Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

It was only after Fia had been born had Kay realised that she had re-broken John's finger and felt bad about it. Like him, she too swore she was to never go through this again, it was excruciating to do and feeling her powers and fire dancing all round her was unbearable. She had never felt the heat from her own flame but this was the first time in her life she had felt it, something she never wanted to feel again. However it did give her even more respect for John and Cal to withstand what they did from her during this time. She was just glad that she didn't have to go through it all alone, even if it did make John feel rather helpless in giving her any kind of relief from it all. She looked down at Fia and at John as he leaned in more to look at their daughter's eyes, she saw a glimmer of his thoughts on his face, but decided to not bring it up for wanting to respect his private thoughts, just as she always did. "no prize guesses for what she inherited from each of us" she commented, clearly worn out. Glancing across the room, she saw all the things that had been pre-prepared for the birth, noticing the blanket to wrap Fia in. As she tried to sit up a little, she slightly wobbled into John's side whilst trying to not drop Fia in the process. "We should wrap Fia up in the blanket over there...before the others decide they can't wait any longer to check on us....especially Cliff" she then said before yawning a little, unaware she used their daughter's name without a second thought. It just came to her mind like she somehow already knew that was her name. Like their kid somehow told her her name without even speaking.

"And John? I'm sorry about your hand..." She apologised finally, before glancing back at their girl almost still in disbelief that she even did what she just did. It baffled her immensely still and figured it would for a long time to come, but the biggest thing she kept thinking to herself was how she would protect this child with everything she had, just as her own mother tried to do for her. She had felt the wave of magic and Fia's aura blast through The House outwardly and as delirious she currently was, she was now more concerned about hers and Fia's safety. If she felt that power, she could be certain everyone and everything else did as well. "I'm also scared for her safety right now..." She couldn't stop herself from saying out loud as she partially relied on John to remain remotely upright and awake. During this time Fia simply just stared at them both wide eyed, the complete opposite to Kay's state. Fia was just able to wriggle her hands enough for it be considered a proper movement- a sign of her being healthy, whilst making gurgling noises rather than crying, a welcome thing to Kay as she didn't want to hear a baby crying even if it was technically to be a normal thing for newborns, but Fia was no normal baby. She was a Hale and a Constantine through and through, normality didn't apply to her.

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Fia's birth had indeed caused a tidal wave of immense power rush through the world, every dangerous being getting wind of it. "It's happened... A youngling has come into the world. The scent is so strong I can practically taste it. The smell of innocence and raw power" one demon soldier commented.....

 

[_gallifrog_]

John didn't question how the baby supplies had gotten into the room when he'd emptied it of everything only a few days earlier. The House worked in mysterious ways. He smirked as he picked up the things before passing them to Kay "whatdy'a know? Seems The House likes her. Which is a good sign, it's a far better judge of character then me." Like Kay, he didn't think anything of the name Fia being used for the baby. It felt so right it just entirely slipped under his radar. There was no doubt tin his mind that the others would be down soon. He'd felt the magical disturbance when Fia had emerged properly into the world and knew if he'd felt it, then Elliott would have felt it to and would know what it meant.

John looked down at his right hand, where his finger was bent at an unnatural angle. He gave an unconcerned shrug "compared to what you went through back there this is nothing" he shook his head in disbelief, his expression making it quite clear he thought going through childbirth was insanity and he would not be wanting her ot himself to go through it again. Regeardless of what kind of kid Fia turned out to be. "And besides it's hardly the worst bone I've broken" Kay's next remark had him nodding solemnly. It was a thought that echoed his own "the secret is out now. A magical blastwave like that won't go unnoticed. Until she... and you are less vulnerable, then here is the safest possible place to be."

Anything further John was going to say was interrupted by a call from the top of the stairs. "Is it suitably not on fire down there for us to come down?!"

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Elliott felt the ripple of magic energy unleashed as Fia came into the world. It seemed to get stronger as it blasted outwards and the force of it made him stagger slightly, backing against a nearby cabinet for support. None of the others in the room felt anything (none of them having any kind of magical affinity), but all heads turned towards him. Even Jack looked concerned, the first time he'd done so since the birthing had started. While they'd all been worrying, fretting, pacing and praying for things to go well, Jack had remained entirely calm, continuing to read his book and keep a watch over Jay. "It's happened. She's here."

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Elliott, John and demonkind weren't alone in feeling the wave sent out by Fia's birth. Just as the wave of dark matter and exotic particles released by the STAR Labs particle accelerator explosion had changed people into metahumans, the blast wave created by Fia's birth was having a similar affect on the creatures of the Darkworld and Downworld. Unlike demons and their kind, they were still tied to the natural realm. The natural world was one of balance, good and bad fated to always be present in equal measures. The arrival of a creature of such inherent natural goodness as Fia meant an equal amount of darkness was to be added to the world. Across the country Scott and other Darkworlders screamed in agony as the wave blasted through them and they lost control. They shifted and mutated. Some became stronger, others became more cunning, others gained new power and all became more monstrous. Feverish and feral these newly mutated monsters had no control and only one thought racing through their mind- to hurt and to kill.

