alderwitch

"Dosing just about I think." Taylor said, beaming at James and even the good doctor for once. She held the baby up to Jack as her arms were honestly a little shaky after everything and he was in a better position to show off than she was. "Here, honey, why don't you show him around a little." When her arms were empty, she relaxed back against the pillows looking a little worn out herself. Fiddling with the strange bracelets that tied her to the bed, Taylor wiggled them before holding her hands out to the good doctor, "Can I get unstrapped now? I think I can maintain in this dimension now without the assist."

"So romantic! That's all so very Darrick," Taylor agreed with a bit of a laugh and a pleased smile for her friend's joy. Fishing under the table, Taylor pulled the car seat from out of the Void and sat it next to her on the table for when Stesha was done with the baby. Taylor considered for a moment how miffed she'd have been if Jack had proposed where they'd first been intimate. The backseat of the car, not so romantic. Of course, the bloody battlefield where he had proposed had been definately a different sort of romance. Smiling softly, Taylor fiddled with her jewelry and then held her arms out for the baby. "So, when's the big day? Its already summer. I hope you aren't doing a long engagement! Those are so passe." Taylor teased, having given her family less than a month to adjust to the idea, "Outdoor wedding?"

Alex watched with interested concern but no real fear as reality warped to Mark's will. She tilted her head to the side, and held her hand out for the sandwich, "Can I see?" She examined it closely for a moment and spread her fingers out above it until glow around her hand slid down to cover the sandwich. It would float up into the air a few inches before Alex dissassembled and reassembled it at a molecular basis. While she watched the sandwich with an air of curious scientist she explained to Mark in a gentle tone. As Alex had always had rather extreme powers on the ethics scale, she was sympathetic, "Its a theoretical path your powers can take. You've always warped reality but as its been mostly unconcious control, its manifestations haven't been so extreme. Now that its sliding into concious control, the manifestations become more...hm... potent."

Motherhood had left Taylor sleeping lightly. She stirred at the faint sounds of the knock on the door, her eyes slitting open in the gloom of the bedroom. Taylor wasn't suprised to wake up alone, after all, her husband never slept. Sometimes he held her while she drifted off, or snuck in to wake her up gently in the mornings but most of the time, she slept alone. It was nice in a way. Never had to share the covers and she got to sprawl out on her stomach when it got too warm without poking anyone with an elbow or a foot. She glanced up and over to where the baby was still snoring softly in his bassinet and shook the sleep off as she tried to figure what had woken her up. Rising, she quietly pulled a robe on and belted it at her waist. She didn't bother with tracking down her slippers as she slipped down the hallway to find out what was going on but paused when she heard voices.

"Ooooh," Taylor said, leaning over to look at the ring. She slipped her fingers under Stesha's to angle her hand to better admire the sparkly. Although Taylor rarely wore more than the Eye around her throat and her wedding bands, she loved a good sparkly as much as anyone. And this one was stunning. "Derrick has such good taste. Did he make it or track it down somewhere in space? It's gorgeous. Congratulations! When is it? And where?" Taylor happily fired the questions at her, eager to get all the details, "How'd he propose?"

Taylor relaxed at that and spread out her gown and covers a little better as there was a good chance the others would be boiling up shortly after Stesha's arrival. And Taylor preferred to be as covered as possible for that. She leaned a little into Jack's side and confessed, "Oh, good. I was a little worried. I don't think I like the sidelines." "Jack Huang Faretti." Taylor provided to Stesha. The scion in question was still working on getting his eyes to focus through heavy lids. Being born was hard work after all. For everyone involved and Jack Jr. didn't exactly have his mother's regeneration. Probably., "Jack, Jr. of course. Although I still like Jace as a nick name. We were going to call him Jack Chun Faretti but that was a little close to Jackie Chun."

"I'm... adjusting," Taylor said after a moment of thought with a smile that released both dimples. She wasn't a beautiful woman, but she had a brilliant smile when she used it and deep down she was very happy. Exhausted but happy. "We're all adjusting but its a good thing. I had to push back a class so if all goes well I'll have a degree by the end of summer. I've been getting caught up... with everything, you know. Mostly, just getting used to being a mom. It all happened so sudden but things are really good. I just wish there was more time for everything but so it goes." She smiled over at the baby who's finally relaxed as the last flecks of the sun were blocked and he released a smile of his own that revealed lots of pink gum to go with the tiny fangs and he released the cloak to wave his fists about in vague approval of the shade. "How about you?" Taylor asked, pouring the ice tea into glasses, "How are you doing?"

"It isn't your fault, Mark," Alex said firmly, "Hindsight is always clearer. If we always knew the correct path, we'd take it every time but no one's omniscient. Not even here at Claremont. You didn't keep quiet out of malice, but because you were still coping with everything. You can't know if it would have made it worse or better and we've already seen what comes of trying to change the past. All you can do is go forward but in doing so, you have so many options. The important thing is, with what you know now, to do the best you can to make things better. That's what your father wanted for this world and that's something you can still do. Not by remaking it but by just growing up to be the good man they wanted you to be and doing what you can every day to make things better for those around you. You'll find your way again, Mark. We all believe in you."

