororo smiled as she glanced at the door.
Figuring everyone was still outside Logon slipped into the kitchen for
coffee. When he saw the little ones trying to reach the freezer he asked,
"Need a hand short stuff?"
Briar froze, her eyes flying wide as she backed away. "Who..."
"I can't reach the popsicles, Uncle Logan," Beatrice huffed then glanced at
her friend. "Oh. This is Uncle Logan. He's got really pointy hair."
"Scary pointy man," Briar whispered in a tiny, scared voice.
Logan looked at the kid and raised a brow. "It's ok kid, I ain't gonna hurt
you."
Briar shook her head and started to shake. "Scary pointy man..."
"He's not scary," Beatrice giggled. "He's all hairy and short."
"Thanks for the reminder, kid." Logan gruffed as he reached into the freezer
for the popsicles. He pulled out a cola and a blue one then held them out to
the girls.
Emma suddenly stopped talking and headed for the kitchen.
Beatrice took hers then smiled sweetly at Logan as she asked, "Could you cut
it open for me?" But Briar refused to move any closer to the scary pointy
man.
"Kindly use a pair of scissors to do so, Logan." Emma warned as she came
closer to her daughter.
Normally he'd have used a claw cause the kid got a kick out of it, but the
new kid looked like a rabbit staring down a bloodhound. Grabbing the kitchen
scissors he cut the tops off both.
"This is Alexandria's father." Emma explained to Briar.
"Wh... what else would he use except scissors?" Briar asked tentatively, her
eyes still fixed on Logan.
"He's got claws!" Beatrice grinned. "They're really cool."
Logan grinned. "Yeah but you're use to 'em cause Laura's got 'em too. No
need to scary the new one any more then she is."
"But they're cool!" Beatrice giggled, sucking on her popsicle and holding
the other out for Briar.
It meant moving closer to the scary pointy man so Briar shook her head and
hid behind Emma. "Take me home," she whispered. "I want Wiffunpuff."
"He's a womble," Beatrice explained to Logan. "Do you know what a womble
is, Uncle?"
"A little girl's best friend." Logan answered. "Want me to see if the Elf
will pop over and get it, Frosty?"
Emma rolled her eyes, took the popsicle from Beatrice and handed it to
Briar. "Would you like that, darling?"
"There's no such thing as elves, they're Vulcans and Romulans. It's really
really really really really offensive to call them elves," Beatrice told
Logan haughtily.
"Will he hurt him?" Briar sniffed, taking the popsicle and holding it as if
it was some kind of precious gem. "Mother, please take me home."
"Kurt ain't either one of those, he's a human, just a blue fuzzy human with
a tail. It's a nickname." Logan explained to Beatrice before looking at
Briar. "And he'd never hurt a womble."
"Why don't we have Kurt get Wiffunpuff and Sabrina and see how we all feel
after lunch." Emma said kindly. "Ororo's still waiting to show you her
gardens and greenhouses."
"And the scary pointy man stays right here," Briar asked, fixing her strange
green eyes on him.
Emma actually laughed. "Scary pointy man? Oh my darling that's absolutely
perfect."
One corner of Briar's mouth twitched in a smile but she still stared at
Logan as if he was about to turn into a bogeyman. "It's his hair," she
whispered in explanation.
"It's really really really really really pointy," Beatrice giggled. "And
he's really really really really short."
"You forgot bowlegged." Ororo added from the doorway. "Everything alright?"
Logan grumbled but smiled.
"Auntie Ororo, Uncle Logan scared Briar," Beatrice said as if she was
telling some great crime he'd committed.
"Now Logan stop scaring my granddaughter, that's not nice." Ororo scolding
as she walked over to the girl hiding behind Emma. She crouched down to a
more kid friendly height and offered her hand. "Hello my girl."
Beatrice stuck her tongue out at Logan and tried not to giggle as she
whispered at him, "That told you, short, pointy meany."
"Hello," Briar said softly as she took the hand. "You have Mommy-Lexie's
eyes and hair," she told her.
Ororo smiled brightly. "Yes but they are far more beautiful on her." Then
she winked at both girls as she added. "She has my height too."
"Does genetical things mean Briar's going to have white hair and blue eyes
too?" Beatrice asked, her head tilting. "Does it mean she'll be tall?"
"Briar will look just as she is meant to look." Ororo answered. "And she'll
be beautiful, as will you, sweetie."
"I'm a dumb blond," the little girl grinned. "That's what Mary Spalding
says anyway."
"Mary Spalding is a fool," Briar whispered so only Emma and Ororo would
hear.
Ororo nodded her agreement.
Emma looked at the girl. "Dumb blondes are most often over looked as being
rather bright and formable."
"I'm more short and cute," Beatrice mused. "Kind of like Uncle Logan."
"Now I'm scary pointy man and cute." Logan grumbled but then chuckled. "I've
lost my edge."
Beatrice blinked then peered at Logan as she sucked noisily on her popsicle,
making one end go totally white. "No, you've got six edges, one for each
claw."
That made him laugh and lift the girl into the air and tickle her.
Giggling and squirming, Beatrice threw her arms around his neck and cuddled
him tightly. "You made me drop my popsicle," she informed him as she
grinned.
Briar froze when Logan made a grab for her friend, a slight tremor starting
up over her body. "BB," she whispered. "Don't hurt her..."
"You can have another one after lunch." Logan told Beatrice as he cuddled
her. Then he looked over at Briar. "I won't kiddo, I promise. I only look
tough."
"Inside he's a teddy bear, huh, Pop?" Alexandria asked then went to where
her lover, child, and mother were. "Did we move lunch into the house?"
"Like Auntie Laura," Beatrice said sagely. "Auntie Betsy calls her a
pussycat though. Mummy used to call her a wildcat."
Briar turned to curl her arms around Emma, holding on tight. "Make him let
her go," she whispered desperately.
Alexandria picked her daughter up and cuddled her. "It's alright baby, my
dad's not going to hurt BB, or you. He likes kids, even William knows he's
ok."
"Plus he's really really really really strong," Beatrice grinned. "I bet he
could pick you up too. I bet he could pick Auntie Betsy up!"
"I would like to see him try," Betsy teased from the doorway.
"My money's on Betsy." Laura said from behind her.
Logan snorted.
Briar started to smile as she relaxed in her mother's arms. "Is he as
strong as you are, Mommy?"
"He's stronger." Alexandria replied as she cuddled her daughter.
"And pointier and shorter," Beatrice giggled. "And bow-legged."
Alexandria laughed. "See baby, he's nothing to be scared of."
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