 

[MzHyde]

In her worn out state, Kay had assumed that John had the supplies down here the whole time, it didn't even occur to her that The House was the reason for the items being there until John mentioned it. She half chuckled at his words, taking the items and wrapping Fia in the blanket nice and securely as she had used her phone these last few days in particular to learn how to do such things. "I'm glad The House does quite honestly" she replied as she cradled Fia in her arms, knowing this was the best thing for her. John's lack of questioning the name when Kay realised she even already gave their daughter a name have her the assumption that he too, thought the name was perfect for their child. The name reminded her of her mother's name Fira and subconsciously she seemed to know it was still fire related. Without even knowing it yet, Kay had managed to keep the phoenix tradition going and there were no complaints from John. She turned to him once more as he looked at the state of his finger and told her not to worry about it, especially after what she went through. She knew his expression well enough to get what he was conveying and she fully agreed that she did not want to go through this again.

She listened to him explain how that magic blast definitely would have alerted everything in the world who was remotely in tune with magic in one form or another, the idea of herself and Fia not being safe in many places other than The House was expected. Despite being expected, it still felt like a sad fact to her. She had been in The House for safety reasons for a while, and now it meant she would be stuck in here for longer. She waited to hear him say more, even would have liked to reply to him to express how if she was to stay in The House, it was not going to be this basement, but then Cliff's voice echoed down and she couldn't help but snigger slightly at her timing. "It's safe Cliff!" She called up back, then yawned as the whole event suddenly started to really catch up with her. Though she was determined to stay awake long enough for Cliff to satisfy her worries and do the inevitable check up on both her and Fia, and no doubt John's finger. Kay found herself mentally preparing for any fussing by Cliff, deciding that whatever Cliff wanted, she would comply to not get scolded at by the only doctor in their group.

"So how much do you think she'll make a fuss?" She asked John in an amused manner. It wasn't a bet as such, but she was curious enough to ask anyway. "I just need some rest...but somewhere more comfortable" she added before Cliff would make it down.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John smirked. "Oh she'll make quite the bloody fuss. She's been worrying since the start of this whole thing. Of course she'll then panic a bit because she's not qualified to deal with babies, remind us of that fact at least twice and then sort of yo-yo between the two states for a while until Cal calms her down." There was no malice towards Cliff in his tone, just amusement. Cliff was not the one who usually got ruffled by things and although he knew he probably shouldn't John found her out of character flapping and over the top fretting kind of entertaining. Kay's next comment had him nodding. The House's basement really couldn't be described as comfortable by any metric, it was strong and (crucially for them) fireproof, but it was just as protected by wards and The House's sentient magic as anywhere else in the building.

Cliff on her way down also heard Kay and a short while and with some help from the others, Fia and Kay were brought up out of the basement and into one of The House's nicer rooms. She then began to fuss and check Fia over to the best of her ability. Nothing looked amiss to her about the baby- her flaming red hair was longer than she'd expected it to be, but that was most likely a consequence of the accelerated pregnancy , so Cliff wasn't worried. Kay she was able to check over more thoroughly. Kay was clearly exhausted (both physically and mentally, in need of something to eat ad drink, but apart from that there was nothing amiss. The others hovered awkwardly, waiting for Cliff to finish her examinations before they started with congratulations and the cooing over the news baby. The only one missing was Jay- the tranquilliser she'd been dosed with was heavy duty stuff and she'd slept through the entire birth.

With Cliff proclaiming both mother and daughter to be healthy, the real fussing began. Elliott and John were of a similar mindset, neither thinking Fia was a particularly attractive baby (though Elliott did fess up to be fascinated that hands and feet could be so tiny and delicate). Cal and Chas on the other hand were complete enamoured with her. Jack was also taken in by Fia, he was the last one to get a proper look at her and when he did he couldn't help but smile broadly at the sight, before shaking his head and giving a quiet amused chuckle to himself, a sound that was barely audible amongst the excited chattering of the others.

 

[MzHyde]

Listening to John's in-depth explanation and theory of how Cliff would be when it came to fussing was just as amusing to Kay as when Cliff gets into an utter fluster over everything. Hearing the tone of amusement in his tone, it showed that he was easily as amused by Cliff's flustered moment as Kay could be. When Cliff did come down and insisted on bringing her and Fia upstairs before doing her checks, Kay didn't have any complaints about it. In fact she was highly grateful for it, just as she was grateful for the help from the others to bring them both upstairs again. Going from laying down to sitting up to standing and then walking hurt a lot, and she didn't know how a normal human could possibly do any of this after giving birth. This was a moment she certainly mentally jotted down as a 'being thankful I'm a phoenix and heal Hella quicker than a human' moment. The nicer room and bed was appreciated the moment she sat up slightly on it. She didn't even complain when Cliff did thorough checks over her after checking on Fia, and was thankful that nothing seemed amiss or not normal. She was also glad that nothing about Fia was making Cliff worried, as she too put the head of hair down to the accelerated pregnancy and would later on make her wonder if Fia's growth would also be accelerated to a certain age.