"Of course! He's working on smiles but not so much during the day." Taylor explained as she handed the baby over. She was free of all baby gear thanks to having the entire Void to clutter up with those things and was wearing pre-baby jeans already. Regeneration was a wonderful thing although pre-baby tops were still out of the question. Instead, she had on a loose scoop neck blouse. Taylor tucked her hands in her pockets and beamed as Stesha juggled Jack Jr. The baby eyed her with crotechty suspicion before deeming her an acceptable member of his fan club with a slow blink. HIs chubby hands clutched at the layers of the cloak as if he was holding it closer to block out the sun's rays. He might manage imperious someday but at the moment it was ruined by hair that stuck up every which way. Taylor laughed and plopped herself down in one chair, "It is so good to get out of the house!"

April and May flew by for Taylor. Not only was there magical and mundane to catch up with, but there was a brand new member of the family to adjust to. Taylor was only grateful that Jack Jr needed sleep like his mother. If he'd been utterly sleepless, Taylor would have been a wreck. As it was, she was simply very, very busy. Eventually, however, even Taylor was getting stir crazy. So one sunny June morning, Taylor decided to brave taking the baby outside. There were errands to run and Jack was absent with work and not there to suggest never ever leaving the safety of the house for once. Taylor glanced between the sleeping baby and the morning sun only a few times before she jotted a quick note for Jack: 'Off for lunch and errands. Took the baby with me. Love -T.' After popping enough baby supplies in the Void to outlast a seven day siege, Taylor scooped up the drowsing baby and popped through to Void and out to the sunny park. The moment the sun hit the baby's face, his blue eyes slitted open and his whole face crumpled into furious outrage. Taylor carted him over to the shade of a large tree, making shushing noises as she fished around. Eventually she had him swaddled up in an infant sized Phantom esque cloak that blocked most of the sun's rays. Taylor beamed at the still grumpy baby who at least had stopped with the whole angry and glowy red eyed demon routine to instead eye his mother with squinty disdain instead. "There, all better," Taylor declared to her son who would have probably disagreed if he could have, "Now lets go see Auntie Stesha."

Taylor's off to meet Stesha for lunch, offspring in tow. Hijinks will doubt ensue. Open to anyone.

So its summer which also makes it Psyche's upcoming birthday. There's a lot of teenage superheroes and I was thinking of tossing a junior prom like party for the teen super hero set. Anyone interested? It will probably be a non combat thread unless there is superhero on superhero antics.

"Maybe you need to get angry, Mark. Its perfectly normal to be angry at the person you lose, even if its not the usual kind of loss," Alex said gently as she lifted her hands slightly, the gesture placating, "Its a big change in your family's life and in your life and that's going to be hard for you and your mom. Its entirely possible that it really was your dad, and its just as possible that it was her subconscious comforting her, but I think what matters there is that its helped your mom to cope. Now you need to focus on what's going to help you cope." She resettled her hands in her lap and blinked at him, her expression solemn, "But, your father has done way too much for common memory to think of him as anything other than a hero. I think what's bothering you more is how this has affected your opinion of him and you're trying to deal with that by worrying about what everyone else thinks of your dad because that's a bit easier to manage. He's still a hero, and he's still your dad and he's also still a man who made mistakes. He can be all of that. He is all of that. And you can love him and be mad at him for it all at the same time and that's okay."

Alex glanced over at the fridge which opened at her look and a soda came floating out Mark's way. Telekinetics means never having to crouch down in tight pants. She dropped down into her desk chair, tucking her hands in her lap as she watched Mark with wide eyes that always made her look even younger than sixteen. Alex tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. Here where was she would say something along the lines of acceptance and love that stretched beyond worlds. "Why don't we go find him and ask? Then you would know for certain. Would that help?" Alex suggested instead, looking up at Mark.

The sensation of safety and soothing emotions rocketed up a notch as Alex added her mental weight to the ambiance of the room the way a normal person would adjust a thermostat. Between her presence and the cats, their dorm room was really the place to be for the emotionally traumatized. "Why don't you come on in and sit down, Mark. You look like you have a lot on your mind and we've got plenty of time." Alex said gently, shrugging out of the suit jacket and starting to look a bit more like herself. "Do you want something to drink?" She offered with a little handwave over to the mini fridge by way of explanation. Some of the social polish she'd acquired in having to work with adults during the day was starting to linger but the soft smile was still entirely Alex and she clipped her hair back with a band that had rainbows wrapping around it.

Alex turned around from where she was checking her reflection in the mirror. She was dressed in a very un-Alex like way, rocking a slim pantsuit that was distinctly grey although the blouse was a deep jewel toned that was her only ode to excess of color. She kicked off the low slung heels and headed on over to the door, tilting her head to the side before nodding her agreement with Erin's assessment. "Yeah, I think you're right." She agreed as she started to pull down the bun that she'd had her hair twisted up into. "I guess he's ready to talk about things."