Being given the all clear solidified the relief in Kay's mind and heart, and she knew she wouldn't be be getting any rest until everyone had come to see for themselves that everyone was alright. Something she couldn't blame any of them for, as she knew if she on the other side of the doorway, she would be exactly the same way. She noted how Jay wasn't there but considering the level of tranquillisers that were used to make her to sleep, she wasn't surprised by her absence. She let them coo over Fia, not surprised that Elliott had the same sort of reaction as John did, but she couldn't help but chuckle lightly at his fascination of Fia's tiny hands and feet. The one thing that was the least bit surprising was how much Chas and Cal fussed over Fia, knowing how paternal Chas could be and was over his own daughter (though she was yet to meet her herself, it was clear how much he loved her). What DID surprise her was Jack's reaction. The one person she knew least about and had interacted with the least, smiling broadly and softly chuckling to himself. She may not have heard what he muttered, but his reaction was positive and that in this moment, was enough for her. As everyone excitedly chatted over their newest member of their crazy family, Kay couldn't help but think to herself how she could imagine not finding Fia because either Elliott would have stolen her to study and draw her tiny hands and feet which was highly amusing to her or Chas 'kidnapping' her to fuss over whilst reminiscing when Trish was this small.

Fia, like most newborns was either having her eyes closed or staring right up at everyone looking down on her as she remained rewrapped up in the blanket after Cliff's checks, but with her arms on the outside. There was despite her being newborn a sense of wonder in her little eyes as she stared at them all one by one, her fingers clenching and unclenching as they seemed to grab at the air, reaching out to anyone who got close to her to fuss over her. To Kay, it was so pure of an action yet so endearing to watch. "Seems like she's just as enamoured with you lot as you are with her" she half joked, half being serious.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Kay was right to suspect that Elliott intended to draw baby Fia, or at least elements of her. He may not find her beautiful in the way Chas, Cal, Cliff and (surprisingly) Jack did, but there were elements of her that really caught his attention. In particular her little chubby fingers were just too tempting. It had taken him years and reams of sketchbook pages to master the art of drawing adult hands. (His earliest attempts had looked little better than a bunch of sausages, but persistence and practice eventually paid off). But in the current moment he was too busy letting Fia grasp her tiny hands around his fingers. He must appear like a giant to her, yet her eyes showed no fear, only wonder.

"Trish was like that too for the first while" Chas remarked fondly as he thought back to the early days when his own daughter was just a newborn (those few blissful days before baby Trish's tendencies for late night screaming, for crying at strange hours for seemingly no reason and for a complete lack of sensible or consistent sleep schedule started to make themselves known) "staring in wide eyed wonder at everyone and everything. It dies down as they get older and things become familiar, but" he emphasised "if you do it right, they never quite lose that look of wonder."

Jack gave a nod of agreement. "That's the job of a parent summed up isn't? You keep the wonder alive- the wonder in them and the wonder that is them." His tone turned softer, almost wistful. "Wonder.... I'm pretty sure that's why babies eyes are so wide, everything is new and exciting and they're trying to take it all in at once. It's so much information, maybe even too much and it fills their tiny heads entirely, so much so that they can't even do anything else."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay couldn't help but really notice how Elliott didn't mind in the slightest that even after only a few minutes old, Fia was grabbing his fingers and staring with awe at him. It made her smile, albeit sleepily and just somehow in her soul and heart knew Fia would grow to utterly dote on Elliott. He did seem like a giant to Fia, but unbeknownst to get newborn self there was a sense of familiarity in his aura to her. Like she somehow knew he was her big brother and everyone around her showed her no danger. Kay looked up at Chas as he spoke of his own experiences with newborn babies and how Trish was at this age, and nodded at him saying how she won't lose that wonder if they do right by her. This was something Kay was determined to do, she wanted her to grow up with the reality of what her existence would mean, but she didn't want Fia to lose that sense of awe and wonder either. She wanted to do right by their daughter, but she also knew they had to be realistic as well, something she was sure John would be be able to do to keep her safe. She knew John was scared, so was she, but she also had utter faith in him to keep their girl safe, just as he had done with her. Jack's input still was surprising to Kay, but considering she was utterly new at motherhood, she was willing to take any remarks they were being given. "You're most probably right about that. I kept my sense of wonder until I was about 9 years old" she replied, knowing that was the age she lost her mother and her father changed completely, the time she had told John about before.

"If she can keep it for longer than that then I feel like I won't have failed her" she said openly and truthfully. It was then after she said that and she looked down again at Fia that she then saw the tiniest copy of hers and John's bond mark on Fia's wrist. It made her look at John and then gesture to her wrist, the opposite one to the one raised grabbing Elliott's fingers. "seems she's got her own bond link to us that will grow with her" she pointed out. Thinking about it, she found some comfort in that discovery, if she ever got separated from them at least they had their bond to find her when she got older. Whether or not John found that a comfort she couldn't say, but she hoped it was in some way. She knew deep down he didn't want to fail Fia, just as he never wanted to fail Elliott, so she hoped it did bring some kind of comfort to him as it did with her. She was also surprised that she didn't notice it before now, wondering if it was only making itself known to them now they were more relaxed or if it was because of another reason, either way she figured the growing bond mark was a positive sign.

As Fia stared at everyone, her little grip on Elliott's fingers loosened as her little bright blue eyes began to close and she let out a big silent yawn. To Kay there was something adorable about it, but she couldn't figure out exactly why. Maybe it was the way Fia was still trying to hold onto Elliott's fingers, or maybe it was something else, but either way it was endearing to her. Her tiny hand eventually let go of Elliott as she fell into a slumber. "I thought she'd never let go of you Ell for a while" Kay chuckled softly, but quietly so not to wake their youngest member of the family.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John's eyes flicked between the mark on Fia's wrist, the mark on Kay's and then down to his own wrist and then shrugged. He hadn't noticed it become visible again, but given the spectacle that had been the birth of Fia, that was hardly surprising. "Huh, make sense... I guess" he shrugged, rubbing a thumb over it. He'd thought about all kinds of crazy things in the past few weeks about his daughter, but for some reason the bond hadn't been one of them. It had proved useful sure, but John still wasn't comfortable with it existing. He hadn't asked for it such a bond and certainly hadn't given any kind of consent. hated anybody or anything having power or a hold over him. The fact that this bond chose to manifest itself as a pattern of a literal chain around his wrist didn't help.

Elliott gave a soft chuckle, but didn't look up from Fia. "That makes two of us" he replied. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that this child, this fragile barely hour old baby was his sister. His new sister. His younger sister. She looked so fragile and tiny cradled in his arms and he couldn't help but feel protective of her. There was no way on this planet (or any other) he was going to let her get hurt. Cal had looked out for him, kept him safe and helped him hone his skills as best she good, and he was damn well going to do the same for this sister.

Chas meanwhile was looking at Jack with a look somewhere between bewilderment and suspiscion. Out of all the people in the room he'd never expected Jay's assassin brother to be the one to say something not just profound about parenting, but something Chas himself so firmly agreed with. Seeing the look Jack smirked, shook his head slightly, then chuckled. "Contrary to what my sister thinks, I do spout wisdom every so often. And it's not like I've been living under a rock these past years. I have had a life." Before Chas could get a word in and inquire as to what exactly that meant, Jack quickly spoke again "Speaking of.... I'm guessing Jay won't have mentioned the the weird thing about her and babies?" Chas shook his head, baffled once again. "She's not a fan, obviously, but for some reason every single baby she's ever met likes her, it's kind of hilarious actually." He smirked mischeviously. "So I'm very much looking forwards to seeing what happens when that tranquiliser wears off."

 

[MzHyde]

Like John, Kay was still getting used to the idea of having the bond with him, and she certainly would have liked to have given her consent to it first but the times it had been useful in those moments, had outweighed everything else. She was also more content with the idea of their daughter having a bond linking her to them as it did mean they might just have the upper edge on keeping her safe. She did just hope that in time John and herself would come to fully accept their own bond and not think upon it negatively. Right now however her mind was on the fact their little Fia had that extra link of protection and how she was absolutely shattered. She could even feel the lethargic state of Fee within her soul which was new for Kay and a very strange unusual feeling. "if it helps keeping her safe, I'm glad she has it" she simply said to John before smiling at seeing how Elliott was being with Fia. It seemed like the physical bond wasn't the only bond solidifying in this moment in time.

Seeing how much he was doting on Fia as a big brother already made Kay know that she would be safe hands with him around and he really would be the best big brother Fia could possibly have. "She's lucky to have you as a big brother Ell, though I gotta say, Fia seems to have the right idea" she said about the young one gladly dosing in Elliott's arms. She couldn't say if it was normal for babies to instantly go back to sleep after born or if it wasn't, but she was thankful Fia hadn't once cried like most human babies, only having made enough noise to let her parents know she was healthy and alive. She almost wanted to joke about if it was Elliott that made Fia doze off and remain calm then she knew who to get her to quiet down when the crying phases no doubt would start as she grew up. Yet she didn't joke about it, her own tiredness was swiftly catching up to her. She barely even took note of what Chas and Jack were talking about, only just about catching the end of Jack's comments about Jay and waking from the tranquiliser. "She'll get a shock no doubt, especially if her first sight is Ell carrying Fia" she remarked, amused by the mental image in her head of how that could go down. A yawn then escaped her and she really found herself finding it more difficult to fight the sleep her body was craving.

"As amazing as it is to have you all here, I think I really need a nap." She reluctantly said, not wanting to usher the gang out but didn't want to come across as rude by falling asleep on them all mid sentence either. Fia seemed content in Elliott's arms and warm there so she didn't feel the need to keep her eyes on Fia 24/7, especially as they were perfectly safe in The House. The only thing she would soon take note of was the growing anxiety in her subconscious about what had erupted from the burst of power in Fia's birth amongst the Downworld but right now she couldn't acknowledge any of that. Not even how important Fia's arrival into the world was and a momentous occasion in time it had become could make it to the foreground of her mind.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Unsurprisingly nobody had anything against Kay getting some much-needed rest. Kay had been pretty highly strung these past few days and it was no secret that her sleep had become pretty disturbed as the birth had approached. The only real question was what to do with Fia, was she to stay in a cot by Kay's side or would she move with the others to another room. After a brief back and forth, it was decided she'd stay with the others, Chas was confident that he could deal with any baby related problems.

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It was another few hours before Jay eventually woke up with a groggy groan. It wasn't just her head that was spinning, it was her whole body. She recognised the foul sticky taste in her mouth all too well and even with her head pounding she knew exactly who the culprit was. She cursed her brother before pushing herself off the couch and making her way to the kitchen (which just so happened to be where the others were congregated). Jack couldn't resist the urge to quip at her, a broad shit-eating 'I was right to do that and you know it' grin on his face. Jay responded with a scowl and a selection of rude gestures before noticing the baby in Elliott's arms. "Huh... guess I missed the big moment" she remarked in particularly unbothered tone.