Taylor pulled her gown back up carefully as the little pin pricks closed and she held out the now food groggy baby for Stesha's perusal proudly. He did indeed have Jack's bright blue eyes and he'd inherited an asian cast to his features from his half Chinese mother from what could be made out of his still a little squashed face. A tongue curling yawn displayed shiny needle sharp fangs as well as deep dimples before he smacked his lips once or twice and gave this latest visitor a slow blink of his unfocused eyes. Taylor beamed as proud as she could be of what was a very cute, if slightly obviously not entirely human baby. At least his eyes were no longer doing that creepy glowing thing. "How did it all go?" Taylor asked concerned as she glanced between the battered heroes, distracted finally from the new motherhood to ask after the battle. Her expression turned solemn, "We didn't lose anyone, did we?"

Can I get the following on Psyche: 4 more on int to raise it to 32, +2 ranks of benefit wealth to the max of wealth 3, benefit: Fame, benefit: CEO of AEON, and one more PP into Caldwell Manor which I'm going to use to make an AP HQ for her building. Thank you! DONE BY SHAENTHEBRAIN

"Not too long a while I hope," Taylor murmured but her expression softened at the pair of now drowsy and slightly unfocused blue eyes. She smiled and brushed her fingers over Jack's hand, "Such a tiny little scrap of a person to have such a huge fuss over. Is it over, at least for a little while, Jack?" Taylor looked up at him questioningly, the hand over his protective. Her dark hair was still damp and it trailed over her shoulder in a loose braid. The tip of it tickled against the baby's cheek and he wrinkled his nose in sleepy disgruntlement.

Taylor accepted him back into her arms, taking a few minutes to get him settled. Jack wasn't the only parent that was new to some of the baby holds. "At least he got my dimples. After all my hard work, there should be some-" She broke off with a yelp as the baby gave up on one form of sustanance than the other to bite down. It was a minor prick but it was startling and on rather tender flesh. "...Ow." Taylor complained, looking down at the happily latched baby. "So how long does it take to learn to make that not painful? Because someone may get weaned real quick."

"He's still got a heartbeat," Taylor provided at Jack's moment of hesitation and leveraged herself up with a minor wince. She really didn't have much to complain about as her regeneration was starting to make up for its misbehavior earlier with the painkiller antics. Unable to help the impulse, she stroked her fingertips over the black fuzz that stuck up in all directions, "His vitals are all strong. He's seven pounds and three ounces and twenty one inches. Tall. Which he doesn't get from me. Also explains the foot in my ribcage for the last month." Taylor looked up at Jack's face, wishing she could capture that on film. She added softly, "And he shows up on film."

Taylor looked up from her entirely natural enthrallment with the squalling scrap of humanity that had created such a fuss. She gave Jack an exhausted but radiant smile and freed one hand to cup his cheek as she returned the quick kiss. Her slender wrist still had the manacle around it that shackled her to this dimension. "I love you too." "Jack, you kept us safe and you're here now. Look," she snuggled the still complaining infant before gathering him up in the loose blanket and holding him up for Jack to take. Taylor said with pride, "He's got your eyes." Of course, Taylor thought the little baby fangs were even cute. Motherhood was indeed a powerful thing.

(Continued from here.) Dr. Archeveille had done many impossible things, but delivering a half-vampire child from a woman who blinked in and out of reality as a reaction to fear and stress was certainly up there on the difficulty scale. For Taylor, she wasn't sure which she was less pleased with, the restraints that the doctor had managed to develop to tie her to this reality, or the discovery that her unique physiology made painkillers nigh ineffective. The good doctor was treated to an impressive litany of curses that spanned over two dozen languages, many of which were highly improbably if not physically impossible. In Taylor's defense, none of the cusses were really leveled at the doctor, more at life in general and occasionally a string of deities that it was likely Taylor had personally met. All of them fertility gods. Eventually - and although the delivery was smooth all things considered, it was a long eventually for everyone involved - a healthy and squalling bouncing boy was delivered. With his mother's dimples and a full head of black hair, he had plenty of Taylor in him. Of course, he also had bright blue eyes that occasionally glowed an angry red and a pair of sharp fangs that he tried to take off a robotic assistant's finger with. So he was certainly Jack's son too. And he was loud!

Okay, so I has been out of the loop. :oops: But I am back and asking for your help with getting back in the saddle. A lot of my threads I think will end up hand waved for the endings just so that we're not resurrecting every dead thread I was in. AA and I have discussed the vampire baby plot and I think that will end with a fade to black on the fight and pick up after Dracs has been chased off and with Jack meeting his son for the first time. That way that thread can be wrapped up with just a few folks. As to the rest, if you have an old thread you need me in, please post it here. Likewise, if there is a thread you need from me that is brand new to deal with the time Alex and Taylor have been busy, also please ping me here and I will get to posting. Thanks and I missed all of ya! Glad to be back.

Mea culpa, mea culpa. So sorry for everyone who's been waiting on me. Its just been a lot of random little stuff. I'll be trying to get caught up tonight and on my lunchbreak tomorrow. So, so sorry!