"Yeah...." Elliott replied, properly looking up from his baby sister "she's called Fia by the way." Jay nodded in response, then leaned over to pop some slices of bread into the toaster. There was an expectant silence, surely Jay had something further to say on the matter. Eventually she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "If you're expecting some great speech or gushings about how she's adorable or whatever it is you're supposed to say about babies...... I don't do that, really NOT my thing. Come back to me when she's a teenager capable of holding a somewhat intelligent conversation.... or a sword."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay had absolutely no problem with Elliott and the others keeping hold of Fia. It was clear Elliott wasn't going to let go of her any time soon and Kay figured if it meant she could have a nap in utter silence she would take it. When they left, it took her all of a mere two minutes to fully fall into deep REM sleep, her head tilting to the side as it sunk into the pillow, one hand remaining on her torso, whilst the other fell to her side and onto the mattress. At first, she didn't dream, just stayed in a void of slumber and darkness but eventually a dream began to manifest itself in her mind. It started off like one she had had before, seeing the lush greenery of what was once considered Paradise, the home and land of the Phoenix kind. Her kind flew high and soared in varying patterns in the sky, laughter and conversations could heard blending into each other as she looked around. Others remained on the ground, warriors adorned in the armour she once saw in her vision on Attil as she watched John and Elliott learn how to play a game with Cliff and Cal and Jay. To her left in the dream she saw the stonework she once saw in the Mindwalk herself, John, Elliott and Jay all did go try and find answers they so desperately needed about herself. Engravings and hieroglyphs deep into the stone. The only difference was the door that was covered in her Mindwalk, wasn't covered by vines and shrubbery this time round. She could see it as it should have been.

"Beautiful sight is it not?" A voice spoke from her left. "It is. Our home is in sight as it is in name." She replied, but it wasn't her voice speaking, it was her mother's. Was she looking at everything through her mother's pov? She had to be, yet it had never been through a different pov before. "How is your young one? Is she safe with her human father?" The mysterious voice asked, before she saw her view turn to see the man standing beside her mother. He had short dark hair, large black to red Wings that almost touched the ground behind him. Dark eyes that could still pierce through one's soul somehow. He was stunning to look at, a strong physical appearance was noticeable under the armour he adorned, a blade securely at his side. "She is. I'll be going back to be with them shortly, I miss my little flamebird greatly." She replied, to which the guard seemed to nod. "I have a strong sense she will grow to be the new era of us Aedion." Her mother added. "She is your daughter Fira, so of that I have no doubt" Aedion smirked playfully. "Don't let the others hear you speak so casually, they might start talking" her mother softly chuckled.

The dream continued for a while before it became more fuzzy and blurry to truly compute in Kay's slumber. Then something shocked her in her dream state, Fira, her mother, turned round and seemingly looked right at her as if she herself, was there. "I am so proud of you flamebird, and you will do great by my grandchild. I love you" and with those words spoken, Kay woke startled, confused. She looked around at her surroundings, seeing the room empty which reminded her that the others let her sleep in peace and that Fia was with her father, brother and the others. Running a hand through her hair, she regulated her breathing as she tried to compute everything she dreamt, especially the end bit that woke her up. "Well that was trippy" she remarked to herself. "Even if I don't know how it's possible" she added under her breath. She didn't know how much time had passed whilst she had been asleep until she looked across to find her phone on the bedside, to which she grabbed it and saw she had been asleep for quite a few hours. She didn't realise she has managed to be asleep for as long as she did, but it was evident that her body clearly needed that sleep.
She felt much more refreshed for it and couldn't help but wonder how the others were with Fia.

In the kitchen with the others, Fia slept for a while in Elliott's arms, perfectly content where she was. By the time Jay has stirred awake and reunited with them all, Fia was awake again and had only cried once a little because of hunger. Now Jay was in the kitchen, it was a new face to be fascinated by as she looked toward the sound of Jay's voice, making happy gurgling noises as she looked from Elliott to Jay and back again a couple of times. All of which proved Jack's point about babies naturally liking Jay instantly despite her not liking them. She had also at some point managed to wriggle her tiny arms out of the blanket wrap she was in again and was wriggling her tiny fingers.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Time passed, first hours, then days. Eventually it becme time for Cal and Cliff to return to, back to their own lives and jobs (not to mention the fallout of Zan's actions and Elliott's publically faked death still needed to be dealt with). As Cliff said with a sigh they couldn't hide forever. It was decided unanimously that both Zan and Elliott would remain legally dead in the eyes of the Attilian government and legal system, it was easier and safer.

The parting itself was bittersweet and slightly awkward. It felt to Elliott and Cal like they were losing each other all over again, they'd gotten so used to being together again, or at the most only a text away, now messages would take days, maybe weeks to get between them. The hugged for longer than was necessary and choked back the tears before finally parting.

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Weeks passed and the remaining members of the group fell into new routines. Chas was quick to return to his normal life and job, popping by The House every few days with new supplies. Before Elliott could settle into his new life as a big brother/protector/somewhat overprotective babysitter/Fia's personal sketch artist and photographer (she was extremely photogenic, even if John couldn't see it) he had the awkward task of informing his grieving friends that he was not in fact dead. Disbelief and joy had quickly turned to anger at this revelation, anger AJ's crew had directed at Jay, believing she'd known the truth all along and had be heartlessly toying with their emotions as payback. The matter of Scott's sudden and bloody disappearance was quickly forgotten in the chaos that ensued when Jack introduced himself.

With everything cleared up, Elliott returned to The House. He and Jack by some unspoken agreement took turns keeping an eye on Fia when Kay was sleeping, tired or just needed a little time to herself. Both were naturals with kids, espescially Jack, whose baby care advice was surprisingly good. Jay was restless, coming and going as she pleased. Her sleep was slowly improving and to the relief of everybody she'd stopped smoking. But she was distracted and distant.

John was at a loss for what to do with himself. He didn't have the natural talent with babies that Elliott, Jack or even Kay had. Fia being his baby hadn't suddenly flipped some switch in his head that made him like or even understand babies. Kay (at least to him) seemed to have some kind if clue what was going on and what to do, some kind of ancestral memory or her other half being useful for once he guessed. John didn't want to hover uselessly, so a lot of his time was spent in the library, researching.

 

[MzHyde]

The new routines in Kay's eyes, seemed to fall into place rather well and naturally, though whether the others ever thought differently she couldn't tell. She was thankful for Chas popping in every few days with new supplies, but she was more glad for him that he was able to get to his normal life again for the most part. She knew he deserved it and not be bogged down with anything from the rest of the group. As for herself, she surprised herself at how much she was falling into the mother mindset, but that wasn't to say there weren't times when she had no idea what she was doing and found herself getting overwhelmed quite a bit. She had somehow learned, most probably out of her self stubbornness and somewhat pride, to hide away and let out her worries when no one could see her. This meant it looked like she had everything under control a lot more to everyone else than it actually was. However that didn't mean, she didn't ask for help when she did a break, which is where Elliott and Jack's support really was appreciated. She could see how protective Elliott in particular had become over Fia and knew when she needed a nap or a bath to have some time to herself, Fia was in very good hands. Being in Elliott's care also meant that with all the drawings he was doing of her, she could actually keep track to some extent of how quickly Fia was growing. It was mere weeks since she was born but she was growing so fast due to her phoenix genes, that she looked and was in fact nearly two months old. It was hard to keep track of her growth but Elliott's photos and drawings helped with that. She also didn't expect John to just magically become a natural with Fia, so for him to be spending so much time in the library wasn't exactly a surprise, but she also could see he wasn't entirely ignoring his daughter either, even if she remained more in Elliott's or her own hold, she could see John was around enough to see his daughter growing and for her to grow an attachment to him.

Fia certainly did grow an attachment to John, even if he was still at a loss for what to do with her whilst she was still an infant. She loved him just being in the same room as herself, even if her young mind couldn't fully process her emotions and thoughts just yet. One day was particularly memorable to Kay when Fia refused to sleep but was clearly tired from all the yawning she was doing, and no matter what Kay did, whether it was singing the lullaby to her or rocking her, nothing worked and Fia began to cry out of her tiredness. Kay was beginning to run out of ideas on what to do when she saw John come into the room for something and Fia instantly stopped crying, seeing her dad nearby and went to sleep happily, making Kay sigh with relief and making some quip about how at nap times John needed to be in eyeshot every time, even if Elliott and Jack were around, she did t want to risk another crying fit from Fia.

Now weeks on, Fia was happily being distracted with her favourite elephant plush toy and Kay was feeling another round of cabin fever. She hadn't been outside all this time, putting Fia over her own needs and as she stared aimlessly into the cupboard in the kitchen instead of actually getting herself some food, she felt her head fogging up and about to explode. She felt a wave of jealousy of Jay and the others able to come and go as they pleased when she couldn't unless supervised. That's not to say she didn't understand why that was the case, things in the download and Hell did seem to be stirring up greatly since Fia was born and it just wasn't safe for her or Fia to leave The House but Kay was reaching her breaking point. She needed proper fresh air, and not air The House created in one room for her to fake being outside. "urgh...I need out of this house...." She mumbled to herself. She needed to come up with an excuse to go out, but she knew as long as John was in The House, nothing would probably work. As she pondered a way of getting out of The House, she forced herself to finish getting some food. "Faking a reason to leave this place is not a good idea Kay" Fee spoke to her. "I know but I need proper air, maybe I could talk one of the guys to come out with me? Come to think of it, I've read all my books, would be nice to go get some new ones and a stupidly sweet coffee" she mumbled back as ideas started popping into her mind.

She heard Fee give that not impressed scoff in her head, but she ignored it. Grabbing the snack she decided on, she walked into the room the others (minus John) were in, perching on the edge of a couch. "so what are the chances someone can come out with me to the shops. I need more books to read and I'm going mad in here" she spoke up.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay didn't look up from her laptop at Kay's arrival, but she did look up at Kay's question. Jay's response was a firm shake of her head. "If by someone, you mean me, then it's zero. I have plans already and they don't involve me going anywhere near a shop." BEfore Elliott had the chance to ask what these plans were, Jay turned away from Elliott and towards her brother, catching Jack's eye. He tipped his head to one side and she narrowed her eyes in reponse. There was silence for a few moments as the twins stared at each other, an unsoken conversation passing between them. It was something the twins had started doing more and more frequently as the weeks had passed, they denied being telepathic in any way, yet they could have these complex conversations just by staring at each other. There was something going on and Elliott, if he was being truly honest with himself, found it unsettling.

It was Jack who broke away first, flopping back over the arm of the arnchair- he seemed incapable of sitting like a normal person, perfering instead to fling his legs over one armrest and his back over the other. On couches he was even worse, sprawling over as much of it as possible, in a way that made Elliott think of a contented cat and Jay sigh in fond annoyance. "You'll have no luck with me either, seems I'm not allowed to leave this place either."

Elliott resisted the urge to sigh and put his head in his hands. John's orders had been clear, Kay was NOT to go out. He knew and understood why, they'd all felt the magical shockwave errupting out and away from The House at the moment of Fia's birth. The blast had been powerful enough for the non-mages to feel, so it must have been like a beacon for the non-human creatures of the Downworld, Darkworld and Hell. But he also knew what it was like to be cooped up in one place for weeks on end, unable to breathe fresh air, feel the wind through his hair or stretch his legs all the time feeling like the walls were closing in around him, fearing he'd never be free again. He'd endured a year stuck on his own in a tiny spaceship, so he had sympathy for Kay. But John would kill him if anything happened to her. "Not into the city, John would put my head on a bloody pike if anything went sideways, even slightly. The best I can offer is a going a tiny bit outside of The House where the air is fresh, but the forcefield and magical defences are just as strong as they are here. It's not ideal, but it's all I can offer."

 

[MzHyde]

Hearing Jay say she was not leaving The House for her own plans involved staying in for some reason wasn't exactly a surprise to Kay. Out of the other three adults in the room besides herself, Kay was the one she was least expecting to say 'sure, I'll sneak you out!'. She gave Jay the look of understanding and to say don't worry about it'. The looks that started to exchange between Jack and Jay were a little unnerving to witness as it seemed so much deeper than anyone else could possible figure out, but she wasn't ever going to remark on it as it was, quite frankly, none of her business. She also had her hands full with Fia even if she did have Elliott's willing help. Yet while the twins were having some silent conversation, Kay felt like she daren't say anything until they were done for some odd reason she couldn't explain. When they were done and Jack stated he wasn't going either, she gave a simple nod. "It's fine" she replied before turning to Elliott. She knew at this stage it was a seriously long shot if Elliott would agree. She knew how much Elliott hated going against John's orders or wishes, and she was mostly expecting him to say no, but give him a list of books to go get her. So when he offered a compromise, she gave it serious thought. "I guess it's something and better than nothing, but I am gonna have to go on a book hunt some point. The rooms The House give me just aren't the same as proper fresh air" she replied. There was a part of her that wanted to counter his compromise and almost beg to be let out further to feel normal, but she also knew it was pointless.

Like the others, she didn't want to come to any harm and she certainly didn't want to bring harm to Fia. She knew John was in his own way only protecting her and Fia, which in turn protected them all but she also wanted some sort of life and she was thankful that Elliott was sympathising that. "I'll go shove some boots on, thanks Ell" she said, turning to Jack, "mind watching over Fia? I don't wanna risk pissing John off ten fold by bringing her outside as well, even if it's under the protection of the barrier" she requested, strangely scared of taking Fia outside The House, but not entirely herself. She waited long enough for Jack to answer before leaving the room and grabbing some of her nearby boots, pulling them on without undoing the laces as she always did. She walked back to the room where the others were, walking over to Fia in the day crib and leaned over smiling, running her hand over her daughter's hair. "Love you Flame. Mummy will be back in a bit" she said softly as Fia stared up at her with the eyes that rivaled John's. Leaning down and kissing her forehead, she then stood up straight again and waited for Elliott. As she waited she couldn't help but wonder how long she'd be under these confines or if there would be a time John would even cave and let her out into the city if he went with her. She pulled the sleeves on her cardigan down from their rolled up state, and over her hands before shoving her hands into her jeans pockets.

Leaving The House and feeling the proper air hit her was refreshing, making her sigh with joy, closing her eyes briefly and just taking it in with a deep breath in then out again. "Exactly what I needed" she smiled, reopening her eyes as she strolled with Elliott. "thank you for coming along Ell. I know John woulda gone apeshit if no one came with" she commented, taking in her surroundings.

Spoiler: Kay's casual look

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Don't mind at all" Jack replied, stretching out his arms to take Fia from her. The baby made a happy sort of gurgling sound as she settled into Jack's arms. "Gives me more time to continue making sure I'm her favourite person." The joke had sprung up barely a week after Fia was born. Kay had been asleep and Fia had been refusing to settle, no matter what Elliott tried, but as soon as he passed her over to the blue haired man she settled down quite happily. John had been unable to resist making a joke about it when he found out and thus began the unofficial competetion between Jack and Elliott over who was baby Fia's favourite. Jay had simply rolled her eyes in a way that made it quite clear she thought herself to be above such things, but they'd all seen the fond looks she'd given Elliott and her brother as they bickered good-naturedly about it.

Elliott grabbed his jacket and after a moment of consideration also grabbed a red woolen scarf and wrapped it around his neck. It wasn't a look Elliott usually went for, but the past few days had been cold and windy.

Outside Elliott tipped his head back, closed his eyes and let the wind ruffle through his hair, appreciating the feeling of it. Kay was doing the same by the looks of it. He nodded and smiled "that's an understatement. Stuff like this alway gets him worked up. It was the same for the first while I was living with him, I was under house arrest as well, though for a different set of reasons obviously."

 

[MzHyde]

Listening to Elliott's reply about how John was the same with him, albeit for different reasons, Kay felt a weird sense of relief it wasn't just her and Fia he was being like this with. She nodded at his words, letting it all sink in. "Well nice to know someone in this House knows exactly what I'm going through mentally with this whole house arrest. Even if I do fully get why John took this cautious choice" she replied. "But it has made me almost miss being out in the city, doing and going wherever I wanted even though I had no home to go back to. Is that weird?" She added, feeling like it was slightly weird to miss being homeless, when all she craved back then was to have a home to go to and a warm bed to sleep in each night or safety of walls around her and not getting soaked through by the British weather. She did also still wish she could have gone into the city to get some new reading material, but she didn't want to get Elliott into trouble by talking him into going against John's words. She then thought back to Jack's words about working on being Fia's favourite person and a small smile crept on her face again.

"Anyway....you and Jack still trying to be the firm favourite with Fia then?" She asked. She really was so grateful to the two of them being around to help her out, especially as she didn't expect Jack to help out as much as he was in particular, but he was an utter blessing in her eyes. Both of them were. "I don't think I would have coped nearly half as well as I have without you two. I truly mean that." She told Elliott with full appreciation in her tone. She always felt like she never thanked the two of them enough and a lot of that made her feel guilty. There was also moments however where she felt guilt for taking time to herself as she felt like she should be around her child more, but in reality outside of those moments, she was always beside her daughter.

She looked outward, those feelings of wanting out of the barrier constantly breaking through all of her other thoughts, despite constantly talking about anything other than wishing she was out of the barrier. "When do you think John will drop the house arrest?" She couldn't stop herself asking.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott shook his head. "Absaloutely not, it's not weird at all. When you take a thing pretty much for granted your whole life and suddenly lose it.... it's to be expected that you miss it. Freedom and independence in particular" there was a slight pause before Elliott added in a quieter tone "and family." He was avoiding thinking about Zan, forcing his birth father out of his mind like he'd done all those years ago as a scared frightened kid. But it kept leaking through, the bloodied hole ripped through Zan's head by the sniper's bullet, the deathly palour of his skin that emphasised the dark circles under his eyes. It had bled through into some of his artwork as well, though he'd rippe dthe pages out and burned them before anybody could see them.

Thankfully his mention of family made Kay think of her daughter and not probe into what it meant for Elliott. He chuckled "yep, and I don't think he'll stop trying to one-up me on this. He's got a stubborn and a competitive streak a mile wide, just like Jay." He shook his head "I'd hate to see those two fight, I think they'd actually rip each other to pieces. But it's our pleasure, you know that right? She's my little sister and Jack... just like babies it seems, he's good with them, like, really good. Chas has noticed it too, he thinks Jack's done this before."

Kay's next question caught him off guard. He blew out a slow breath, then shrugged "honestly, I don't know. The fact she's growing super fast has him freaked out. That's not something you can easily disguise in the outside world. People would notice and they'd talk and given that it's John, word would quickly get back to the wrong kinds of beings and then we're in the shit. I hate to say it, but you might be in here for quite a while. I'm sorry, it's not great being cooped up, but the alternative is much, much worse."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded, glad that Elliott didn't think her missing her life of homelessness weird. The fact he understood it was even more comforting in a way. She did hear the mention of family, but judging by his level of tone and tone itself it wasn't something she was going to pry. She knew if Elliott wanted to talk to any of them about what was on his mind, he would in his own time. Just like herself and John. So the only real logical thing she could do was bring up Fia and thank him for helping as much as he was with her. Listening to him explain how Jack was determined to win the 'favoured person' medal with Fia was still somewhat amusing to Kay. She smiled and have a nod and she tightly held her cardigan around her. "Jack certainly has become smitten with her and she with him it seems. I've noticed he's scarily good with her. Chas might be onto something with that theory." She started to reply, "but you're brilliant with her too Ell. It's also clear she loves you greatly. I don't think I could have done half of this parenting malarky without you guys." She told him truthfully.

When the conversation did move on and Elliott said he couldn't see the house arrest lifting anytime soon she sighed, but she was expecting such an answer nonetheless. She also could understand why Fia's growth rate was freaking John out, hells, it was freaking her out. She felt like each night she went to bed, she would wake up to Fia being more grown up. Yet it was actually every few days Fia seemed to grow a little more. Quicker than a normal human infant, far quicker in fact, but not as quick as her mind was making out it to be. Elliott was also right in saying it wasn't something they could easily disguise out in the world. "Yeah, you're right....her growth is rattling me as well and I don't want to be the cause of bringing trouble to our door so to speak. I'm just hoping her growth slows a bit soon." She replied. "I swear if it wasn't for your photos and drawings, I'd not have any core memory of what she looks like currently" she half chuckled. "I just wish John wouldn't coop himself up in various rooms so much, even if I do understand why he does it" she finally commented.

"You think he would have found anything out about that magic blast when she was born? Or if it created anything to react to it?" She asked him. It had been on her mind every day and she was scared that it would have caused a rift of new dangers in the outside world which would only strengthen John's decision to keep her and Fia locked up in The House.